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 month
The Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, formerly known as the Avenue de la Folie (“crazy avenue”), extends for nearly a kilometrer, lined on both sides by magnificent private dwellings lovingly constructed by the Champagne Houses, some as Head Offices, others as the private homes of proprietors. But the real glory of this avenue lies in the treasure trove of Champagne bottles beneath the surface – some 200 million bottles in all, slumbering quietly in the avenue’s 110 kilometre network of cellars.
The House of Duval-Leroy was born in 1859 when a merchant called Armand-Edouard Leroy joined forces with a winegrower called Jules Duval. It became a family business when Duval’s son married Leroy’s daughter. Their descendants Carol Duval-Leroy and her three sons now steer the House’s fortunes.
The Champagne Houses
