champagne

1. 1. A sparkling white wine made from a blend of grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne.
   2. A similar sparkling wine made elsewhere.
2. A pale orange yellow to grayish yellow or yellowish gray.

[French, short for (vin de) Champagne, (wine from) Champagne, from Late Latin campānia, flat open country. See campaign.]

Background

Champagne is the ultimate celebratory drink. It is used to toast newlyweds, applaud achievements, and acknowledge milestones. A large part of its appeal is due to the bubbles that spill forth when the bottle is uncorked. These bubbles are caused by tiny drops of liquid disturbed by the escaping carbon dioxide or carbonic acid gas that is a natural by-product of the double fermentation process unique to champagne.

Today, fine champagne is considered a mark of sophistication. But this was not always so. Initially, wine connoisseurs were disdainful of the sparkling wine. Furthermore in 1688, Dom Perignon, the French monk whose name is synonymous with the best vintages, worked very hard to reduce the bubbles from the white wine he produced as Cellarer of the Benedictine Abbey of Haut-Villers in France's Champagne region. Ironically, his efforts were hampered by his preference for fermenting wine in bottles instead of casks, since bottling adds to the build-up of carbonic acid gas.

The Champagne province, which stretches from Flanders on the north to Burgundy in the south; from Lorraine in the east to Ile de France in the west, is one of the northern-most wine producing regions. For many years, the region competed with Burgundy to produce the best still red table wines. However, red grapes need an abundance of sun, something that the vineyards of Champagne do not receive on a regular basis. By the time Perignon took over the Abbey cellars in 1668, he was studying ways to perfect the harvesting of the Pinot Noir grape in order to produce a high-quality white wine.

Often called black grapes, the Pinot Noir actually bears a skin that is blue on the outside and red on the inside. The juice is white but care must be taken during harvesting so that the skin does not break and color the juice.

Climate is a major factor in winemaking and nowhere is this more apparent that in the case of champagne. The inconsistency and shortness of the Champagne region's summers lead inevitably to inconsistent harvests. Therefore, a supply of wine made during better years is saved so that it may be blended with the juice of grapes harvested during poorer seasons. When the wine is stored after the fall harvest, it begins to ferment but ceases when the cold winter months set in. In late spring or early summer, the wine begins to ferment again. Extra sugar is added to that which is left in the wine. The wine is then bottled and tightly corked. The carbonic acid that would normally escape into the air if the wine were stored in casks builds up in the bottle, ready to rush forth when the cork is released.

In the early days of champagne-making, this volatility was something of a problem. Twenty to 90% of the bottles exploded, giving rise to the practice of wearing iron face masks when walking through champagne cellars. By 1735, a royal ordinance established regulations governing the shape, size, and weight of champagne bottles. Corks were to be 1.5 in (3.75 cm) long and secured to the collar of the bottle with strong pack thread. Deep cellars with constant temperatures also keep the bottles from exploding. The chalky earth of the Champagne region make it ideal for these cellars.

Three years after Perignon's death, Canon Godinot recorded the monk's specifications for the making of champagne:

• Use only Pinot Noir grapes.
• Prune the vine aggressively. Do not allow them to grow higher than three feet.
• Harvest the grapes carefully to keep the skins intact. Keep the grapes as cool as possible. Work the fields early in the morning or on showery days when the weather is very hot. Pick over the grapes while still in the fields. Reject all broken or bruised grapes.
• Set up the press as close to the fields as possible. If the grapes must be transported, use the slower pack animals such as mules or donkeys rather than horses to prevent the grapes from being jostled.
• Do not tread on the grapes or allow the skins into the juices.

Although modern champagne vintners have the use of technology to streamline certain parts of the champagne-making process, the steps have not changed significantly over the last three centuries.

Raw Materials

The main ingredient in champagne is the Pinot Noir grape. The grapes, left in bunches, are carefully picked so that the skin pigment does not stain the juice. Vineyard workers pick through the grapes, removing any that are unripe or mildewy. The grape bunches are weighed, generally 8,820 lb (4,000 kg) are used for a pressing. The grapes are taken directly to the press in a further effort to prevent the skin from coloring the juice.

During the double fermentation, several other natural ingredients are added to the wine. Yeast, usually saccharmonyces, is added during the first fermentation to help the grapes' natural sugar convert to alcohol. A liquer de tirage, cane sugar melted in still champagne wine, is added. In the second fermentation stage, a liquer d'expedition is added. This consists of cane sugar, still wine, and brandy. The amount of sugar added at this stage determines the type of champagne, from sweet to dry. Although each vintner has its own standards, the general guide is as follows: a 0.5% solution yields the driest champagne, known as brut; 1% is added for extra sec; 3% for sec; and 5% for demi-sec, the sweetest type of champagne.

