A
aoc
AOC is the abbreviation of appellation d’origine controlée. when a wine or another product is rewarded with an AOC in France, this means that the product is made observing a number of rules. in Champagne these rules include yield, minimum content of alcohol, press yields and aging amongst others. the target is to obtain and guaranty a wine of quality. the champagne label does not mention the AOC as the name “champagne” means the same thing. champagne became one of the first AOC’s in 1927. in Champagne, there are three different AOC’s: champagne, the rosé de Riceys and the côteau champenois, in a white, red or rosé version.
apéro
the french language is like a steeple-chase of abbreviations. apéro is one of the more important ones : short for apéritif which is a glass of something, typically alcoholic, drunk before the meal. in the Champagne region, the apéro may drag on as this is often a moment to relax together. in many ways this is the local concept of cosying up that danes know as hygge. we like to nail the apéro as the hygge à la champenoise. peanuts and olives are often accompagnied by more elaborate kinds of finger food, the bottles pop and the guests - your partner, your cousin, your very best friend, whoever - relax and let themselves be spoiled a bit.
appellation
please look up under the headword aoc.
Assemblage
a wine composed of several base wines.
B
Blanc de Blancs
a champagne made of 100% white grapes like Chardonnay.
Blanc de Noirs
a champagne made of 100% black grapes like Pinot Noir og Pinot Meunier.
Broyage
the proces to crush branches that are cut off as we prune the vines. crushing is done directly in the vineyards on cold days with an equipment fit for our multipurpose catarpillar machine. the result is wooden chips, that are part of our constant maintenance of the mulch layer in the vineyards.
Brut
a dry champagne dosed with less than 12 grammes of sugar per liter.
brut nature
a super dry champagne without dosage. also known as dosage zéro and non dosé.
C
Calcaire, craie, marne
the sub-surface of the soils of Champagne contain high amounts of calcium of types like limestone, chalk and marl. This particular composition helps drain the soils, constitutes a reservoir of water and contributes to the development of the mineral character of the wines.
Cépage
the grape variety, mainly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier but also the more rare and historical varieties of Petit Meslier, Arbane, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.
Champagne, la
the geographical region of Champagne, approximately 150 kilometres east of Paris. The vineyards cover an area of 34.300 hectares which is only a smaller part of the total area of Champagne.
Champagne, le
the sparkling wine made in the region of Champagne according to the champagne method.
Chardonnay
white grapes, mainly grown in the region of Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. this type is also grown in Burgundy and overseas regions like Chile, South-Africa and Australia.
Clos
a vineyard entirely and historically closed in by walls.
a champagne made by grapes from a clos.
Comité Champagne
the institution that controls the good usage of the rules in the appellation of Champagne, performs research on winegrowing, collect numbers for statistics and watch over the usage of the word champagne in France and abroad amongst many varied tasks. the precidency is shared between winegrowers and champagne houses. known previously as CIVC.
Commune
a winegrowing village and its vineyards. 319 villages can grow grapes for champagne.
Coopérative
group of winegrowers who shares facilities of presses, sometimes vinification and caves.
Côte des Bar
situated in the Aube department, closer to Burgundy than to the rest of Champagne. the main grape variety is the Pinot Noir.
villages like: Celles-sur-Ource, Essoyes, les Riceys and Urville.
Côte des Blancs
situated south of Epernay where mainly Chardonnay grapes are grown.
villages like: Avize, Cramant, le Mesnil. Oger and Vertus.
Coupe
a glass of champagne served (any type of glass)
a low and flat glass for champagne
Cru
the wines from a certain village/commune.
Cuvée
the best part of the freshly pressed must which is not mixed with the lesser qualities of la taille and la rebêche.
an expression that may be part of the name of a champagne, in this case often a prestige bottle, for instance cuvée Louise.
D
Demi-sec
a sweeter champagne style with 32 - 50 grammes of sugar/liter.
Dégorgement
the process where a bouchon of sediments is expulsed by the pressure in the bottle.
Domaine
the vineyards and buildings of a certain brand of wine.
Dosage
the level of sweetness in a champagne. it ranges from the sweet doux through the dry brut to the non-dosed brut nature.
doux
the sweetest style that you may find in Champagne as this dosage of more than 50 grammes of sugar/liter it is quite rare.
