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 monthIt is a myth that putting a teaspoon in an open bottle of Champagne will keep it sparkling. What does work is a sparkling wine stopper – a specialized reusable stopper thatwill keep the Champagne bubbly for several hours.
In 1932 Parisian politician Pierre Taittinger acquired Chateau de la Marquetterie, the stately home where he had been billeted as a young officer in World War I. Two years later he also purchased one of Champagne’s oldest Champagne Houses, Forest Fourneaux. The foundations were now laid for an adventure in wine that is pursued today by the fourth-generation scion.
The Champagne Houses