The Manufacturing
Process

Pressing

• The grapes are carefully loaded into the press, a square wooden floor surrounded by adjustable wooden rails and topped by a heavy oak lid. The lid is mechanically lowered and raised at intervals, causing the grapes to burst and the juice to pour out. The juices run through the rails into a sloped groove that carries the juice to stainless steel vats. The first pressing is called the cuvee and is the best juice from a batch of grapes. It is kept separate from subsequent pressings. The cuvee begins to ferment immediately. As scum rises to the top it is thrown off. Some of the scum falls to the bottom of the vat; this sediment is called lees. The juice, called must, continues to ferment for 24-36 hours when it gradually returns to its normal temperature.

First fermentation

• The cuveés are moved into temperature-controlled stainless steels vats and fermented for several weeks at 64-68°F (18-20°C). The amount of time varies depending on the house specifications. Some champagne producers also put the wine through a malolactic fermentation process at this point to reduce acidity.

Blending the wines

• The head cellarer (chefde caves) and cellar assistants taste and blend wines from several different pressings to obtain the desired taste. The blended wines are churned in vats by sweeping mechanical arms.

Bottling and the second fermentation

• The blended wine is drawn off into bottles. The liquer de tirage is added and the bottles are sealed with crown caps. Because the carbonic acid cannot escape through the glass, it builds up to a tremendous pressure, equal to that in a bus tire.

Aging

• French law requires that non-vintage wines be aged for at least one year. Vintage wines must be aged for at least three years. Each wine house adds to this minimum requirement as desired. Non-vintage wines are those that result from a thin harvest and are combined with reserves from past good vintages. Non-vintage wine is not sold under a particular year. Vintage wines, on the other hand, are made from Champagne grapes harvested in the same year. Vintage wines are rare, produced only when the summer has been unusually hot and sunny. The year is printed on the cork and the label.

Racking (Remuerurage)

• During the aging period, the bottles of champagne are turned daily to keep the sediment caused by dead yeast cells from settling on the bottom. Skilled workers, with quick hands, twist the bottles one-eighth of a turn each day. The bottles start out in the horizontal position; by the end of the aging period, the bottles are vertical with the necks pointed towards the floor so that the sediment has collected on the inside face of the cork.

Dégorgement

• The bottleneck is plunged into freezing liquid, causing a pellet of frozen champagne to form in the neck. The crown cap is carefully removed and the ice expels the sediment.

Liquor d'expedition is added

• The mixture of reserve wines, sugar, and brandy is added to the bottles of champagne to create the desired sweetness.

Corkage

• A long, fat cork that has been branded with the house name is hand-driven halfway into the bottleneck. Then the exposed portion is squashed down into the neck and secured with a wire muzzle. The bottles are labelled and stored in the cellar until shipment at which time they are packed into crates or cartons.

Quality Control

Guided by government regulations, each champagne house sets its own standards for the aging of its wines. In France, where the finest champagne is produced, the Institute National des Appelations d'Origin also places strict standards on the quality of soil that may be used for the growing of Champagne grapes. However, every champagne producing country regulates the production and marketing of its wines to some extent. Furthermore, each step of the champagne-making process is presided over by veteran experts who are skilled in tasting and blending.

The Future

It is inevitable that the labor-intensive process of making champagne will be further mechanized in the twenty-first century. Already, agricultural advances have reduced the threat of rot in the vineyard, thus reducing the number of workers needed to pick over the grapes in the fields. Some of the larger champagne houses have replaced the traditional round wooden press with a horizontal model inside of which a rubber bag inflates and gently presses the grapes against the sides of the press. Experiments are underway to develop a mechanized method for rotating the bottles to replace the costly hand-turning method. To date, none have proved effective, but industry observers believe that the change is in-escapable.

Where to Learn More

Books

Johnson, Hugh. Vintage: The Story of Wine. Simon and Schuster. 1989.

Simon, André. Wines of the World. 2nd ed. Ed. Serena Sutcliffe. McGraw-Hill, 1981.

Other

"How Champagne is Made." Moet & Chandon Homepage. http://moet.com/taste/made.html (January 21, 1997).

"Know-How." Jacquart Homepage. http:/Hwww.jacquart-champagne.fr/sf_eng.html (January 21, 1997).

