Champagne is made using the double fermentation process in the Champagne region of France. It involves harvesting grapes and pressing them to extract juice, conducting an initial fermentation to make a neutral wine, blending wines from different vineyards and vintages, bottling it with sugar to undergo a second fermentation that produces bubbles, and aging it on the yeast sediments to develop flavor before disgorging and finishing. The process is strictly regulated and results in a celebratory sparkling wine known for sophistication.

2.  Champagne is the ultimate celebratory drink. It is used to toast
newlyweds, applaud achievements, and acknowledge milestones.
A large part of its appeal is due to the bubbles that spill forth
when the bottle is uncorked. These bubbles are caused by tiny
drops of liquid disturbed by the escaping carbon dioxide or
carbonic acid gas that is a natural by-product of the double
fermentation process unique to champagne.
 Today, fine champagne is considered a mark of sophistication.
But this was not always so. Initially, wine connoisseurs were
disdainful of the sparkling wine. Furthermore in 1688, Dom
Perignon, the French monk whose name is synonymous with the
best vintages, worked very hard to reduce the bubbles from the
white wine he produced as Cellarer of the Benedictine Abbey of
Haut-Villers in France's Champagne region. Ironically, his efforts
were hampered by his preference for fermenting wine in bottles
instead of casks, since bottling adds to the build-up of carbonic
acid gas.

3. Harvesting
 Harvest in Champagne generally occurs around mid October.
Although 8 varietals are permitted in the production of
Champagne, the most widely used are: Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay.
 Generally, the Pinot Meunier is the first varietal to be harvested,
followed by Chardonnay and then Pinot Noir. Grapes will be hand
harvested in order to ensure that the grapes are brought in clean
and undamaged.
Beautiful Chardonnay grapes at harvest

4. Pressing
 Grapes will be pressed as soon as possible, especially with Pinot
Noir and Pinot Meunier, as skin contact with these dark skinned
varietals will soon begin to taint the juice if left on the skins.
 A traditional basket press often used, the idea being to extract
the juice slowly and methodically. Two pressings are utilized
here. The first press is called the “cuvee” which is considered
the finer, more high quality juice. The second pressing is called
the “tailles” (or tails) and considered of lesser quality.
Appellation regulations strictly regulate the volume of juice
from each pressing that can included in the final product. As an
example, if 100 hectoliters of Champagne were to be produced,
Champagne A.O.C. stipulates that 80 hectoliters would need to
be from the first “cuvee” press and 20 hecotliters from the
second or “tailles” press.

5. Immediate and gentle pressing of the grapes

6. First Fermentation
 Next, the first of two fermentations takes place. A key factor in
this first fermentation is that it be relatively quick and warm.
The emphasis here is to produce a relatively neutral wine that is
high in acidity. Why a neutral wine? Because the formation of
fruity esters will interfere with the flavor and autolytic
development that will largely occur during the secondary
fermentation and ageing process.
 A second fermentation and extended lees ageing requires that
such a wine have the acidic structure to engage such a process.
Most often this first fermentation takes place in stainless steel,
and most do not go through malolactic fermentation.
 However some producers will use a combination of wood and
stainless steel in this first fermentation. Bruno Michel, Tarlant
and Bollinger are such examples. At the other end of the
spectrum, Krug and Alfred Gratien vinify entirely in wood
barrels.

7. Primary fermentation at Tarlant

8. Blending
 The blending process in Champagne is what sets this region
apart from just about any other wine producing region in the
world. Whereas most wine regions produce a new vintage of a
particular wine every year, the Champenoise are master
blenders.
 Although in a good year many domains will produce a vintage
champagne, the Champenoise pride themselves on their
masterful skills of blending multiple vintages to create a
signature “house style”. Perhaps the epitome of this artful skill
is evidenced in the wines of Krug, where up to 7 different
vintages are blended to create their multi-vintage
cuvee. Maintaining a supply of multiple vintages of reserve
wine in stock to blend in with newer vintages also implies
holding back stock, which in turn adds to the cost of producing
Champagne.

9. Second Fermentation
 Once a blend has been created, a mixture of still wine,
sugar and yeast will be added to the blended wine. This
mixture is known as the “liqueur de triage”.
 The wine is then bottled with a crown cap (think beer) and
left to begin a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Here,
active yeast will begin consuming the available sugar,
resulting in the anaerobic production of alcohol within this
sealed bottle. A by-product of this fermentation is carbon
dioxide, which if not allowed to escape into the
atmosphere, results C02 which is dissolved into the wine
a.k.a., bubbles! This second fermentation generally takes
between 4-8 weeks.

