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 monthEvery 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.
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