[Article by: Mary F. McNulty]

Sparkling wine from the Champagne region of north-eastern France, made by a second fermentation in the bottle. Pioneered by Benedictine cellar master Dom Pierre Pérignon at the Abbey d'Hautvilliers, in the late seventeenth century. Sparkling wines from other regions, even when made in the same way, cannot legally be called champagne, but are known as being made by the méthode champenoise.

[sham-PAYN] This most celebrated sparkling wine always seems to signal "special occasion." Though bubbling wines under various appellations abound throughout the world, true Champagne comes only from the Champagne region in northeast France. Most countries bow to this tradition by calling their sparkling wines by other names such as spumante in Italy, Sekt in Germany and vin mousseux in other regions of France. Only in America do some wineries refer to their bubbling wine as "champagne." Dom Perignon, 17th-century cellarmaster of the Abbey of Hautvillers, is celebrated for developing the art of blending wines to create Champagnes with superior flavor. He's also credited for his work in preventing Champagne bottles and corks from exploding by using thicker bottles and tying the corks down with string. Even then, it's said that the venerable Dom Perignon lost half his Champagne through the bottles bursting. French Champagne is usually made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir or pinot blanc grapes. California "champagnes" generally use the same varieties, while those from New York more often are from the pressings of catawba and delaware grapes. Good Champagne is expensive not only because it's made with premium grapes, but because it's made by the méthode champenoise. This traditional method requires a second fermentation in the bottle as well as some 100 manual operations (some of which are mechanized today). Champagnes can range in color from pale gold to apricot blush. Their flavors can range from toasty to yeasty and from dry (no sugar added) to sweet. A sugar-wine mixture called a dosage added just before final corking determines how sweet a Champagne will be. The label indicates the level of sweetness: brut (bone dry to almost dry-less than 1.5 percent sugar); extra sec or extra dry (slightly sweeter-1.2 to 2 percent sugar); sec (medium sweet-1.7 to 3.5 percent sugar); demi-sec (sweet-3.3 to 5 percent sugar); and doux (very sweet-over 5 percent sugar). The last two are considered dessert wines.

For more information on champagne, visit Britannica.com.

