The Invisible Element
There is one element often overlooked, yet crucial to the making of Champagne: the Champagne cellars.
When you walk through the region, you see the hillsides, the villages, and the vineyards. But an essential part of the process happens underground.
A 90-Million-Year History
Let’s take a trip back in time to 90 million years ago. At that time, oceans covered the region.
Sediments (shells & rocky deposits) carried by the oceans were deposited on the bottom of what would become Champagne. They piled up to a thickness of 200 metres, forming the limestone subsoil of the region.
Geological Benefits for Viticulture
This limestone subsoil has characteristics that are favorable for growing vines:
- Drainage: As a fragmented material, it favors soil drainage, ensuring the vines do not remain waterlogged.
- Water Regulation: The limestone is highly porous, made up of marine micro-organisms. It acts as a water tank, capable of holding between 300 to 400 liters per m3. This ensures the vines have sufficient water supply, even in dry summers.
Ideal Conditions for Maturation
The limestone also contributes to the production process by providing a stable environment.
From a level of 7 metres below the ground, the temperature remains constant at 10 to 12°C, summer and winter. The humidity stays between 90 to 100%, with no condensation, as the limestone absorbs excess moisture.
These conditions are necessary for the conservation of wines and the slow formation of foam (the second fermentation).
“Les Crayères” (The Chalk Pits)
Among the most notable cellars are “Les crayères”, ancient stone quarries dating back to the Roman era, when the city of Reims was known as Durocortorum.
There are around 250 of these underground cavities. They are huge hollow pyramids, ranging in height from 10 to 35 meters. Originally opened for stone extraction, they were dug by gradual widening from a small upper hole.
A Historical Network
Several Champagne houses converted these quarries and linked them by galleries to store their bottles, including Ruinart, Charles Heidsieck, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Henriot and Abel Lepitre.
The Veuve Clicquot galleries alone are 24 km long. In total, the region hosts around 250 km of cellars, storing stocks that reached over 1,400 million bottles in recent years.
Conclusion
It is here, in the depth of the earth, within these subterranean galleries, that the wines of Champagne undergo their long maturation process, acquiring the complexity and character that define the region’s production.
(Dr.FX)
”เนื้อหาบนหน้านี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อให้ข้อมูลและความรู้เท่านั้น และไม่มุ่งหมายเพื่อการส่งเสริมหรือการโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ ผู้เข้าชมต้องมีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ”
