Valley of the Marne

Mountain of Reims

Cote Des Blancs

Cote Des Bar

Pinot Noir (38% of production)

Pinot Meunier (35% of production)

Chardonnay (27% of production)

Name five Champagne houses (producers)

A specific wine from each and the typical style

Lanson: Brut (light, delicate)

Perrier-Jouet: Grand Brut (light to medium)

Moet & Chandon: Brut Imperial (medium)

Louis Roederer: Brut Cristal (medium to full)

Krug: Brut, Grand Cuvee (Full, Rich)

Recent great years in Champagne

(Vintage years for most Champagne houses)

Vintage years: 1998, 1999, & 2000

Excellent Vintage years: 1995, 1996, & 2002

A dry Champagne

*Best served as an aperitif or throughout the meal

A Semisweet Champagne

*best served with dessert and wedding cake

A sweet Champagne

*best served with desserts and wedding cake

Champagne made from 100% Chardonnay

Creates a lighter style of Champagne

Champagne made from 100% Pinot Noir

Creates a fuller style of Champagne

Magnum: 2 bottles

Jeroboam: 4 bottles

Rehoboam: 6 bottles

Methuselah: 8 bottles

Salmanazar: 12 bottles

Balthazar: 16 bottles

Nebuchadnezzar: 20 bottles

(Michael Jackson really makes small boys nervous)

Pinot Noir

38% of all plantings in Champagne

Contributes avg alcohol and low acidity

Characteristics: Cherry, strawberry fruit; adds power and structure

34% of plantings in Champagne

Contributes low alcohol and avg acidity in Champagne

Characteristics: red fruit, earthiness, depth, roundness

Pinot Meunier is particularly frost and freeze resistant

28% of plantings in Champagne

Contributes most alcohol and most acidity to Champagne

Characteristics: floral, citrus, apple, ethereal to fat depending on climate

Regions with chalk in Champagne: Montagne de Reims, Cotes des Blancs, and Vitry-le-Francois

Nature of Chalk: grapes are high in acid, producing lean wines with reserved aromatics

Champagne region with Limestone-rich Marl: Cote des Bar (the Aube)

Nature of Limestone-rich Marl: preferred soils of Pinot Noir (just like Burgundy) because they produce a pronounced earthy aromatic to the wine

Champagne regions with sand/clay/marls: Val de Reims and Vallee de la Marne

Sandy Soils: produce open wines with more overt fruit characteristics and less structure

Clay Soils: produce dense, mineral-rich wines that show closed aromatics in youth and need bottle aging to fully develop

is located west of the city of Reims. Its vineyards are planted to Pinot Meunier with some on clays, marls, and sands; the vineyards face northeast and southeast.

includes the vineyards of Massif de St-Thierry and la Vallee de l'Ardre

is located west of the city of Epernay and flanks the river Marne.

Mostly planted to Pinot Meunier.

Vineyards are located on marls, clays, and sands with variable aspacts. The vineyards of the left bank of the river are north-facing; the vineyards of the right bank are south-facings

is located south of the city of Epernay

Mostly planted to Chardonnay.

Vineyards are located on east-facing chalk outcroppings

is located north and south of the town of Sezanne, which is just southwest of the Cotes des Blancs

Mostly planted to Chardonnay.

Most vineyards are planted on southeast facing parcels of clay and chalk

is located southeast of the Cotes des Blancs and northeast of the Cote de Sezanne

Mostly planted to Chardonnay.

Vineyards are located on east-facing chalk outcroppings

is located southeast of Troyes and flanks the Aube and Seine Rivers and their tributaries

Mostly planted to Pinot Noir.

Vineyards are located on limestone-rich marls and face south-east