Champagne has five main regions, or zones with there own character. Of course we tell you more during our trip and you will experience the differences.
The five regions:
In Champagne they work with three different kind of grapes.
The Montagne de Reims, which focuses on pinot noir. This zone makes the fullest bodied Champagnes, often intended to age. In the area of Epernay you explore the pinot meunier–focused region of the Vallée de la Marne. Pinot meunier is usually blended with other grapes; for example, it’s used with pinot noir to make delicious blanc des noirs.
The Côte des Blancs, which focuses on chardonnay-based champagnes. This is also used in blends or to make the light blanc de blancs Champagne, a perfect aperitif.
The two lesser-known areas: l'Aube, which contributes grapes mostly for non-vintage fizz, and the new Côte de Sézanne, which specializes more in chardonnay.
The process is a very complicate and delicate progress
The grapes are picked between August and October, the harvest time depends on how ripe the grapes are. Some grapes are picked by hand, some by machine.
After picking the grapes, they are pressed carefully.
The juice is put into a tank and the first fermentation takes place. The result is still wine that has been fermented dry completely. The producer knows that all the natural sugar present in the grapes is fermented out of the wine. Some wine producers, choose for fermentation in a barrel, a technique that is more difficult to master with sparkling wine.
AssemblageThe art of blending. Still wines combined with some reserve wines to create the base wine for Champagne. The assemblage starts in the early spring, about 5 months after the harvest.
A mixture of yeast added to the wine in the second yeasting, the wine is put in a thick glass bottle and sealed with a bottle cap. All the wine bottles are placed in a cool cellar to ferment slowly to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Now the most important part: the carbon dioxide cannot escape from the bottle and solves in the bottle; you will get the sparkling because of the carbon dioxide.
The fermentation proceeds, yeast cells die and after several months, the fermentation process is complete. The Champagne continues to age in the cellars for several more years resulting in a unique character. During this important aging period makes the time is important for the taste for a complex and nice flavour into the Champagne. The best and most expensive Champagne is aged for five years or more.
After the aging process is completed, the dead yeast cells are going to be removed. The Champagne bottle is placed upside down in a holder with a 75-degree angle. Each day, the riddler gives the bottle a 1/8th of a turn whilst keeping it upside down. This procedure forces the dead yeast cells float into the bottleneck where they are subsequently removed.
Nice to know: Madame Veuve Cliquot is the inventor of the bottle rack in which the bottles are put downwards.
The disgorgement is the final step in the production of Champagne. The Champagne bottle is kept upside down while the neck is frozen in an ice-salt bath. This procedure results in the formation of a plug of frozen wine containing the dead yeast cells. Finally, the bottle cap is removed and the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas in the bottle forces the plug of frozen wine out and leaving behind clear Champagne. By doing this process of disgorging, a little bit of wine gets spilled out of the bottle.
A mixture of white wine, brandy and sugar liqueur de tirage is added adjust the sweetness level of the wine. This procedure decides whether the Champagne will be Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Semi Dry or Doux.
The bottle is corked and the cork is wired down to secure the high internal pressure of the carbon dioxide in the Champagne.
With Cuvée Lauk Champagne trips we want to focus on the smaller independent producers of champagne. These smaller producers make their name with champagnes with an identity with a lot of character and qualiity.
The selection of grande maisons and the best domaines show their diversity in philosophy, style and taste. Which is a treasure for us, the champagne lover.
We are not just tasting the champagnes but we also meet and talk with the people behind these magnificent champagnes.
