How Champagne is Made

Dom Perignon

Dom Perignon is regarded as the inventor of Champagne. He was a Benedictine monk who, in 1688, became the cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvilliers.

In Champagne the growing season for grapes was short, and as a result, the fermentation was incomplete, and restarted in the bottles the following spring. This produced bubbles of carbon dioxide which often caused the bottles to explode! Dom Perignon, was brought in to rid the wine of these bubbles, which at the time, were seen as poor winemaking.

He was never able to get rid of the bubbles, but he did manage to create a type of white wine that stood up well to the bubbles. It was well received by French royalty, and demand for the wines of Champagne soared!

In 1936 Moet & Chandon introduced the famous champagne that bears his name.

Preparing the Grapes

Harvest takes place in October, and is done by hand. Champagne is made from a blend of both red and white grapes. Pressing takes place as close to the vineyard as possible, and the grapes are pressed up to five times. The first two or three pressings are very light and rapid, and the juice that comes from these first pressings is known as cuvée. This is used to make Champagne. Juice for the remaining pressings are never used for Champagne. The cuvée then has the impurities removed, such as the pips and other solids, this is called débourbage.

First Fermentation

After the cuvée has been prepared, sugar and yeast are added to it. It is then placed in thick walled glass bottles and it is sealed with a bottle cap. Malolactic fermentation also occurs which helps reduce the acidity. However, the resulting wine will be very acidic, dry, and low in alcohol. This first fermentation takes around a month.

Blending (Assemblage)

Blending or Assemblage is highly skilled and very painstaking, it is carried out by the head winemaker and his assistants in the early months of the year. The idea is to produce a consistent style. With non vintage (NV) champagnes, reserve wine is used to add a richness and complexity to the Champagne being produced. Up to ten different vintages can be used. The bended cuvée is filtered and then fermented again.

Second Fermentation

For the secondary fermentation the blended cuvée is rebottled and capped. The fermentation started by adding Liqueur de Tirage, or bottling liquor, which is sugar, yeast and a clarifying agent. The amount of sugar added depends on how bubbly the final Champagne needs to be. This process is called Methode Champenoise, and it can take between two weeks or three months.

Remuage

Remuage is done to remove the sediment from the bottle. The bottles are stored in racks where the bottle can be gradually tilted allowing the lees to collect in the neck of the bottle. Done by hand this takes eight weeks, but machinary can do it in eight days!

Ageing

Champagne law requires that the bottles be cellared for a minimum of 15 months for non-vintage, or 3 years for vintage. Although some houses use double this time to achieve a richer and yeastier complexity.

Disengourgement

Disengourgement is the removal of the yeasty sediment, the 'lees'. To do this the bottle neck is immersed in a bath of freezing brine solution. Sediments are half frozen, this allows the bottle to be turned upright without disturbing them. When the crown cap is removed, the plug of sediment is expelled due to the pressure in the bottle. This is still done by hand in a few houses, since an experienced degourger can smell any bad aromas from a bad bottle.

Liqueur d'Expedition

Liqueur d'Expedition or Dosage as it is more commonly known is used to top up the Champagne bottles. This is a mixture of white wine, brandy, and sugar. The sugar helps sweeten it and balance out the acid, the younger the Champagne the more acidic it will be, therefore it requires more sugar.

Corking

You might think that the corks for champagne were made in their shape, however they were actually more like a fatter version of a normal cork. The corks are inserted halfway, and a metal cap is put on them. The distinctive top comes form a pulverising blow to secure the cork in place. A wire muzzel is used to secure the cork, and the bottle is shaken to allow the Champagne and the Dosage to mix, the best producers let them settle for a few months.

Return to the Wine Guide Contents
A brief history of Wine | Growing Vines and Grapes | Harvesting | Making Red Wine | Making White Wine | Making Rosé Wine | Making Champagne | To Oak or not to Oak? | From Fermentation to Bottle