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.
For five generations, the village of Aÿ has been home to successive generations of the Philipponnat family. First they were growers and purveyors of wine to the court of Louis XIV. Then they became Champagne producers. In 1997 Philipponnat joined the Lanson-BCC group of family-driven Champagne brands.
The Champagne Houses