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
Wondering if you can clarify a question I have regarding the liqueur d'expedition? I'm getting conflicting info from various resources. I am wondering if the wine used for the liqueur d'expedition for vintage wines in Champagne has to be 100% from the same vintage? If not, is there a legal requirement for how much of the dosage must be from the same vintage? Thank you!
The Cahier des Charges clearly states there is an exception for the liqueur de tirage and liqueur d'expedition for vintage champagnes.
"Wines may be presented bearing a vintage indication (as "vintage wines") provided that the grapes used in the production of the base wines originate from the year in question—with the exception of volumes of wine or grape must used in the context of authorized oenological practices and treatments, as well as products contained within the *liqueur de tirage* or *liqueur d’expédition*."
"Les vins peuvent être présentés avec l’indication du millésime (millésimés) si les raisins mis en œuvre pour l’élaboration des vins de base sont des raisins de l’année considérée, à l’exception des volumes de vins ou de moûts de raisins utilisés dans le cadre des pratiques et traitements œnologiques autorisés et des produits contenus dans la liqueur de tirage ou dans la liqueur d’expédition."
Emphasis mine. Section 2.h of the CDC. Nothing about vintage requirements for the Liqueur, as in reality it's maybe 5-10 mL and seems to be and understood part of the process. In the glass, if anything, the sugar levels are going to have more effect than whatever vintage the liqueur comes from. Producers even have feelings about the origins of the sugar they use at this step, with some stating they prefer MCR over traditional beet sugar mixture for integration and mouthfeel reasons.