Champagne is a luxurious sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, produced primarily from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier grapes through a complex fermentation process. The term 'Champagne' is legally protected and refers exclusively to wines from this region, with various types categorized by color, sweetness, and aging. The production involves methods like Methode Champenoise and charmat, resulting in different qualities and flavors, with significant historical associations with luxury and nobility.

1. Champagne
Unit 4

3. • Champagne is a sparkling wine which
originated from the champagne region
of France.
• Actually the word Champagne is
derived from the Latin word
‘Campania’ originally used to describe
the country side just north of Rome.
• Champagne is one of the most
legendry wine regions in France,
indeed the entire world.

6. • Champagne is considered to be the
most luxurious of wines. It is one of
the finest and famous wines of France.
• It’s the wine of love, weddings,
birthdays, festivals etc. Champagne
region is located about 100 miles
northeast of Paris,
• Champagne is a sparkling wine
produced by inducing the in-bottle
secondary fermentation of the wine to
effect carbonation.

10. • The primary grapes used in the
production of Champagne are Pinot
noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
• Through international treaty, national
law or quality-control/consumer
protection related local regulations,
most countries limit the use of the
term to only those wines that come
from the Champagne appellation.
• In Europe, this principle is enshrined
in the European Union by Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO) status.

12. • Other countries, such as the United
States, have recognized the exclusive
nature of this name, yet maintain a
legal structure that allows certain
domestic producers of sparkling wine
to continue to use the term
"champagne" under limited
circumstances.
• The majority of US-produced
sparkling wines do not use the term
"champagne" on their labels and
some states, such as Oregon, ban
producers in their states from using
the term as it can be confusing to
consumers.

13. • Champagne first gained world
renown because of its association
with the anointment of French kings.
• Royalty from throughout Europe
spread the message of the unique
sparkling wine from Champagne and
its association with luxury and power
in the 17th, 18th and 19th century.
• The leading manufacturers devoted
considerable energy to creating a
history and identity for their wine,
associating it and themselves with
nobility and royalty.

14. • Through advertising and packaging
they sought to associate
Champagne with high luxury,
festivities, and rites of passage.
• Their efforts coincided with the
emergence of a middle class that
was looking for ways to spend its
money on symbols of upward
mobility.

15. • Champagne was made in 17th
century by a monk called Dom
Perignon.
• Dom Perignon was born in Jan
1638 at St. Mee houlde and
become a Benedic monk at the
age of 19.
• He was appointed wine master. In
19th century champagne was given
a new name that is ‘sparkling
wine’.

16. • Basically any wine can be made into a sparkling wine by
the addition of carbondioxide under pressure.
• Sparkling wines are usually made from fermentation.
• The already fermented wines are made to ferment by
the addition of yeast and sugar with resulting
carbondioxide trape instead of release.
• A laborious and exacting process which accounts for
the high price of best champagne.

17. • Only three grape varieties can be used to make
champagne.
• CHARDONAY a white variety giving lightness,
elegance and fine.
• The PINOT NOIR (RED) giving the body strength
and fullness of flavor .
• and the PINOT MEUNIER (RED) giving freshness
and youth.
• If champagne is made from the white grapes, it
is called blanc de blance (literally white from
white). If it’s made from red grapes, it’s called
‘Blanc de NOIR’ (literally white from black).

18. • Since almost all the champagne
wines are white in color, skin has to
be removes before fermentation.
• Here the grapes are picked before
maturity because there’s more
acidity that gives refreshing taste
and 1.5 kilos of grapes will produce
1 bottle of champagne.
• Champagne is made from the blend
of 70% red grapes and 30% white
grapes.

19. There are main three districts in champagne region:-
Montagne de Reins
Vall’e de Marne
Cotes de Blancs

20. Types of Champagne
Types of champagne are determined by the color, degree of
sweetness, aging period and alcoholic strength produced
champagne region in France.
1. According to color
Champagne is white and pink in color. White champagne is
made from white grapes and pink from red white or red
grapes.

21. 2.According to the sugar present
 In making of champagne, sugar is added before putting cork. The local
amount of sugar added in the champagne wine decides which type of
champagne it is. Amount of sugar that is present determines the types of
champagne.
Brut: - it’s less dry, 15gm sugar per liter.
Extra Brut: - It’s driest one. Less than 6 gm of sugar per liter.
Extra Sec (Tres Sec): - It means some dryness, a bit sweeter
than Brut. 12-20 gm of sugar per liter.
Sec: - Slight sweetness. It contains 17-35gms of sugar per liter.
Demi sec: - It means sweet 35-50gms of sugar per liter.
Doux: - It means rich or very sweet. More than 50gms of sugar
per liter.

22. 3. Alcoholic strength
When champagne is finally made majority of alcoholic
strength is 12.5% but some have even 2-5%.
4. According to the Aging Period
Vintage: - Aged for maximum 5 years and Minimum 3
years.
Non-vintage: - Aged for maximum 3 years and Minimum
1 year.
Prestige Cuvee: - Aged for 8-9 years.

