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 monthIn 2003, Champagne was the first wine-growing region in the world to conduct a carbon footprint assessment – proof of the industry’s early commitment to tackle climate change.
Since then, 50 grams have been shaved off the weight of each Champagne bottle – equivalent to an emissions reduction of 8,000 tonnes CO2 a year, or 4,000 fewer vehicles on the road.
Genial personality, German-born Florens-Louis Heidsieck first discovered Champagne and its wines in 1777. Eight years later he founded his own Champagne House, with none other than Queen Marie-Antoinette as his first brand ambassador. In 1815 he was joined by his nephew Christian and Henri-Guillaume Piper, who married Christian’s widow following her husband’s untimely death in 1835. And with that, Piper and Heidsieck were forever joined together.
The Champagne Houses