1.
Planting
Period: March to April
The vine, Vitis Vinifera, is a shrub that is grown for its fruit, the grape.
Planting a trellis requires knowing (soil, subsoil, exposure, etc.) and arranging your soil in order to plant the most favorable variety for your space.
In Champagne, only 7 varieties can be grown, the best known are Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
2.
Pruning
Period: November to end of March
The vine is a liana. It must be pruned to produce more fruit than wood.
Pruning consists of removing the antlers of or years previous ones and to prepare the future harvest by guiding the vine stock.
Pruning also helps control the harvest.
3.
Binding
Period: February to April
Tying is done after pruning. This allows the vine to be guided by binding it to a binding thread. Thanks to binding, the vine can grow in order to aerate its young shoots.
4.
Disbudding
Period: End of April; beginning of May to end of May
Disbudding is the first task carried out on the vine following its bud break. It eliminates unwanted buds that could affect the quality of the harvest
5.
Lifting
Period: End of May to End of June
Lifting is an operation that consists of assisting the shoots of the vine with two wires trellisers. The wires keep the vegetation straight towards the sky which would tend to lie down with the weight of the leaves and the inflorescences.
We talk about lifting and lifting because this is repeated several times in the season.
6.
Trellising
Period: June to July
Trellising is a Champagne practice. This task allows you to place, guide and aerate the fruiting zone.
Trellising limits phytosanitary treatments. Indeed, good exposure to the sun and natural ventilation limit the proliferation of fungi.
7.
Topping - Trimming
Period: June to September
Topping refers to the action of cutting the shoots to limit their development. The topping is carried out only on the top of the foliage.
Trimming also shears the faces following the growth of the inter-cores.
Topping and trimming are carried out by straddle or manually by shears.
8.
Phytosanitary treatments
Period: May to August
The vine, like all other fruit trees, is the victim of attack by microscopic but also macroscopic species (fungi, larvae, mites, etc.).
Phytosanitary treatments make it possible to limit their development and protect the future harvest but also the integrity of the stock.
9.
Ground work
Period: April to November
Grass, but above all its mistress, is today an important issue for Champagne viticulture. In fact, by reducing the use of herbicides, we are bringing out old tools.
Plows, hoes, crovers crops, mowers, ... have a bright future ahead of them.
10.
Vintage
Period: August - September - October
The grapes reach maturity, following analyses, the Champagne Committee sets harvest bans for the village.
The harvest is a crucial period for winegrowers, harvesting too early or too late could harm future champagnes.
The harvest is done manually, our French team is always there to help us.
11.
Pressing
Period: Harvest
The pressing takes place during the harvest thanks to pneumatic presses available in the village cooperative.
The pressing unit is the marc. A marc designates the pressing of 4000kg which gives 20.5hl of Cuvée and 5hl of Size. The pressing must be gentle to obtain white juice from red grapes.
12.
Fermentation
Period: September to December
During this period the wine is in vats. There are two possible fermentations: alcoholic and malolactic. The alcoholic fermentation is the first to be carried out. Following the harvest, the grapes have a sugar content of approximately 170g.L. The principle is to add yeast, Saccharomyces cereviseae, which transforms sugar into alcohol, 17g for 1% vol.
The second fermentation deacidifies the wine. The addition of lactic acid bacteria transforms malic acid into lactic acid.
13.
Assembly
Period: from December
The assembly is the birth of champagne by marrying diversified clear wines from different plots, from different crus.
This principle has been handed down to us by Abbé Dom Perignon since the 18th century.
It is from the blend that we choose to create wines without years and/or vintages.
14.
Draw - Bottling
Period: from January
In the beginning, champagne is a non-sparkling white wine. To become sparkling, it requires a new alcoholic fermentation in the bottle.
To do this, we create and add a liqueur de liqueur to the still wines. In the liqueur, sugars, fermentation yeasts and clay are mixed.
Everything is bottled then corked with a widget and a capsule stainless steel.
15.
Aging
Period: from January
Aging is regulated in champagne, we also speak of maturation on lees. For a champagne without a year, it requires aging for a minimum of 15 months and for a vintage, a minimum of 36 months. Its aging is done horizontally, said on slats, stacked bottles on bottles.
During the first weeks, the yeasts consume the sugar, while dying it releases carbon dioxide which gives the effervescence to the champagne.
16.
Disgorging
Before marketing the champagne, it must be filtered of these impurities from the second alcoholic fermentation. To do this, you have to stir the wine. From its lying position, it will be stirred and positioned vertically, the neck down. The clay makes it possible to fix the highly volatile lees.
The disgorging will allow the elimination of the lees.
We disgorge on the fly thanks to the natural effervescence of champagne.
After it has been opened, an expedition liqueur is added which will lighten the acidity of the wine, then it is closed with a cork stopper and a muzzle.
17.
dressing
The dressing is the clothing of the bottle. Above, we indicate the different cuvées, the dosage and the mandatory indications.
18.
Tasting - Sharing Emotions
The purpose of a winegrower is to taste his product. Champagne is the DNA of its producer, giving everyone a special emotion.
Always have a bottle of Champagne chilled to celebrate a special occasion. Sometimes the special occasion is when you have a bottle of champagne chilled.
