Tasting of the vins clairs (still wines) is in full swing
The cellar masters and their teams taste the vins clairs from the previous harvest, tank by tank and barrel by barrel. This is skilled work that requires a memory of every wine with an eye to the eventual blend.
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.
The Mumm family are descendants of the German nobility and have been growing vines since the 18th century. In 1852, Georges Hermann Mumm, son of one of the founders, took the reins of the company and named it after himself, G H Mumm. In 1876 he also came up with the idea of decorating the bottles with the distinctive red ribbon of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian award. The House now belongs to the Pernod-Ricard Group.
The Champagne Houses