E
égrappage
the process of separating the grapes from the stems.
enherbement
not that many years ago most of the vineyards of Champagne were covered with wooden chips. nowadays, grass of a kind or plants that spread naturally cover many vineyards a least partially. these grasses compete with the vines for access to water and minerals. they also help fight erosion because they bind the soil when it rains heavily. the grass cover helps lower the amount of herbicides that the french state wants to phase out. at champagne tange-gérard, we have experimented with grass since 2006 and it covers all our plots since 2013.
enjambeur
there are 1,2 meters maximum between the lines of vines in the vineyards of Champagne. this is too narrow for a traditional tractor to pass through and so a more custom-made model has been developed. the size of it is adjusted to the width and the height of the Champagne vineyards. the enjambeur can be big or small: the big ones can work in several rows at a time, the small ones work one row only. the vineyards tractor carries out many different tasks from working the soils to different sprays with anything from pesticides to biodynamic infusions. it cuts the tops and the sides of the vines as well. at Champagne Tange-Gérard, we have a very old model at hand. the bright side is, that it is so simple that Alain Gérard can repair it. the darker side then is, that it can be quite a challenge to hunt spare parts for it… and meanwhile, you often don’t use it.
exploitation
the vineyards of a domaine.
extra brut
a rather dry champagne style with a dosage between 0 and 6 grammes of sugar/liter.
extra dry
a slightly sweeter style than brut with a dosage between 12 and 17 grammes of sugar/liter.
F
Flûte
a tall and slender glass to sip champagne.
L
Lieu-dit
the ancient name of a piece of land in a village/commune.
M
Maison de champagne
producer who buys grapes from winegrowers and composes champagnes with different crus.
Millésime
a champagne made of grapes from one year only.
Montagne de Reims
the hilly plateau between Reims and Épernay, height of approximately 200 ms, length of approximately 25 kms. the main grape variety is the Pinot Noir.
villages like: Ambonnay, Bouzy, Rilly-la-Montagne, Verzy and Verzenay.
Mousse
a mass of tiny bubbles that forms on the top of a glass of champagne along the side of the glass.
N
Négoce, négociant
maker of champagne who buys grapes and still wines (without bubbles).
O
Oenologue
person educated in vinification, chemistry of wines and tasting.
P
Packaging
the visual presentation of a bottle: label, capsule, carton et cetera.
Parcelle
a commune has several lieu-dits, each of which are divided in several plots.
Champagne has approximately 280.000 plots, a record in France.
Parcellaire
a champagne made with grapes from one plot only.
pied
literally foot, but in this context the word refers to the vine plant itself.
Pinot Meunier
black grapes, grown only in Champagne, mainly in the Vallée de la Marne region.
Pinot Noir
black grapes, grown mainly in the Montagne de Reims and Côte des Bar. also grown in Alsace, Burgundy and other places.
poignettage
after several years of aging in the cellars, the yeast sediments from the second alcoholic fermentation are still inside the champagne bottle. during this process, the bottle is turned upside down and shaken. this spreads the sediments in the bottle. they will eventually be gathered in the bottleneck during the process of remuage (read further under this headword).
Producteur de champagne
producer of champagne, not necessarily a winegrower.
R
Récoltant-manipulant
person who grows grapes and makes champagne with them.
Récoltant-coopérateur
person who grows grapes to sell or to make wine in a cooperative.
Remuage
the process where the bottle through a period is turned 1/4 with a short precise movement either to the left or right then gradually being tipped until it is upside down. during this process, the sediments of yeast collect in the neck of the bottle to be expulsed in the process of disgorging.
S
Sec
a champagne that is sweetened with 17-32 grammes of sugar/l.
Sol
the soil and whatever is in it.
sur pointe
position where the bottle is upside down and awaits the process of disgorgement.
T
Terroir
the soil, the underground, the climate and the work methods.
V
Vallée de la Marne
the area west of Épernay along the Marne river. the main grape variety is the Pinot Meunier.
villages like: Aÿ, Champillon, Damery, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Oeuilly
Vieilles vignes
the comité champagne (civc) allows the name “vieilles vignes” (old vines) for plots that are minimum 35 years old. at Tange-Gérard, we define our vines as old from the age of 50+ years.
Vigneron-ne
person - male and female - who grows grapes in vineyards.
Vignoble
the plots of one winegrower, champagnehouse, village or region.
Vin de réserve
older wines that are used to spice up the wines of the year in order to achieve more or less the same taste every year (the Brut Sans Année). this is specific for the production of non vintage champagne.
Vin tranquille
wine without bubbles (before their 2nd alcoholic fermentation).
Vinificateur
person who makes wine from the must.
Vinification
transformation of must into wine.
viticulteur-trice
person - male and female - who grows grapes and makes wine from them.