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 monthSeven grape cultivars, or grape varieties, are used to make Champagne wines. Of these the three main varieties are the Pinot Noir (38% of plantings), Pinot Meunier (32%) and the Chardonay (30%). The four other approved cultivars are the Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc – together less than 0.3% of plantings.
In 1785 a young German from Westphalia called Florens-Louis Heidsieck established a trading company in Reims specialising in wool and wine. Very soon however, his newly founded company “Heidsieck & C°” began to focus entirely on the production of Champagne. The House now belongs to the Groupe Vranken-Pommery Monopole.
The Champagne Houses