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 monthEvery year on 22 January, Champagne celebrates the feast of St Vincent, patron saint of winegrowers. Fancy-dress parades, banquets, church services and traditional ceremonies are held to give thanks for the previous year’s harvest and to invoke the saint’s protection for activities in the coming year.
Champagne House Besserat de Bellefon was established in 1843 and sailed through the 20th century gracing the best tables in France, from swinging Parisian cabarets to the frenzied nightclubs of ’sixties St Tropez. The House’s slogan says it all: “Choisir l’élégance de la vie dans la simplicité de sa beauté, c’est être libre selon BB” (to choose the elegance and beauty of simple living means to be free BB style).
The Champagne Houses