FROM VINES TO PLEASURE

From planting vinestocks to collecting grape juice

 

2. The harvest

The harvest 1945 to 2004

21 - Everything in its own time
 

      Each grape reaches maturity at a different rate. Therefore, extreme vigilance is required during the development of the grapes in each growing area ("cru"). A team of competent local men (known as 'Matu') has been set up to organise this surveillance. They are voluntary professionals, vine-growers and estate managers from the Houses of Champagne who are responsible for following the maturation of the four hundred and four representative land parcels across the whole Champagne region.
      Twice a week a sample of grapes is taken, weighed, pressed and the juice immediately analysed in order to calculate the total sugar content. This indicates the potential content of alcohol, the level of acidity and the index of grape maturity.

The table below specifies the average characteristics of the must during the last ten harvests in Champagne.

      Depending on the specific situation, each commune suggests an ideal date to harvest the grapes of its vineyard. The Viticultural Champagne Association (AVC) compiles all this data and prepares a provisional timetable for each growth.      An order of the Prefect, using these recommendations, fixes the exact dates authorising the start of the harvest, village by village, depending on the degree of grape maturity. If these time limits are not respected, then the harvest risks losing its "Champagne" appellation. If the harvest is earlier than the specified date it is necessary to get an exemption from the National Institute for Appellation of Origin (INAO). This exemption will only be granted after the parcel has been certified.
      All these stages explain the divergence in starting dates seen between the various areas in the Champagne vineyards. The beginning of the harvest can vary from mid-September to early October.
      Every year the Inter-professional Committee of Wine from Champagne (CIVC) together with the INAO determines the quantity of grapes per hectare that will be entitled to the Champagne appellation (e.g. 12,600kg/ha in 2000).

22 - The picking

Chart of the soils and type of vines

Three grape-varieties are grown in Champagne – Chardonnay, a white grape, and Pinot Noir and Meunier, which are both black grapes. They all have a short growth cycle.

Chardonnay is planted on 27% of the vineyards. It is the favourite grape-variety grown in the Côte des Blancs. The Chardonnay wines are defined by delicate aromas and great freshness, which gives them a long ageing potential. These characteristics provide the particular elegance of Blancs de Blancs Champagnes, and contribute to the subtlety of blended Champagnes.

Pinot Noir represents 38% of the planted surface area and is principally found on the Montagne de Reims and in the Côte des Bar. Their red fruit aromas, strength and a pronounced structure distinguish pinot Noir wines

Meunier accounts for the remaining 35%. This is a rustic grape-variety and can give better quality results than the other grape-varieties during difficult years because it requires less heat to reach a good level of maturity. Meunier wines are quite similar to those obtained from Pinot Noir. Their bouquet is intense and often a bit more fruity. It provides smoothness to the blends.

      Contrary to what you might expect, Pinot Noir and Meunier produce a white wine and account for two-thirds of the sparkling wine of Champagne. Particular care and attention is needed to prevent the purple pigment (which colours the skin) from passing into the must and discolouring it.

		The picking of the grapes is subject to strict procedures. It must be done by hand so that the bunches arrive at the presses intact. Harvesting machines are forbidden. It must take place at one single time to ensure the homogeneity of the juice. Respecting these principles preserves the quality and the specificity of each grape-variety. The more these principles are observed, the more the wines (like those of the Champagne Houses that are produced from several grape-varieties) will form a harmonious and subtle blend..
The harvest at Clos des Goisses de Philipponnat.

The harvest is undertaken by teams of pickers called "hordons" (usually forty people). They enter the vineyards two by two on either side of the rows and cut the bunches with secateurs. The bunches are then placed in small baskets, holding 2 - 3kg. A picker can cut roughly 3,000 bunches per day, which amounts to 300 - 400kg over a period of 12 days. The grape porters then transport the full baskets to the top of the row and delicately place the bunches, which are sorted if necessary, into large wicker or plastic baskets called "mannequins". These baskets can hold 70 - 80kg of grapes. The baskets are dotted with aeration holes to avoid asphyxiation and overheating of the berries, and to encourage any rainwater to drain away.

Once the bunches have been cleaned and labelled (to identify both the origin and the pickers), the unloaders must transport the harvest very carefully to the press. Here, the vine-grower receives the grapes, weighs them and entrusts them to the press personnel.

      It takes three people to harvest one hectare. Altogether almost 90,000 people are involved throughout the process, which can bring its own problems such as housing, food, security etc.