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
In 1889 a giant barrel was raised from its resting place in the Maison Mercier cellars and transported to the Paris World Fair. The Foudre Mercier held the equivalent of 200,000 bottles (or 800 standard-size barrels) and weighed a hefty 20,000 kilos. Twelve pairs of oxen, helped by a team of 18 horses, were required to haul the barrel from Epernay to Paris where it arrived eight days later. Mercier’s masterpiece of barrel-making won second prize, second only to the Eiffel Tower, and now stands in splendour in the reception area of the Mercier cellars.
Audoin de Dampierre founded his namesake Champagne House in 1986, building on a family connection with the Champagne region that dates back to 1881 – the year his great grandfather married Champagne scion, Marie Boisseau.
The Champagne Houses
