Higher temperatures and light intensity trigger the sap to flow anew in the vine. The first buds emerge, covered with a downy coating called bourre, then swell and eventually flower. Bud-burst has arrived!
The year’s fruit-bearing canes are tied up by hand to regulate the growth of the vine.
The Champagne month by month
With a little over 34,000 hectares of vines, the Champagne AOC represents just 4% of France’s total vineyard area, or 0.5% of world vineyard acreage. It is nevertheless the top producer in terms of turnover.
In 1932 Parisian politician Pierre Taittinger acquired Chateau de la Marquetterie, the stately home where he had been billeted as a young officer in World War I. Two years later he also purchased one of Champagne’s oldest Champagne Houses, Forest Fourneaux. The foundations were now laid for an adventure in wine that is pursued today by the fourth-generation scion.
The Champagne Houses
