A Champagne vacation and holiday guide from Philippe Boucheron

Tour France's 'La Champagne' - the region. Enjoy 'le champagne' - the wine.

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The independent

traveller’s guide

to Champagne:

the region and its wine

A trip to Champagne would be nice,

Go once and you’ll want to go twice;

The countryside’s fine,

The wine is divine,

And the people are awfully nice.

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Balthazar... Large 12-litre bottle containing 16 x 75cl. bottles
Blanc de Blancs... White wine made just from white grapes.
Blanc de Noirs... White wine made just from black grapes.
Brut... Dry champagne with less than 15g./litre of residual sugar.
Brut Nature... Very dry champagne with less than
3 g./litre of residual sugar.
Chef-de-Caves... Cellar master and winemaker.
Clos... Enclosed vineyard.
Crû... Growth, often indicates a named vineyard.
Cuvée... First 2,050litres of juice from a 4,OOOkg Marc
or finished blend made up from numerous Crûs.
Dégorgement... Removal of dead yeast sediment from the bottle.
Demi-Sec... Sweet champagne with 33 to 50g./litre of residual sugar.
Dosage... Sugar cane syrup in the liqueur d'expédition.
Doux... Very sweet champagne with more than 50g./litre
of residual sugar.
Dry... Medium-sweet wine with 17 to 35g./litre of residual sugar.
Extra Brut... Dry champagne with between 0 and 6g./litre
of residual sugar.
Extra Dry or Sec... Medium-dry wine with 12 to 20g./litre
of residual sugar.
Grand Crû... Champagne from a 100% Grand Crû village.
Grande Marque... Describes a large merchant house, or big brand.
Gyropallet... Riddling machine, computer-controlled.

St. Rémy’s
basilica

Mercier’s
giant
barrel