Harvest of grapes
Arriving September with its batch of sun and of rain, it is the hour of the grape harvest. The preparations of the reward start.
Selection of the pieces
To gather the grapes the pieces, some are taken and measured a few weeks before the date of the grape harvest. Measurements are deferred on graphs in order to fall on the exact point from maturity wished according to climatologic and the evolution from the degrees. Out of Champagne, a too advanced maturity would be prejudicial with acidity essential to the clothes industry of large Champagne. The date thus should be chosen judiciously. The old vines are often the gathered first because their grape load is weaker. Their maturity arrives more quickly.
Picking and sorting
Each bunch is gathered with the hand and is deposited in an arm basket (approximately 14 lb). This basket, once filled by the vintage people, will be emptied in a grape case not exceeding 80 lb to avoid the crushing of those at the bottom and their maceration with the juice which would colour future Champagne then. If the bunch comprises an imperfection (rotted, mildew, odium) the vintage people has the role of cutting in the bunch to eliminate the defect and not to insert it in the healthy grape case. The boss of the exploitation takes care there firmly.
Transport of the grapes
Once the day of finished picking, the cases are positioned on plates posed on the carriage to be conveyed in the centre of pressing.
Weighing and selection - sorting
Arrived at the press, the cases are weighed, identified, indexed then classified by analogy type of vines and of zone of harvest to obtain, within a village, a characteristic tank in the same way.
Pressing
To obtain red wine, it is necessary that the skins blacks of the grapes macerate with the colourless juices of bays. Out of Champagne, to obtain white wine with black grapes, the skins should not remain in contact with the juice. With this intention, it is thus necessary:
- Little time enters picking and pressing
- Intact bays until pressing
- A pressing with low pressure and speed(<2h) with less possible crushing
4000 kg of grape give 20 hl of "Cuvee" and 5 hl of "Taille". The cases are thus versed in the press and the grapes are pressed to extract the invaluable juice from them.
Beginning of wine
Making once the run out juice, it is necessary for having separated "Cuvee" and "Taille", to let deposit the juice so that by gravitation the deposits (large colloidal clusters and particles of the pulp of the grapes) settle and are separated from the clear supernatant (juice and future wine).
