Since 2009, Champagne Day has been celebrated by wine enthusiasts and of course, producers, maisons and the CIVC (AOC champagne regulatory committee) on the 4th Friday of October. This is a symbolic and only celebratory day, without historical relations, but which invites us to open a beautiful champagne and remember a little about the exploits and curiosities of the most famous bubbles in the world... Initially considered a defect, bubbly wine had a long history to become what it is today. Production methods (like the ancestral <<used when sparkling wine started to be made on purpose>>) were being evolved and discovered by big names.
Dom Perignon, of great importance in blending techniques and terroir discoveries. Barbe Nicole Ponsardin (the widow Clicquot) who developed the remuage and degorgement methods, making the champagne clearer, in addition to creating the assemblage rosé. Madame Pommery, who with the perception of her market brought the proposal of less sweet champagnes (brut) and many other names that collaborated and still collaborate for this AOC to continue with enormous excellence and always evolving. Our dear bubbles have an essential share of their famous terroir (soil, climate, location – ‘blend’ between maritime and continental influences) in the quality of the raw material. And the region does not have just one, but numerous micro terroirs, which make each part of Champagne and each champagne unique. In addition to the famous 'chalk', we have variations of more clayey and sandy soils, often together with calcareous soils (as in Côte de Sézanne - clayey limestone) or in Côte des Bar (Kimmeridgian Marl - clayey, Chablis soil). And of course, each grape has a better adaptation in each type of soil, and that's where the magic happens: the great and tireless work of the winemakers, cellar heads and teams to select the best grapes from each soil for each blend!
This blend consists of the alchemy of the process: blending the base wines (from different grapes, vintages, reserve – it all depends on the approach and DNA of each Maison or producer). The fermentation of this mixture in the bottle has the minimum times defined by the Committee, of 15 months in the cellar (12 in contact with the yeasts) for NV (non vintage) and 36 months for vintages (single harvest). But most champagnes usually spend more time than the rule requires, gaining more maturation and development time, for an even more spectacular wine! Producing champagne is a painstaking process that requires a lot of passion, talent and resilience. A region that has already gone through so many conflicts and wars, a devastating plague (Phylloxera) and long paths to reach the name it has today. Resilience to continue overcoming the obstacles of each harvest, each year, each change. This process is really magical and enchanting! And today he deserves a very special toast! Happy Champagne Day!
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