10. Cuvee Maxime undergoing extended lees ageing

11. Lees Ageing
 Following the completion of the secondary fermentation,
the wine will then begin a period of ageing in bottle where
the wine will interact with the dead yeast cells (lees) and
which will greatly influence the flavor and texture of the
finished champagne.
 This process is known as “autolysis”. Flavor characteristics
relative to this bio-chemical process include nuances of
baked bread, roasted nuts, and salty cheese.
 Chardonnay in particular is a varietal that benefits greatly
from this lengthy autolytic ageing process. By law, non-
vintage Champagne must age a minimum of 15 months on
their lees, although most age between 18-24 months.
Tarlant’s NV Cuvee Louis spends an incredible seven years
on the lees.

12. Remuage, a process invented by the Veuve Cliquot in the early 19th century

13. Remuage/Riddling
 Once the champagne has completed its extended lees ageing and
is ready to be bottled it will go through a process known as
“remuage”. This procedure is aimed at loosening the dead yeast
cells and sediment that has formed at the bottom of the bottle,
and slowly moving it towards the neck of the bottle which it will
be removed or disgorged.
 This process must be done methodically and over time so as not
to disrupt the champagne in bottle. Remuage can either be done
by hand, by slowly turning the bottle a bit every day till it is
vertically upside down, or done automatically by machine. By
hand the process can take 2 months, by machine or gyro-palette
the entire process can be accomplished in about 1 week.
 Once the wines are positioned vertically upsided down with the
yeast in the neck of the bottle the champagne is ready to be
disgorged.

14. Disgorgement
 This process involves removing the dead yeast/sediment
in the neck of the bottle. Most often this is achieved by
submerging the neck of the champagne bottle into a cold
brine, thus quickly freezing the dead yeast matter that has
collected in the neck. Once the crown cap is removed,
pressure from the dissolved Co2 expediently pushes out
this yeast plug, and voila, the champagne has been
disgorged.

15. Dosage
 Before the champagne is re-corked, a measured amount of
champagne and cane sugar will be added to the finished
wine. This is known as the “liqueur d’expedition”. The
amount of this mixture, known as “dosage” will in effect
determine the final sweetness level and style of champagne.
In certain instances, no liqueur d’expedition will be added,
resulting in a wine with zero dosage. Brut style champagnes
are next on the dryness level with residual sugar falling
between 5-15 grams per liter. Brut champagnes are amongst
the most popular style of Champagne in the United States..

16. Re-corking
 We are now in the home stretch! The fermented, blended,
fermented, aged, riddled, disgorged and dosaged sparking
wine is finally ready to be bottled and manipulated for the
last time. After a cork is inserted, a protective wire cap is
placed over the bottle to help secure the cork and bottle.
 The wine is then shaken vigorously, in order to help
integrate the wine with the liqueur d’expedition.
 The finished wine will now rest anywhere from several
weeks to several months (and in some cases longer) before
it is sent out into the big bad world of wine shops,
restaurants and connoisseurs.

17. Voila! The finished product at Leclerc Briant

21.  The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and
garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the
martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic
beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American
invention as perfect as the sonnet“.

22.  The traditional method of preparation is to pour gin
and dry vermouth into a mixing glass with ice cubes,
stir, strain into chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a
green olive or a twist of lemon peel.
Commonly used ingredients
 55ml (11 parts) gin
 15ml (3 parts) dry vermouth
Preparation
 Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well.
Strain in chilled martini cocktail glass. Squeeze oil from lemon
peel onto the drink, or garnish with olive. (On the rocks: Pour all
ingredients over ice cubes in old-fashioned glass, garnish as
above and serve.)

23.  Tonic And Tequila is a non-standard highball beverage
also known as a TnT, Teqtonic, or Equalizer, when
accompanying Moonshine. The drink is made with a 2:1
ratio of Tonic water to Tequila and is served with lemon
or lime wedges on ice.
Ingredients
 Tequila: 6 cl
 Tonic: 12 cl
 2 Lime or lemon wedges
 Ice, depending on the desired temperature of the drink.

24. A Bloody Mary garnished with lemon, carrot, celery, and pitted
manzanilla olives

25. This fruity, blended Piña Colada
is typical of many rum-based
cocktails.