23. Areas for Production and Climatic Condition
 Champagne has come from the champagne region of
France which is famous for producing “Sparkling Wine.”
 The area is about 62,500 acres and it has 350 villages.
Champagne region is about 100 miles north east of Paris.
The region permitted to call its wine. “Champagne” was
strictly defines by the INAO in 1972.
 The wine grapes like to grow in a temperature area not too
hot nor too cold. It grows poorly if the temperature is below
10°C and up to 32°C.

24. Method of Production
There are four methods of production of champagne.
1. Methode Champenoise/ Traditional Method
2. Transfer Method
3. Charmat Method/ Bulk Method/ Tank Method
4. Carbonation Method i.e Carbonation of Still Wines
by Forcing Carbondioxide in the Wine.

25. Methode Champenoise: -
Process: -
1. Harvesting
2. Pressing and Fermentation
3. Blending
4. Bottling and Corking Secondary Fermentation
5. Remuge
6. Degorgement
7. Dosage
8. Dressing
9. Labeling and Aging

26. 1. Pressing and Fermentation
• Grapes are mashed and pressed to
extract a juice called ‘MUST’. Skin of
red grapes is removed but the skin
of white grape is not removed.
• Fermentation takes place by the
addition of wine yeast to fresh grape
juice to convert the natural sugar in
the grape to ethyl alcohol.
Yeast + Sugar ethyl alcohol + Co₂

29. 2. Blending
• Champagne is always blended before
bottling. In this process wine from
different years are mixed.
• At least 30 different varieties are blended.
Different manufacturers have their own
formula for blending. They taste for the
quality of the wine. When the quality is
correct, then there is the process of
bottling.
• A true champagne is always made from a
blend of wines sometimes from different
growers/ wine makers, often from
different years almost always from more
than one of three specified grape varieties.

31. 3. Bottling and Corking
The wine is then bottled. But before bottling the tasting is
done for the flavors.
Sugar and yeast is added in the wine in the bottle so that
secondary fermentation takes place inside the bottle. This
particular process is called ‘le tirage.’
The bottle is the corked i.e. bottle is closed by the use of
cork.

34. Now the bottles are taken for the storing in cellar
particularly made by chalk.
Temperature is maintained between 10°C to 13°C.
Carbondioxide is produced and it is forces to the wine so the
wine becomes sparkling.
Fine quality champagne when poured in the glass, the
bubbles comes for long time. During this, the bottles are
stored in slanting A-shaped frames called les pupitres with
the bottle necks down so the yeast and the other sediments
collect there.
French law insists that the wine should be allowed to
undergo secondary fermentation for at least a year, but
most firms keep the bottles for three years before remuge.

35. 4. Remuge
All the dead yeast and sediments are collected on
the cork and this should be removes.
To encourage this collection of sediments a process
called remuge occurs which is done by professionals
(remueurs).
They hold/grab the base of the each bottle, giving it
a slight shake and turn. Gradually, this action causes
a plug of sediments to form in the neck of the bottle.
So it can be removed later in the disgorgement
process. This is an immediate process after storage.
Remuge can be done mechanically by large
machines processing over 4,000 bottles at a time.

36. 5. Degorgement
In this process, the sediments which settle on the
neck of the bottle are removed.
For this, a special chemical solution is prepared
which is known as ‘cols brine solution’. The neck of
the bottle is dipped into the solution which helps the
sediments to freeze.
This process involves the freezing of sediments in
the neck of the bottle by dipping the neck of the
bottle into cold brine solution. Then with a quick
motion, an expert removes the cork along with its
plug and the clear wine is left in the bottle.
In this process, small amount of wine goes out which
is regained by ‘Dosage’.

37. 6. Dosage
The lost volume is now made up with additional
is called ‘le dosage’. The amount of sugar in the
dosage determines the relative dryness or
sweetness of the wine.

38. 7. Dressing
After dosage, the wine is quickly corked. A wire
cage called an agraffe or muselet is put over the
cork to hold it in the bottle, and a foil placed
over both. This whole process is called dressing.

39. 8. Labeling and Aging
The bottled champagne is then put into chalk cave
to age. From one to five year of aging is required
depending on the quality of wine but produces
usually exceeds this requirement.

41. Transfer Method: -
• In this method secondary
fermentation is done in bottle.
This method is less expensive than
‘methode champenoise. It is
especially practiced in North
America. Fermented in the bottle
is written in the label of bottle to
make difference between “method
Champenoise” and ‘Transfer
Method.’

42. Charmat Method or Bulk: -
It’s cheap method of wine making and also of
low quality and price.
Here, the wines are put into a pressurized tank
that is specially made up of wood. In that tank,
sugar and yeast is added and secondary
fermentation takes place.
During secondary fermentation, Co₂ is
produced and not allowed to escape but is
forced into the bottle. The wines made from
this method has got good flavor of grapes.

43. Carbonation Method: -
• Carbonation method is the
cheapest method and lower in
quality. It’s the quickest method of
producing sparkling wine. Co₂ gas
is pumped into the bottle of white
wine to make it sparkling wine but
by this method Co₂ remains only
on the top layer of the wine and
escaped out as soon as the cork is
opened. So, the bubbles don’t
remain for a long time after it is
poured.

44. Brand Names of Champagne: -
Champagnes are named after the housed or
shippers and the best known champagnes are:
•Moet et Chandan
•Dam perignan
•Tattitinger
•Pol Rogers
•Piper Hiedsieck
•Veauve Cliquot