Champagne wine comes from the northeastern region of France of the same name. It is the most northerly of the great wine regions and has a marginal climate, exposing it to spring frosts, cold summers and wet autumns.

The resulting grapes are low in sugar, fine in flavor and high in acidity, the ideal material for making sparkling wine. But the scenario is one of massive variations between years, and to overcome this producers blend wines from different years to create non-vintage wines. These wines are the basis of the individual “house style” of Champagne that win fans for one producer or another. Vintage wines, the norm in other wine producing regions, are produced in great years only in Champagne.

History

In the 16th and early 17th century, the wines of Champagne became popular in England after having long been so at the French Court. The difference was that in England the wines were sparkling.

The wines were shipped as still wines to Britain and in the cellars of merchants there they were bottled and became sparkling. Until recently people thought that Champagne’s sparkling character was all a fortuitous accident. The latest thinking, however, is that the merchants knew exactly what they were doing and added sugar or molasses to the still wines to provoke a second fermentation.

Most winemaking in Champagne at this time was controlled by the monasteries, who initially seem to have been uninterested in what was going on in Britain. Eventually, winemakers such as Dom Perignon and Frère Oudart turned their attention to making sparkling wines, which became wildly popular in France, too.

The French Revolution changed everything. The monasteries were abolished and their former vineyards were purchased by the rising merchant class. The vignerons in the villages may have secured the odd plot, but were too impoverished to buy up much more than this.

Merchants such as Clicquot, Moët, Heidsiek et al (many of them neither local nor French), set about opening foreign markets. Champagne became a great export commodity. Their job was complicated by the Napoleonic wars, but this was a confident and dynamic era for France and her culture and wines reigned supreme.

Under the dynamic merchant houses, a new era of mass production of high quality wines dawned. This was made possible by technical advances, notably at the house of Clicquot, which was then under the management of the young widow, Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin (whose husband had opened up the important Russian market).

Small bubbles and star-bright wines were her obsession. Her team perfected remuage, riddling the bottles (turning them by hand to allow yeast to collect at the neck of the bottle), which was carried out prior to the wine’s degorgement, (the process of blasting out the sediments created in the second fermentation in the bottle). Legend has it, the Widow Clicquot had holes drilled in her kitchen table to accommodate bottles, thus making the first remuage palette.

In the 19th century the houses controlled the Champagne trade completely, and made huge fortunes, little of which it has to be said filtered through to the villages. Although these were the glory days of Champagne, a store of resentment was built up which would explode in the Champagne riots at the beginning of the 20th century and in “grower power” at the end.

In the 20th century the houses’ grip loosened due to the collapse of export markets in the U.S., Russia and Germany in the 20s and 30s. The market became largely domestic, so houses were no longer the vital middlemen in an international trade, merely the established producers. Times were tough, grapes went unsold or were sold for rock bottom prices. Growers, co-ops and a new breed of less quality-focused merchants set about supplying the French domestic market.

All the same, a few new quality houses, such as Taittinger, Laurent-Perrier and Salon, carved out their niches, and firms such as Pol Roger, Krug and Bollinger managed to thrive by remaining focused on supplying top quality wines to the remaining export markets.

Matters did improve through the 50s, 60s and 70s, but it was in the 80s when Champagne found herself again – or rather, the export market, in particular the UK, rediscovered Champagne in a big way.

Things have not run smoothly since, the growers drove the price of grapes up to an unsupportable price just when the world economy took a dive in the early 90s, thus visiting financial problems on the houses. The run up to the millennium was good for Champagne, but the actual event passed as a bit of an anti-climax.

The Vines

Black grapes make up some 75% of the total vines planted for Champagne. A still white wine is made from these by quickly pressing the grapes so that no color comes through from the skins. The three grape varieties used in Champagne are:

Chardonnay: This gives finesse, elegance, lift and acidity to the blend. It is the sole constituent in Blanc de Blancs Champagne.

Pinot Noir: Gives body, strength of flavor and richness that is the essence of Champagne. It is planted throughout the region.

Pinot Meunier: Easy to grow, it is less prone to spring frost damage than Pinot Noir and displays an easy fruitiness that is welcome in early drinking non-vintage blends. It doesn't as a rule age well.

