Champagne 101

Champagne is a single Appellation d’Origine Controlee. The grapes must be Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Chardonnay is a white grape and when used exclusively is called “Blanc de blanc”. The two Pinots are red grapes and Champagnes made from these grapes are called “Blanc de Noir.” A white wine is obtained by gentle pressing and taking the juice off the skins before it has time to impart any color. Sometimes a slight rust color is evident in some Champagnes as the skins were left to have some contact with the juice. For Rose Champagne, the skins are allowed contact for a chosen period of time.

To be called “Champagne” the grapes must have been grown in the Champagne region of France. The climate of Champagne holds many challenges for grape growers. It is the most northern region of any important wine producing region. The weather is cold and damp. Champagne’s weather comes from the North Atlantic without any mountains for a natural barrier. The average temperature in Champagne is barely high enough to allow grapes to ripen. Acidity levels stay high in such a cool climate which is desirable in sparkling wine. Another concern is early or late frosts. These are common occurrences and the wine growers use the aspersion technique to protect the grapes. This is the process of spraying a light layer of water on the grapes and vines which freezes on the buds or the grape bunches, forming a protective shield from the cold. Also this region gets a lot of rain. The grapes are susceptible to fungi and mildews with extended periods of dampness.

It is important to note the terroir of Champagne. The most distinguishing characteristic is the high concentration of chalk in the soil. There are two types of chalk (which is a form of limestone) and one; belemnite chalk can only be found in Champagne. The wine is then matured in the tunnels of the old chalk quarries.

Champagne is made from still wine that has been fermented dry. The key process in producing Champagne is a second fermentation that occurs in the sealed bottle There are several distinct steps in the “Methode Champenoise.”

Selecting the cuvee is the first step. Cuvees can be from a pure grape variety, or can be mixture of the grape varietals. Most Champagne is made from mixed cuvees. The alcohol content of the cuvee is usually around 10%.

The Tirage is the second step. After the cuvee is selected, sugar, yeast and yeast nutrients are added. The entire mixture, called the tirage is put in a thick glass bottle and sealed with a cap. The tirage is placed in a cool cellar, at a 45 degree angle and allowed to slowly ferment, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. It is important to note that Champagne contains approximately four atmospheres of carbon dioxide; four times that of other wines. Since the bottle is sealed, the gas cannot escape thereby producing the bubbles of Champagne.


Aging on dead yeast is the next step. As the fermentation process proceeds, yeast cells die and after several months, the fermentation process is complete. However the Champagne continues to age in the cellar for several more years. During this aging process, the yeast literally bursts open and spills their insides throughout, thus resulting in a yeasty, toasty characteristic. The best Champagnes are left to age for five or more years.

Riddling is the process in which the dead yeast cells are removed from the bottle. The Champagne bottle is at an angle in an A-frame type holder, bottom up. A “riddler” comes through and turns the bottle 1/8th of a turn and gives it a quick shake and possibly tilts the angle of the bottle a little more each time. This will loosen any yeast particles and send them to the neck of the bottle. This is done one to three days over a period of several weeks. Also known as Remuage

Disgorging is the process in which the dead cells are removed. The Champagne bottle is kept upside down while the neck is frozen in an ice-salt bath. This results in a ‘plug’ of frozen wine which contains the dead yeast cells. The cap is removed and the pressure of the carbon dioxide forces the frozen wine out leaving behind clear Champagne. At this point the dosage, a mixture of white wine, brandy and sugar, is added to adjust the level of sweetness the winemaker is trying to achieve, and to top off the bottle. The bottle is then corked and the cork wire put down to secure the high internal pressure of carbon dioxide.

Classification of Champagne styles include: Extra Brut, Brut,Sec, Demi-sec and Doux. Each one of these is an indication of residual sugar. Extra brut being the driest at 0 to .5% residual sugar and Demi-sec at upward of 5% residual sugar.

Modern remuage versus traditional remuage
Remuage also known as riddling is the process of moving the dead yeasts to the neck of the bottle so they can be removed during disgorgement. The process was invented by an employee of Madame Cliquot in 1818 because if the dead yeasts were not removed, the wine had to be decanted and lost some of its effervescence in the decanting. Before the yeast can be removed, the neck of the bottle must be frozen solid in an icy brine bath. This is so the disgorgement can take place and finally the dosage before the bottles is re-corked.
Traditionally the bottles were rotated daily by a riddler between one eighth and one quarter of a rotation and gradually brought to an upright position over a period of time up to three months in some houses. The purpose of these movements is to loosen the adhesion of the sediment to the sides of the bottle and get the dead yeasts to slide to the neck of the bottle. The time and space required for this step of the Champagne making process put limitations on the amounts of wine houses could produce during the year.
In 1973, the first computer controlled gyro pallets appeared and the remuage process changed rapidly. The task of dislodging the sediment which took several months by hand could now be accomplished in a shorter period of time in less space by machines operated by computers. There are several different techniques for automating the remuage process; some such as rotopal or champrex require human labor as well as machines that speed up the process. These systems hold up to 381 bottles in each container that can be rotated at the same time and also allow for some human judgement. The gyro pallet systems are completely automated and allow for over one thousand bottles to be riddled in the same pallet over a period of time, often less than one week. This increase in efficiency allowed some houses to take production from seven to eight cycles annually, using hand riddling to forty-five cycles with the automated gyro pallet system.
Even more radical technologies are coming into existence that enclose the yeast in a gel so it can react with the wine and be easily removed during the disgorgement process. This would make the gel not adhere to the sides of the bottles. Still, some twenty-five percent of champagne produced today are hand riddled so judgements can be made by people and the process is taken slowly.

Xavier Auzas