Champagne (wine region)

The historical region of Champagne is located near the northern borders of the territory of winemaking, passing along the 49th parallel of northern latitude . The full ripening of grapes is prevented by a high altitude, as well as an average annual temperature of 10 ° C. However, the presence of forests reduces the range of fluctuations in air temperature and maintains soil moisture. Low air temperatures contribute to the formation of high acidity in harvested grapes, which is ideal for sparkling wine ^[3] .

During the growing season, the average July temperature is 18 ° C. The average annual rainfall is 630 mm, of which 45 mm falls in September, the month of harvest. Winegrowers should be careful about the threat of mushroom damage and the danger of spring frost. ^[four]

When the ocean level dropped 70 million years ago, the receding waters left chalk deposits in the subsoil. Earthquakes , often occurring in this region more than 10 million years ago, pushed marine residues of belemnite fossils to the surface, forming belemnite limestone soil. The presence of belemnites in the soil made it possible to accumulate solar heat during the day, and gradually give it away during the night; good drainage was additionally provided. Such soil contributed to the luminosity and sophistication of Champagne wines. An exception is the Ob region, where clay soils predominate. ^[3] Among other things, limestone is also used in the construction of underground wine cellars, where the wines are kept cool during bottling. ^[four]

During the Carolingian reign , there are several periods of prosperity for the Champagne region, beginning with the fact that Charles the Great, King of the Francs, proposed to grow grapes in this region and later on after the coronation of his son Louis I the Pious in Reims. The tradition of the coronation of kings in Reims made a significant contribution to the reputation of the wines of this region. ^[5] The Counts of Champagne ruled these lands as an independent county from 950 to 1316. In 1314, the last Earl of Champagne became King Louis X, and since then the region has become part of the French crown.

Armed Conflict

Champagne gained its historical fame largely due to its location, since both trade and military routes converged on its lands. This situation contributed to the ruin and devastation of Champagne during the armed conflicts that often took place on these lands. In 451 AD, near the town of Chalon-en-Champagne , the Hun forces led by Attila suffered a major defeat from the combined Roman legions , Franks and Visigoths . This defeat was a turning point in the invasion of the Hunnic tribes in Europe. ^[6]

During the battles of the Hundred Years' War , the Champagne lands were devastated repeatedly. Oviller Abbey (commune of Oviller ) together with its vineyards was destroyed in 1564 during the Huguenot wars between Catholics and Huguenots . This was followed by the clashes of the Thirty Years' War and the Civil War of the Front , when the lands of Champagne were occupied by soldiers and mercenaries . And only in the 1660s, already in the era of Louis XIV , there were peaceful times in the region and the production of sparkling wines began to develop in Champagne. ^[7]

Winemaking History in the Region

Champagne's fame as a wine-growing region dates back to the Middle Ages when Pope Urban II , a native of Champagne, called the wine from the town of Ai of the Marne department the best wine in the world. For some time the word Aÿ was used in shorthand to denote any wines of the Champagne region, similar to the word Beaune meaning the wines of the Burgundy region. ^{[8] The} medieval poet Henri d'Andely, in his poem The Battle of Wines ( French: La Bataille des Vins ), named wines from the cities of Epernay, Oviller and Reims among the best in Europe. As the region grew in fame, members of the royal family and the pope sought to acquire plots of land here; for example, Pope Leo X , King of France Francis I , Emperor Charles V and King of England Henry VIII owned their own vineyards in Champagne. A batch of wine from Au, obtained in 1518 by the Chancellor of King Henry VIII, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey , is the first officially registered export of Champagne wine to England. ^[9]

Non-sparkling Champagne wines were highly valued in Paris, where they were called river wine ( French vins de la rivière ) and mountain wine ( French vins de la montagne ) in honor of the wooded area and the Marne River, through which the wine flowed down to the Seine and beyond in Paris. ^[10] Champagne competed with Burgundy in the wine trade with Flanders and tried to profit from the favorable location of Reims on the trade route from Burgundy Bon. In the XV century in Champagne it became difficult to grow Pinot Noir grapes. As a result, red wine could not stand comparison with the saturation and color shade of Burgundy wines , even despite the addition of elderberry to increase color saturation. As a result, the region's winemakers focused on white wines. ^[eleven]

In 1584, the Gosse winery ( Fr. Gosset ) was founded in Champagne, which initially produced non-sparkling wines. This house is the oldest winery in Champagne , which is still operating today. The Ruinart champagne house ( fr. Ruinart ) was opened in 1729, and shortly after it the houses of Tetenje ( fr. Taittinger ) (1734), Moet e Chando ( fr. Moët et Chandon ) (1743) and the Widow Clicquot were opened ( Fr. Veuve Clicquot ) (1772). ^[9]

