The hillside that produces the fine bubbles - Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars 1465; Gastronomic meal of the French 00437
What and Why
The Champagne wine region is a wine region in the northeast of France best known for the production of the sparkling champagne wine. The region developed a reputation for quality wine production since the early Middle Ages and continue until today, generations after generations. The Champagne province high altitude and mean annual temperature of 10 °C is actually unconducive for wine grapes to fully ripen. Ripening is aided by the presence of forests which helps to stabilise temperatures and maintain moisture in the soil. The cool temperatures produce high levels of acidity in the resulting grape which is ideal for sparkling wine.
The soil in the region possesses chalk deposits from the ancient ocean that contributes to the characteristic crispiness, lightness and finesse of Champagne wine. The chalk is also used in the construction of underground cellars that can keep the wines cool through the bottle maturation.
The word champagne is reserved by law to describe the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. It sounds quite incredible nowadays to know that sparkling wine was actually considered a wine fault and was disdained in early champagne winemaking. It was Dom Pérignon, a local Benedictine monk, who was originally charged to get rid of the bubbles who came up with the idea of the sparkling wine and as usual the rest is history.
Champagne are generally sold with 5 to 6 atm of pressure in the bottle after the second fermentation process produces the carbon dioxide bubbles, which distinguishes it from normal wine production. The second fermentation also produces the characteristic sweetness in the champagne, which complements perfectly with the French cuisine (French: Cuisine française).
Brut refers to the level of sweetness in champagne. The level of sweetness varies in champagne from Brut Zéro as in no sweetness to doux as in very sweet.
Brut Nature 0-3 g/litre of sugar
Extra Brut 0-6 g/litre
Brut 0-12 g/litre
Extra Dry 12-17 g/litre
Dry 17-32 g/litre
Demi-Sec 32-50 g/litre
Doux 50+ g/litre
Toponymy
The name Champagne comes from the Latin campania and means the countryside. Épernay is attributed to derive from 'après Aÿ', meaning 'after Aÿ' in French. Aÿ is the nearby town, just as famous for its champagne.
See
The Champagne Avenue (L'Avenue de Champagne)
The main attraction centres around The Champagne Avenue (French: L'Avenue de Champagne) which is the famous street located in Épernay, the 'capital of champagne', where many leading champagne producers such as Moët et Chandon, Mercier and De Castellane are located. Many say that this avenue is the most expensive in the world, more so than the Champs-Élysées in Paris, because of the millions of bottles of champagne stored in the cellars underneath it.
Moët et Chandon
I focussed on the big one, the Moët et Chandon cellar, which pretty much encapsulates everything champagne about the wine-making paradise. After all it was Dom Pérignon who really got champagne as a wine in its own right!
Moët et Chandon began as Moët et Cie (meaning Moët & Company), established by Épernay wine trader Claude Moët in 1743 CE, during which it coincided with increased demand for sparkling wine. In 1833 CE, the company was renamed Moët et Chandon after Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles, Remy Moët's son-in-law, joined the company as a partner of Jean-Remy Moët, Claude Moët's grandson. Chandon was a shrewd businessman and it was him who made the brand really famous. Moët & Chandon merged with Hennessy Cognac in 1971 CE and with Louis Vuitton in 1987 CE to become LVMH (Louis-Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy), the largest luxury group in the world.
Not doing free advertisement for the cellar, this is really worth the visit! The exterior of the building looks like a palace! The guides are very professional and profoundly explain the entire wine-making process and history.
The cellar is a massive labyrinth and I am pretty sure lots of people have got lost inside. They are also shown where the 'reserve' are stored, although locked up like a prison.
During the early days of champagne making, the winemakers did not know how to control the gas pressure inside the bottle and many a times, the bottle just exploded and destroyed the other bottles. The yield as a result could be as low as 20% and that was one of the reasons for the high price, the massive size of the wine cellar and why it was once called 'death wine'.
The secondary fermentation often takes places in the wine bottle that the wine will be sold in to retain its identity of the blend. This is most commonly known as the Champagne method (méthode champenoise) after the region most noted for sparkling wine production. When the base wine (cuvée) has been produced from single blend, the wine is bottled with a mixture of yeast and fresh sugar known as the liqueur de tirage. This secondary fermentation is the process that makes the wine bubbly due to the containment of carbon dioxide which is normally released as a by product in regular fermentation. When done the dead yeast cells known as lees will be removed in a process known as disgorgement before corking.
By the way, Napoleon Bonaparte actually visited this particular cellar and is marked by a plaque.
After the entire tour, a fine toast with a beautiful presenter and presentation of all the famous blends of the brand is made. They also give everyone an alcohol breath tester to abide to the law.
Other cellars
For wine connoisseurs, the town is paradise, there are easily a hundred cellars for everyone to wine-taste and visit. Here is my list of recommendation:
Of course, I made my judgement based on my fairly superficial knowledge of its history and brand, rather than my limited wine knowledge.
Wine and vineyard tours
One can also join various wine tours in the vineyards or simply drive through them, pictured as above. This is exactly what I did, after testing my alcohol level. But as mentioned, the climate here is really hot during summer.
According to the guide, Champagne receives its distinguished reputation because of the grapes used to produce it. Grown in the hot climate with mineral rich soil, this gives the grapes the unique flavour. Of all the varieties, only a handful of grapes across Champagne are allowed to be used for its cuvée; a blend most concentrated extraction of juices from pressed grapes). These grapes are:
Pinot Noir (most widely used)
Pinot Meunier (widely used)
Chardonnay (widely used)
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Petit Meslier
Arbane
Although the ratios vary, about 90% of all blended Champagnes use 2/3 red and 1/3 Chardonnay mixes based on the structure, fruitiness, body, aroma, delicacy, freshness, and complexity of the grapes.
Eat and Drink
What else but champagne? I bought the Dom Perignon Reserve from the beautiful gift shop.
Getting There and Around
Getting to Épernay is easy, and the Avenue de Champagne is a short 2-km walkable street. You do need to drive to reach some of the vineyards. Even for a non-drinker like me and in spite of the hefty entrance fee of EUR 45€, I consider this worth a visit. Perhaps I was drunk before the visit.
UNESCO Inscriptions
The property encompasses sites where the method of producing sparkling wines was developed on the principle of secondary fermentation in the bottle since the early 17th century to its early industrialization in the 19th century. The property is made up of three distinct ensembles: the historic vineyards of Hautvillers, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Saint-Nicaise Hill in Reims, and the Avenue de Champagne and Fort Chabrol in Epernay. These three components – the supply basin formed by the historic hillsides, the production sites (with their underground cellars) and the sales and distribution centres (the Champagne Houses) - illustrate the entire champagne production process. The property bears clear testimony to the development of a very specialized artisan activity that has become an agro-industrial enterprise.
The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions. It is a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature. Important elements include the careful selection of dishes from a constantly growing repertoire of recipes; the purchase of good, preferably local products whose flavours go well together; the pairing of food with wine; the setting of a beautiful table; and specific actions during consumption, such as smelling and tasting items at the table. The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert. Individuals called gastronomes who possess deep knowledge of the tradition and preserve its memory watch over the living practice of the rites, thus contributing to their oral and/or written transmission, in particular to younger generations. The gastronomic meal draws circles of family and friends closer together and, more generally, strengthens social ties.
References
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