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The wines of Champagne are defined not just by the region’s history, geography, and laws but also by its unique viticultural and winemaking practices. This guide follows Champagne production from the vineyard to the glass, diving into the specific farming practices, decisions made in the cellar, and biological processes that together result in one of the world’s great sparkling wines.
Achieving a vineyard that is balanced year after year to produce sparkling rather than still wine requires adhering to certain criteria. It is not practical to be dogmatic about how each grape variety should be grown in every location within such a large and varied region as Champagne. But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:
In Champagne, the space between vines within the same row can range between 0.9 meters and 1.5 meters (roughly 3 feet and 4.9 feet), while the distance between rows must not exceed 1.5 meters. The relatively wide-spaced minimum of 0.9 meters is determined by the space necessary to accommodate all obligatory methods of training and the number of fruiting buds required. There is also a maximum sum of spread—the summation of the distance between each vine and each row—of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). This is equivalent to, for example, 1 meter (3.3 feet) between vines and 1.5 meters between rows.
The average density in Champagne is 8,000 vines per hectare. There is no maximum vine density, although 10,000 vines per hectare is not uncommon and 18,000 is considered a practical maximum even for nonmechanized vineyards. This practical maximum is lower, however, than pre-phylloxera vineyards planted en foule. French for “in a crowd,” this term refers to a method of planting vines that relies on a layering system; these vineyards would have had a vine density of over 25,000 per hectare. Rare examples survive today, such as Clos Saint-Jacques, a walled vineyard in Aÿ that belongs to Bollinger and is half planted en foule.
Very low vine densities have been allowed by special dispensation for experimental plots, such as Moët’s trialing of the Lyre system, which has a sum of spread of 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) and just 2,750 vines per hectare (although this has been increased to 3,000 to 4,000 vines per hectare in some plots). These trials, which began in the Aube in 1988, are ongoing. Benefits include less ambient humidity, thus less gray rot, and more acidity, resulting in crisper wines. But this comes at a price, because, despite fewer vines per hectare, the Lyre system is significantly more difficult and 30% more expensive to establish. Full cropping levels take six years rather than the usual three, and production levels of the traditional training systems can’t be matched.
Four systems of vine training are allowed in Champagne: Chablis, Cordon, Guyot, and Vallée de la Marne. Guyot is a head-trained system, and the other three are cordon-trained systems. The Chablis and Cordon training systems are the only methods permitted for grand and premier cru vineyards.
Generally, the Chablis system is for Chardonnay vines planted in the Côte des Blancs, the Cordon system for Pinot Noir vines in the Montagne de Reims, and the Vallée de la Marne method for Meunier vines grown in the Marne Valley. But since all varieties can be found in each district, the method of training, most clearly identified in the winter, is useful for determining where one variety stops and another begins.
The Chablis system was developed in the Chablis district in the 19th century, and at least 90% of all Chardonnay vines in Champagne are trained by this method. A maximum of five buds are allowed for Chardonnay, Meunier, and Petit Meslier, and up to four are allowed for other grapes. For Chardonnay, four shoots require five buds, as the first bud on this vine is always infertile. Either three, four, or five permanent branches may be cultivated, each grown at yearly intervals. Because vines are not allowed to overlap, when a vine reaches the neighboring plant, it will be removed.
Originally known as Cordon de Royat and now called Cordon, the spur-trained, cane-pruned system was developed in the mid-19th century at the Royat agricultural school, in southwestern France. It is considered the best vine training system for Pinot Noir. Only one main branch is permitted, along which shoots above branch level are spaced at a minimum of 15-centimeter (6-inch) intervals. Each shoot may have two buds (three for Chardonnay, the first being infertile), but the end shoot is also allowed to be an extension of the main branch itself and may have four buds (five for Chardonnay).
Guyot is a cane-pruned system, with a main spur (or spurs if double Guyot is used) that is not permanent but renewed annually. In the version known as single (or simple) Guyot, a single, annually renewable branch is allowed, with 10 productive buds, whereas for double Guyot, two annually renewable branches are permitted, with 8 buds each.
The Vallée de la Marne system is restricted to Meunier vines and vineyards that are not classified as either grand or premier cru. There are four variants of this system, all of which have different shoot requirements. In the basic version, there are six buds on the main permanent spur and nine on the secondary. When the main branch reaches the next plant, it is replaced by the secondary branch.