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
In 1889 a giant barrel was raised from its resting place in the Maison Mercier cellars and transported to the Paris World Fair. The Foudre Mercier held the equivalent of 200,000 bottles (or 800 standard-size barrels) and weighed a hefty 20,000 kilos. Twelve pairs of oxen, helped by a team of 18 horses, were required to haul the barrel from Epernay to Paris where it arrived eight days later. Mercier’s masterpiece of barrel-making won second prize, second only to the Eiffel Tower, and now stands in splendour in the reception area of the Mercier cellars.
Founded in 1757, Champagne Henri Abelé is one of the oldest Champagne Houses. In 1880 Henri Marie Joseph Louis Abelé (1852-1923) moved the business to the Rue de la Justice in Reims. In 1882, he played a part in the founding of the Syndicat du Commerce des Vins de Champagne (now the Union of Champagne Houses). The House relocated to 50 rue de la Sillery after the bombing of Reims in World War I and was acquired in 2019 by the Centre Vinicole–Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte.
The Champagne Houses
