Union des Maisons de Champagne - Grandes Marques & Maisons de Champagne

Since 1882 the UMC has brought together all of the Grandes Marques brands and Champagne Houses that collectively underpin the worldwide reputation of Champagne wines. This website is specifically designed to teach you everything you need to know about their history and organization, their expertise and their ever-innovative ambitions.

May

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 month

Did you know?

All Champagne wines must spend at least 15 months aging in the bottle before release, rising to three years for vintage wines. In practice, the Champagne Houses cellar their wines for much longer: 2-3 years for non-vintage Champagne, and at least 4-10 years, if not more, for vintage Champagne.

Charles de Cazanove

In 1811, a 24-year old man from a family of master glassblowers established his own Champagne House in Avize, in the heart of Champagne’s Côte des Blancs. His name was Charles-Gabriel de Cazanove but it was his son, Charles Nicolas (born in 1818) who really established the reputation of the Charles de Cazaanove brand.

The Champagne Houses