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
Such has been the success of Champagne wines that by the early nineteenth century the Champagne name was being misused by producers of sparkling wines from other French regions. In 1844 the Champagne Houses responded by taking joint action in the courts to restrict use of the name to a particular production process specific to the Champagne Region. The Appellation is now officially recognized and protected in 122 countries around the world.
This House dates back to the Second French Empire and was founded by Eugène Mercier, then just turned 20, who was nothing if not creative when it came to promoting his new venture. With the help of the Lumière Brothers, he made the first publicity film about Champagne for the 1889 Paris World Fair. The House is now part of LVMH.
The Champagne Houses
