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
Champagne bottles come in many different sizes, ranging from the classic Champagne bottle (75cl) and the magnum (1.5l) to very large bottles with biblical-sounding names. These include the Jeroboam (3l), the Nebuchadnezzar (15l) and the 30-litre Melchizedec or Midas – the mightiest of them all, standing 1.10m tall and holding the equivalent of 40 standard bottles.
Pol Roger began selling Champagne wines in 1849. Two years later he founded his own Champagne House in Epernay, close to his home village of Aÿ. He was succeeded by his two sons, followed by his grandson Jacques and his wife Odette – who became friends with Winston Churchill, the man behind the name of the brand’s prestige cuvee. In 2020, the company welcomed the sixth generation of the family.
The Champagne Houses
