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
Every year on 22 January, Champagne celebrates the feast of St Vincent, patron saint of winegrowers. Fancy-dress parades, banquets, church services and traditional ceremonies are held to give thanks for the previous year’s harvest and to invoke the saint’s protection for activities in the coming year.
This House started out as a winery in Cumières before relocating to its present premises in Epernay in 1955. It was founded in 1872 by Lucien Leclerc whose great grandson Bertrand and his wife Jacqueline Briant combined their surnames to create a new one for their business. The House has now embarked on a new chapter following its acquisition in 2012 by Mark Nunnelly and Denise Dupré, an American couple with a passion for the French art de vivre.
The Champagne Houses