In the XVIII century there was a rapid increase in the production of champagne wines; in 1800, 300,000 bottles of wine were produced in the region, and as early as 1850, 20 million bottles. ^[12]

Rivalry with Burgundy

Extremely strong influence on the production of wines in Champagne had a centuries-old rivalry with Burgundy. Supporters of Champagne and Burgundy competed for dominance everywhere, from the main market, Paris, to the palace of Louis XIV at Versailles . Louis XIV drank only champagne wine for most of his life, on the recommendation of his physician Antoine Daken , who advised the king to drink champagne at every meal. As the king grew older and his ailments increased, competing doctors began to offer an alternative treatment based on other wines to calm the king’s ailments. One of the attending physicians, Guy-Cresan Fagon , in order to receive the post of royal doctor himself, entered into a conspiracy with the king's favorite in order to remove Daken from office. Fagon immediately connected the king’s ailments with the use of champagne and ordered that only Burgundy wines be served on the table. ^[13]

The consequences of these events immediately affected both the provinces and the Paris markets. Champagne and Burgundy were seriously preoccupied with the propaganda of the “healing properties” of their wines, in large numbers paying for students of medical faculties to write dissertations and dissertations advertising the healing properties of their wines . These dissertations were then distributed to traders and customers as advertising brochures. The Reims School of Medicine has published several works proving the failure of Fagon's claims that Burgundy wine has better healing properties than champagne. In response, Burgundy winemakers hired Dr. Jean-Baptiste de Salen, dean of the medical faculty of the Burgundy Bon , to give a presentation to the biased audience of the Paris medical faculty. Sahlen in his speech favorably emphasized the color saturation and strength of the Burgundy wine, comparing it with the pale pink color of champagne, pointing to the "instability" of the wine during its transportation over long distances and calling marriage vials that appear after the second fermentation of the wine. His speech was published in newspapers and brochures throughout France, which had a very negative impact on the sale of champagne wines. ^[14]

The war between winemakers continued for another 130 years, during which many doctors, playwrights, poets and writers spoke out in defense of the region close to them, and their polemic was used in advertising materials of Burgundy and Champagne. Several times there was even the threat of civil war between the two provinces. ^[15] A turning point occurred when several Champagne wineries stopped producing red wines and focused their efforts on promoting sparkling wines. As air bubbles in champagne became more and more popular, doctors in France and throughout Europe spoke out about the healing properties of flowing bubbles, which were credited with the ability to cure swamp fever . As more and more Champagne wineries began to produce a completely different class of wine, the rivalry with Burgundy softened and gradually came to naught. ^[15]

In 1927, the boundaries of vineyards in Champagne were enshrined in law in the form of five wine-growing regions - Ob ( French Aube ), Côte de Blancs ( French Côte des Blancs ), Cote de Cezanne ( French Côte de Sézanne ) Montany de Reims ( Fr. Montagne de Reims ) and the Marne Valley ( Fr. Vallée de la Marne ). Vineyards in the region cover an area of ​​33,500 hectares , surrounding 319 communes, home to 5,000 winegrowers who produce their own wine, and 14,000 farmers who only sell grapes. According to the nearest expansion plans, the region will already include 359 communes. ^{[3] [16] [17]}

Grapes growing in different areas of Champagne have different characteristics and Champagne wineries mix them to achieve a unique taste inherent in each house. The Pinot grapes from the Montagnes de Reims area, ripened on the slopes facing the north, are characterized by a high level of acidity and it gives the mixture an additional sophistication. Grapes harvested on the southern slopes give the drink a strong character. The rest of the grapes harvested in the area contribute to the bouquet and the heady aroma of the wine. The abundance of southern slopes in the Marne Valley region allows the production of aged wines with a rich aroma. The vine of the Côte de Blanc region is very much appreciated for the delicacy and feeling of freshness that it brings to the mixture, in contrast to the grapes of the neighboring Cote de Cezanne region, which has similar, but less pronounced features. ^[ten]

In 1942, the Interprofessional Committee of Champagne Wines ( Fr. Comité Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) ) was founded, the main task of which was to care for the reputation of Champagne, promote sales, as well as determine and control the regulatory rules for vineyards and winemaking methods. Champagne is the only wine-growing region that is allowed to not label AOC certification labels ( French Appellation d'origine contrôlée ). ^[3]

