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 monthLouis Roederer Cristal Champagne was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Fearing assassination, the Tsar ordered that the bottle be made of clear glass (so he could detect any poison or “foreign bodies” lurking within), with a flat bottom to expose any bombs hidden in the punt.
Edmond Cheurlin planted his first vines in 1898 in Celles-sur-Ource on the Côte des Bar. Veuve Cheurlin was established by his grandson Alain in the following century (1978). Ten years later he took command of Jean Arnoult, the oldest Champagne House in the Aube region (1919), owned by his wife Chantal Sandrin.
The Champagne Houses