Champagne holds its breath until the Saints de Glace (Ice Saints) are safely past (11, 12, 13 May), dreading a spring freeze that might destroy the future harvest’s fruitful buds.
Desuckering removes the non-fruitful buds (suckers or gourmands). Any unwanted growth is removed to optimise sugar concentration and encourage good sap flow.
The Champagne month by monthSeven grape cultivars, or grape varieties, are used to make Champagne wines. Of these the three main varieties are the Pinot Noir (38% of plantings), Pinot Meunier (32%) and the Chardonay (30%). The four other approved cultivars are the Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc – together less than 0.3% of plantings.
In 1668 a Benedictine monk called Dom Pérignon (1638-1715) was appointed cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers in Epernay. It was his ambition to create “the best wine in the world” and his exact contemporary, the Sun King, was particularly delighted with the results. Three centuries later, the House of Dom Pérignon perpetuates the talents of a visionary craftsman.
The Champagne Houses