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 monthWith a little over 34,000 hectares of vines, the Champagne AOC represents just 4% of France’s total vineyard area, or 0.5% of world vineyard acreage. It is nevertheless the top producer in terms of turnover.
In 1837 Henri-Marc de Venoge emigrated from his native Switzerland to Champagne and established “de Venoge & Cie” with his son Joseph. He adopted the Cordon Bleu as the House’s emblem to represents the Venoge River and also the Order of the Holy Spirit, the most famous French order of chivalry.
The Champagne Houses