Every year after the harvest, the CIVC compiles the district's communes based on the quality of their vines. Then, according to this rating, the coefficient to the cost of grapes that farmers receive is determined. Vineyards rated Grand Cru bring their owners 100% of the cost of grapes. Vineyards rated Premier Crus bring 90-99% of the cost, and Deuxième Crus produce 80-89% of the cost of grapes. ^[1] According to the rules of the district of appeal , approximately 4 tons of grapes are pressed to produce a maximum of 2550 liters of juice. The first 2050 liters of juice are called cuvée , and the next 500 liters are called tail . Until 1992, it was allowed to squeeze the second tail in a volume of 167 liters. To make vintage champagne, all grapes are taken from the harvest of one year, while non-vintage wine is a mixture of different vintages. Vintage champagne is aged on the lees for at least three years, and some of the oldest champagne wines can withstand wine for five to ten years. Non-vintage champagne is aged on the lees for at least 15 months. ^[one]

Redefining the boundaries of the Champagne wine region

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, global demand for champagne was constantly increasing. A record volume of shipment of champagne (including domestic consumption in France itself) was registered in 1999 in anticipation of the celebration of the third millennium - 327 million bottles, and a new record was already recorded in 2007 - 338.7 million bottles. ^[18] Since all the plots defined by the AOS norms of 1927 have already been occupied by vineyards, various ways of increasing production have been studied. The permissible yield rate was increased (up to 15.5 tons per hectare during the experimental period from 2007 to 2011 ^[19] ) and the possibility of revising the borders of the wine-growing region was studied.

After conducting a comprehensive study of the conditions for growing grapes around the Champagne wine region, the INAO National Institute came up with proposals to review the borders of the wine region on March 14, 2008. The proposals were developed by a group of specialists in history , geography , geology , geobotany and agronomy , who have been working on this task since 2005 ^[20] . According to the prepared proposals, the wine-growing region may include vineyards in 357 villages, instead of the former 319 ^[16] . It was proposed to add vineyards in 40 settlements and at the same time remove from the region two settlements in the Marne department, which were on the list in 1927, Germain and Orbel-l'Abei ^[21] .

The 40 communes proposed for inclusion are located in four departments : ^{[22] [23]}

• 22 communes in Marne: Ballier-le-Fim , Blasi , Boissy-le-Repos , Bouvaincourt , Bray , Bussy-le-Repos , Chamfleury , Courlandon , Cursi , Courdemange , Fim , Yuiron , La Ville-sous-Orbé , Le Tu -Trone , Luavre , Montmirail , Mont-sur-Courville , Pea , Romaine , Saint-Loup , Sulange and Ventlet .
• 15 communes in Both : Arrel , Ballne-la-Grunge , Bossancourt , Bouillieu , Etouvry , Fontvann , Javernan , Len-o-Bois , Masse , Messon , Prunyi , Saint-Germain , Suligny , Torville and Vilry .
• 2 communes in the Upper Marne : Colombes-le-De-Eglise and Arricourt .
• 1 commune in Aisne : Marche-en-Brie .

Before the entry into force of the proposal, the INAO regulatory institute was the subject of a detailed review and was immediately criticized in various public discussions. One of the largest communes proposed for removal from the list, Germain, immediately protested the proposals of INAO, and the owners of the vineyards joined the protest. ^{[16] [24]} The initial project review process ended in early 2009. After it, the process of revising small land plots added to or removed from the appeal areas began . The very first planting of vineyards is expected around 2015, and their wine products will begin to go on sale around 2021. However, the value of the land, which is supposed to be allowed to be used for the production of champagne wines, immediately increased from 5,000 Euro per hectare to 1 million Euro.

Champagne Vineyard Prices

In 2010, vineyards in the Côte de Blanc area were sold at a rate of 1.5 million euros per hectare ^[25]

Despite the fact that the Champagne wine region produces mostly sparkling champagne, the region’s winemakers also produce other classes of wine. Non-sparkling wines produced near Buzi are sold under the regional brand Coteaux Champenois (Coto Champenois). ^[10] Also in the region is the name of the rosé Rosé des Riceys (Rose de Risé). The regional liquor wine is called Ratafia de Champagne . Since now the profitability of the production of sparkling champagne from local grapes has grown significantly, the share of production of these non-sparkling and fortified wines has become extremely small.

The pulp remaining after the grapes are pressed is used to produce Marc de Champagne liqueur, which does not compete with champagne, as it is made from winemaking waste.