Champagne – important wine

Appellation d’Origine – Appellation.
The Champagne is the northernmost and one of the most important wine regions of France, because it produces the sparkling wine of the same name (white or pink), prepared by the traditional method in the region.

This town is situated about 200 km from Paris, are 34,000 hectares, of which 31 000 are cultivated. The wines must comply with conditions laid down for entitlement to designation of origin, such as:

• come from grapes of the varieties Pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay,
• make its second fermentation (using the methode Champenoise), ie the foam has to occur within the same bottle in the second fermentation.

Sparkling wines produced elsewhere, may look and taste similar, where everything depends on the taste palate, but can not be called Champagne.
Of the varieties covered by the appellation of origin is best known Italian prosecco.
Now regardless of the designation of origin, this variety of wine is known or called mousseux, and there are very good products from the Napa Valley in California, Alsace in France, cava from Spain, southern Germany, Hungary as well as Argentina and Chile.

The champagne must be eaten when it goes on sale, but loses its freshness, with the passage of time. In recent years the region of Champagne has been marketed in a year an average of 245 million bottles, with Great Britain and Germany excellence importing countries, followed by USA, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and others.

Terroir – The quality of the land
The quality of the land of the region is what gives their crops these qualities so special but the best of Champagne is to ripen their grapes to an average temperature of 10 º C, because with a grade below the grapes would not develop and complete their maturation cycle. The cold weather, balanced with the softness Atlantic continental, with a constant relative humidity and maintained, are determining factors in the finesse of these wines .

Most champagne is made from a blend of wines from different vineyards , the two basic varieties of Champagne are Pinot noir and chardonnay, these are added to the quality wines of pinot meunier, but the champagne, wine ultimate mix, benefits from the joint line of all these grape varieties, since in its preparation should provide the finesse and delicacy of Chardonnay, the fruit and expression of pinot noir, pinot meunier not forget to help him to evolve and mature faster.

We may compare well with champagne as an orchestra, a tutti smooth where they should be present all the instruments in perfect balance.

Elaboration
The development of the champagne starts with the fermentation of wine from each of the three classic varieties mentioned above:

• chardonnay
• pinot noir
• Pinot meunier

It is important that the vintages are healthy and well selected, but the press should be swift and far. With the first press to be obtained, for every 4,000 kilos of grapes about 2050 liters of wine. These correspond to the cuvee 20.5hl two subsequent pressings are those preemitiran get 5 hl (hl) remaining are called premiers and deuxieme tailles.
All this can become champagne grape, but the best brands, use only the cuvee and the premiere.

After resting a few hours, the must is decanted and conduct alcoholic fermentation, the houses of prestige used stainless steel tanks, to carry out the fermentation, which controls the temperature of 17 º C, which ensures the conservation of aromas.

After fermentation, the wines undergo malolactic fermentation, which are rounded and smooth, where the climate of the facility plays an important role in this process of acidification, and eventually the clarification and stabilization in low cold even more acidity.

Arrives and the time of preparation of the cuvee, blending wines from different vineyards, different varieties, and early spring following the harvest is the tirage, where you add the yeast and sugar liquor, which trigger a new fermentation (second) in the bottle, under a pressure of 6 atmospheres, the wines are being muddied as it reaches this level of pressure, which in turn facilitates the fermentation.

Under these optimal conditions of pressure, ideal for the development end of fermentation and yeast autolysis, wine cellars remain under a constant temperature of 10 ° C.

The designation of origin regulation provides that the bottles should be kept at least one year, in rhyme, but this period is exceeded by the most prestigious firms, and calling for an aging their wines far superior.

Some may remain in their silent crib for six years, and the record is established in eight years of cava. The visitation is crucial to its quality, since over the years the champagne assimilates its yeast blends with carbon dioxide and thus develop and create the amino acids that are the source of the best aromas.

Finally the bottles go to the desks where they will be removed to a point, to be turning the bottles, they will decant the deposits in the neck of each one of them. After a point, the bottles remain in the underground cellars until they are slaughtered, thus eliminating the sediments. To fill that little void that occurs when you uncork the bottle, add more of champagne to the type of wine that is desired: brut, extra dry and dry, semi dry or sweet.

The sweet champagne is favored by the czars, the Americans have imposed the fashion of the English prefer dry and brut.
It should be clarified that the champagne enjoys a moderate addition of sugar, but the acidity is lowered with a long period of aging, so the prestige brands need a lower dosage of sugar.

Despite the appellation of origin on the market a large number of champagnes (and other sparkling wines). In particular, champagnes can be white, rose, blanc de blancs (chardonnay obtained from exclusively), blanc de noirs (pinot noir, of meunier, or two), to add or without it, or expedition liqueur liquor or so, yet each meal has its chord in a champagne with different characteristics.

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