[sham-PAYN (Fr. Shahm-PAH-nyuh)] 1. Even though effervescent wines abound throughout the world, true Champagne comes only from France's northernmost winegrowing region of Champagne, just 90 miles northeast of Paris. This renowned region has about 75,000 vineyard acres and consists of four main growing areas-Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, and the Aube-and a fifth area that's evolving, Côte de Sézanne. Because it's so far north, Champagne's cool weather creates a difficult growing environment for grapes to ripen fully. The main grape varieties grown in the Champagne region are pinot noir, meunier (Pinot Meunier), and chardonnay all of which require warmer weather for optimum development. Grapes that don't completely ripen tend to have high acids and less-developed flavors, which just happens to be the perfect formula for sparkling wines. This region's chalky soil adds its magic to create just the right flavor composition in these grape varieties. Champagne region villages and their associated vineyards are classified (from 80 to 100 percent) according to the quality of the grapes produced. Of the approximately 270 villages, only 17 have obtained grand cru ratings of 100 percent. The next level, called premier cru, consists of villages with ratings from 90 to 99 percent. The remaining villages have ratings of between 80 and 89 percent. Most of the better-known Champagne houses buy grapes to supplement their own vineyards, and this percentage rating system helps set the prices growers receive. The art of blending wines to create Champagnes with superior flavor is credited to dom pérignon seventeenth-century cellarmaster of the Abbey of Hautvillers. Today, some Champagne makers mix as many as thirty to forty or more different base wines to create the blend, or cuvée. Most major Champagne houses strive for a cuvée that's consistent from year to year. Good Champagne is expensive not only because it's made with premium grapes but also because it's made by the méthode champenoise. This traditional technique requires a second fermentation in the bottle, as well as some 100 hand operations (some of which are mechanized today). Vintage Champagnes are made from the best grapes of the harvest in years when the chef de cave of an individual Champagne house believes that the grapes are better than average. Wines from the declared year must comprise at least 80 percent of the cuvée for vintage Champagnes, with the balance coming from reserve wines from prior years. Vintage Champagnes must be aged for 3 years prior to their release. Non-vintage Champagnes, which make up 75 to 80 percent of those produced, are blends of 2 or more years. They're usually made in a definitive house style, which is maintained by meticulous cuvée blending. Rosé Champagnes are generally made by adding a small amount of red still wine to the cuvée, although some producers extract color through maceration of the juice with red grape skins. These sparkling wines are usually full-flavored and full-bodied (see body) and have an intriguing salmon-pink color. The pale pink, full-flavored Blanc de Noirs Champagnes are made entirely from red Pinot Noir and/or Meunier grapes. Blanc de Blancs Champanges, which are usually more delicate and the lightest in color, are made entirely from Chardonnay grapes. Crémant Champagnes are made with only slightly more than half the pressure of standard sparkling wines and therefore have a creamier mouthfeel. Champagne can be light and fresh, toasty to yeasty and dry to sweet. A Champagne's bouquet and flavor gain complexity through a process called autolysis, whereby the wine ages with the yeast cells in the bottle (sometimes for up to 10 years) before being disgorgement. A sugar-wine mixture, called a dosage, added just before final corking, determines how sweet a Champagne will be. The label indicates the level of sweetness: extra brut (totally dry to very dry-less than 0.6 percent sugar); brut (very dry to almost dry-less than 1.5 percent sugar); extra sec or extra dry (slightly sweeter-1.2 to 2 percent sugar); sec (medium sweet-1.7 to 3.5 percent sugar); demi-sec (sweet-3.3 to 5 percent sugar); and doux (very sweet-over 5 percent sugar). The last two are considered dessert wines. Grande Marque is a French term for "great brand" and is used unofficially to refer to the best Champagne houses. An organization called the Syndicat des Grandes Marques has about thirty members, and most of the better-known firms belong, including Ayala, Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger, Canard-Duchêne, Deutz, Charles Heidsieck, Heidsieck Monopole, Henriot, Krug, Lanson, Laurent Perrier, Mercier, Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, Joseph Perrier, Piper Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Pommery and Greno, Louis Roederer, Ruinart, Salon, Taittinger, and Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. Some of these Grandes Marques produce a premium brand (an expensive, high-end sparkling wine) variously known as cuvée de prestige or cuvée spéciale. Moet & Chandon was the first to produce such a wine with their Dom Perignon bottling. Today there are numerous offerings including Diamant Bleu from Heidsieck & Co., Comtes de Champagne from Taittinger, Grand Siècle from Laurent-Perrier, Cristal from Louis Roederer, Grand Cuvée from Krug, and Belle Epoque from Perrier-Jouët. In recent years, a number of high-quality Champagnes have come from small producers like Baptiste-Pertois, Paul Bara, Bonnaire, Cattier, Delamotte, Egly-Ouriet, Guy Larmandier, and Tarlant. Some of these producers are growers that provide grapes to the large Champagne houses. still wines are also made in the Champagne region. The Coteaux Champenois AC covers red, white, and rosé still wines made from the three primary Champagne grapes-Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay. These wines don't have a great reputation primarily because the grapes used aren't generally fully ripe. The Rosé des Riceys AC covers Pinot Noir-based rosé still wines made around Les Riceys in the Aube. Though hard to find and relatively expensive, these wines are more full-flavored because the Aube, which is warmer than other parts of the Champagne region, produces riper grapes. 2. The term "champagne" is also used generically for sparkling wines made outside of the Champagne region. Most countries bow to French tradition by not using the word "champagne" on their labels. Their sparkling wines are called by other names such as spumante in Italy, sekt in Germany, vin mousseux (see mousseux) in other regions of France, or simply sparkling wine. In the United States and some South American countries, it's legal to use the word "champagne" for sparkling wine, but the label must conspicuously identify the appellation of origin. However, most top-quality, U.S. Sparkling-wine producers don't use the term but rather indicate that the wines were made by the French méthode champenoise. See also Opening and Serving Wine at Home, page 593.

Tutor's tip: He planned his "campaign" (activities leading to a specific goal) over a glass of "champagne" (white, effervescent wine).

Common misspelling(s) of Champagne

• Champange

Dansk (Danish)
n. - champagne

n. - Champagne

Nederlands (Dutch)
champagne, lichte crème kleur

Français (French)
n. - champagne

Deutsch (German)
n. - Champagner, Sekt

n. - Champagne

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σαμπάνια, καμπανίτης (οίνος)

Italiano (Italian)
champagne

Português (Portuguese)
n. - champanhe (m)

Русский (Russian)
шампанское

Español (Spanish)
n. - champán, champaña

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - champagne

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
香槟酒, 香槟色

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 香檳酒, 香檳色

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 샴페인, 최고 사치품, 샴페인 색

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - シャンペン, シャンパン

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شمبانيا, مشروب روحي من العنب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שמפנייה‬
n. - ‮שמפיין‬

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