Information on the Region

The four main sub-regions of Champagne are:

Montagne de Reims: The hill between Reims and Epernay is the main pinot noir area, (with some chardonnay, mainly on east facing slopes, and some pinot meunier on northern slopes). The top villages are Aÿ and Verzy (classic), Verzenay (vinious), and Bouzy and Ambonnay (powerful).

Côte des Blancs: The east-facing slope south of Epernay is the finest area for chardonnay. The top villages are Cramant and Avize (classic), and Oger and Mesnil sur Oger (more mineral).

Vallée de la Marne: Runs west of Epernay towards Paris and planted mainly with pinot meunier and in the vineyards around Reims.

The Aube: Nearly 100 miles south of the main vineyards, the Aube is mostly planted with pinot noir (plus some good, if over-ripe chardonnay).

The Towns and Villages of Champagne

Reims, the heart of the Champagne trade, is the base for most of our tours and home to many of the great names in Champagne: Roederer, Krug, Pommery and Taittinger. It was important in the later Roman Empire, as evidenced by a triumphal arch, forum and stone quarries (or crayères), which are used as cellars by Champagne houses.

The magnificent 13^th-century Gothic Cathedral at Reims has gargoyles, statues, including “the Smiling Angel,” and stained glass windows, including some by Marc Chagall. The early Frankish kings were all crowned here and the kings of France continued this tradition. Reims was badly damaged in the First World War, but thankfully, two of the most beautiful buildings, the Cathedral and the Palais de Vergeur, remain. The rebuilding gave rise to many fine buildings with art nouveau touches. The villages were drab, dowdy places until recently, but lately are looking cheerful, even pretty.

Grand Cru Villages: The Champagne vineyards are subject to a rating system, with scores allocated accordingly. The vineyards of the top villages are given Grand Cru ranking, meaning their wines have scored a perfect 100%. Grand Cru villages produce wines with perfect, interesting or particular flavors.

Premier Cru Villages: Villages with a score of 90 - 99%. The best Premier Crus are of Grand Cru quality, others are just slightly less interesting or more “particular” than the Grand Crus. Individual vineyards in Premier Cru Villages can be of Grand Cru quality.

Glossary

Brut: A dry wine, with only a low “dosage” of sugar before being released on the market.

Ultra Brut, Brut Integrale, Brut Zero: Champagne with no dosage. Unless the wine is old vintage it will probably seem very dry and acidic.

Sec: A medium dry wine (rarely seen).

Demi-Sec: A medium-sweet wine.

Non-Vintage: The vast majority of Champagne, created from grapes grown in a number of years. The majority of the grapes will have come from a harvest about three years before the Champagne was released on the market.

Blanc de Blancs: A white wine made solely from white grapes, in this case chardonnay.

Blanc de Noirs: A white wine made from 100% black grapes, i.e. pinots noir and meunier.

Vintage: A superior quality wine made from a single year’s harvest. None of the blending or winemaking techniques that make Non-Vintage drinkable at a young age have been used. The Vintage has almost certainly been made from superior grapes, with high natural acidity.

Cuvée de Prestige: A notional title given to the best wines of the producer. They are normally special vintage wines, perhaps from an older vintage than the current one. They may be a blend of vintages or occasionally they are from single vineyards.

Côteaux Champenoise: Still wine made from Champagne grapes. The whites are acidic and fresh. The reds, Bouzy Rouge, Aÿ, Ambonnay, Cumières Rouge etc are made from pinot noir that could have gone into Vintage Champagne. The best are medium bodied, with a penetrating aroma and good length. All are expensive, about the same price as a village wine from Burgundy.

Rosé: A dry wine made by either the addition of a small amount of red wine or by allowing the wine contact with red grape skins.

Champagne Houses: The majority of Champagne is made by the large producers or “Houses” that buy grapes or wine from growers and co-operatives. Quality ranges from “average” to “great.”

Grower-Producers: The minority of growers who make their own Champagnes, some are serious domaines of several generations standing.

Co-operatives: The powerful growers’ co-operatives market their own brands and supply their own label wines to supermarkets and wine merchants.

We have happily dealt with growers and houses alike, and have found warm welcomes and fine wine at both. Indeed, the difference is becoming blurred, with some growers we visit having already crossed the line into becoming small houses. Some major houses have also become self- sufficient in grapes, or have started producing single-village or single-vineyard Champagnes. In our view this diversity enriches the area, making it an even more interesting place to tour.