How is champagne made ?
From grape to glass, champagne is made through a meticulous process known as the traditional method, where grapes are harvested, pressed, fermented, blended and aged to create a wine defined by elegance, complexity and signature sparkle.
For Perrier-Jouët, the story begins with a truly exceptional terroir.
The Champagne wine region is a living landscape, shaped over generations by nature, tradition and the expertise of highly skilled growers. The result is a truly unique wine, recognized and sought-after all over the world.
The terroir, the birthplace of champagne
France’s Champagne region is shaped by rolling vineyards, where rows of vines produce the grapes that give champagne its distinctive character. Combining limestone soils and a hilly topography with a climate shaped by both Oceanic and Continental influences, this terroir provides the ideal conditions for champagne’s signature grape varieties to thrive.
Chardonnay, the flagship variety of Perrier-Jouët, is particularly at home here. The chalky soils help to bring out the natural minerality, freshness and acidity of the grapes, imbuing the House’s range of signature cuvées with their ineffably elegant floral notes.
Chardonnay, the flagship variety of Perrier-Jouët, is particularly at home here. The chalky soils help to bring out the natural minerality, freshness and acidity of the grapes, imbuing the House’s range of signature cuvées with their ineffably elegant floral notes.
Perfecting the harvest
Hand-picked once they have ripened to perfection, then delicately pressed as close to the vineyard as possible through a process that preserves the freshness and purity of the juice, the grapes are rapidly transported to the House’s cellars in Epernay. Here, the freshly-pressed grape juice undergoes its first round of fermentation, becoming a still wine.
From the harvest to the blend
After resting for a few weeks, in the early days of the new year it is time for the blending process, known in Champagne as assemblage, to begin. Perrier-Jouët Cellar Master Séverine Frerson tastes all of the still wines, working with incredible precision and finesse to strike the perfect blend of different grape varieties and soil types.
She also decides on the proportion of reserve wine to be added to the blend. Reserve wines are held back from previous years, allowing for total consistency of style, year after year.
She also decides on the proportion of reserve wine to be added to the blend. Reserve wines are held back from previous years, allowing for total consistency of style, year after year.
Only the most outstanding years are declared as vintages, producing champagnes composed exclusively of wines from a single harvest.
For each of the signature cuvées – Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé – Séverine Frerson sets out to achieve total harmony of textures and flavours in a singular blend, while remaining true to the House’s distinctive floral style – sometimes delicate, sometimes livelier, but always impeccably elegant.
For each of the signature cuvées – Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé – Séverine Frerson sets out to achieve total harmony of textures and flavours in a singular blend, while remaining true to the House’s distinctive floral style – sometimes delicate, sometimes livelier, but always impeccably elegant.
THE HOUSE CELLARS
To truly understand how champagne is made, it is important to appreciate the value of the time the wines spend in the House’s cellars. It is here, over a period of many months, that the aromas come to the fore. This is also where the second fermentation takes place, creating the fine bubbles that define champagne through the traditional method.
SECOND FERMENTATION
A mixture known as the liqueur de tirage, composed of wine, sugar and yeast, initiates the second fermentation process, known as prise de mousse.
And so secondary fermentation begins.
And so secondary fermentation begins.
TIME TO REST
The champagnes are then left to develop in peace for a few more years, allowing their full aromatic complexity to emerge. The bottles are placed in racks with the necks pointed diagonally downwards, and regularly turned by our master winemakers.
Crafting a style
The finishing touch before tasting can commence
After several years of ageing, it is time to disgorge the bottles. During this crucial stage in the process, the lees which have accumulated in the necks of the bottles are removed and replaced with liqueur de dosage, which will help to define the style of the emerging wine.
It falls to cellar master Séverine Frerson to determine the ideal moment to conduct this operation, which opens up the final chapter in the champagne’s formative journey. Dosage imbues each of Perrier-Jouët’s distinctive cuvées with a uniquely crisp, dry character, like so many expressions of the House’s legendary signature.
It falls to cellar master Séverine Frerson to determine the ideal moment to conduct this operation, which opens up the final chapter in the champagne’s formative journey. Dosage imbues each of Perrier-Jouët’s distinctive cuvées with a uniquely crisp, dry character, like so many expressions of the House’s legendary signature.
From grape to glass: the 7 stages of champagne making
1. Harvesting
Selecting the finest grapes
Every champagne begins in the vineyards of the Champagne region. The grapes are carefully harvested at optimal ripeness to preserve their freshness, acidity and aromatic potential. The three main varieties used in champagne production are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
2. Pressing
Extracting the purest juice
After harvest, the grapes are gently pressed to extract the juice while preserving its purity and freshness. The resulting grape must is clarified before undergoing its first fermentation, marking the beginning of the winemaking process.
3. First fermentation
Creating the base wines
The grape juice undergoes its first fermentation, transforming it into still wine. These individual wines reflect the characteristics of their grape varieties, vineyard origins and harvest conditions, providing the foundation for the future Champagne blend.
4. Blending
Creating the signature wine
Known as assemblage in Champagne, blending is a defining stage in the creation of each cuvée. The Cellar Master combines wines from different grape varieties, vineyards and years, including reserve wines, to achieve the desired balance, complexity and signature style.
5. Second fermentation
Creating the Bubbles
The blended wine is bottled with a mixture of wine, sugar and yeast known as liqueur de tirage. This triggers a second fermentation inside the bottle, naturally creating the fine bubbles that characterise champagne through the traditional method (or méthode traditionnelle).
6. Ageing
Allowing complexity to develop
After the second fermentation, the bottles rest in the cellars for several years. This period of ageing allows the aromas and flavours to develop, creating the complexity, depth and elegance that define great champagne.
7. Disgorgement and dosage
Defining the final character
Once ageing is complete, disgorgement removes the lees collected in the neck of the bottle. A final addition of liqueur de dosage determines the balance and style of the champagne, revealing its final expression before release.