From COMITÉ Champagne, France: Progress for the 2018 Champagne harvest: it appears to be an exceptional year for their sparkling wine.
SIDEBAR for anyone new to sparkling wine: sparkling wine can only be called “Champagne,” if it comes from the region of Champagne, France. This appellation is just outside of Paris. (It is any wonder that Paris is also so sparkling!) With seven grape varieties approved for Champagne. The three most popular grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
ADDING TO WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ
I highly recommend that when you have about 10 minutes to learn a lot in a little time about Champagne, France, click onto www.champagne.www’s link. Then, under the title of NEWS, just click on that well made video. I especially love the time lapse section showing Champagne’s morphing from a pretty heavy frost to harvest time.
[Photo: Pakin Songmor ~ Scenic landscape in the region of Champagne. Vineyards are in the Montagne de Reims, France]
PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT:
Precocity, quality, volume: nearing its end in Champagne, the grape harvest is definitely out of the ordinary.
Beginning in the earliest sectors on August 20, it is the fifth grape harvest started in August over the last fifteen years.
After an exceptionally wet winter, the Champagne region has since April been experiencing sunshine and temperatures well above the 10-year average. Thanks to these exceptional conditions the vines developed rapidly; flowering and then ripening benefited from ideal conditions and, when harvested, there were plenty of healthy bunches, very rich in sugar and aromas. Harvesting, necessarily by hand, took place unhurriedly under summery skies although the early morning temperatures were sometimes quite low (0°C – 32°F – in Reims on 26th August).e available yield of 10,800 kg/ha (23,810 pounds/2.47105 acres) will be achieved in all sectors. In addition, this magnificent harvest will allow wine-growers and houses to rebuild their reserve (wines put aside in good years), which will enable them to face the possible vagaries of the climate in the future.
The quality of the musts is an excellent omen for the future cuvées. We will have to wait for the first tastings in autumn and in spring to confirm these expectations of a great vintage.
Interesting fact about Champagne, from their Website.
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