Méthode Champenoise is the traditional method by which Champagne (and some sparkling wine) is produced. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding several grams of yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae although each brand has its own secret recipe) and several grams of rock sugar. According to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée a minimum of 1.5 years is required to completely develop all the flavour. For years where the harvest is exceptional, a millesimé is declared. This means that the champagne will be very good and has to mature for at least 3 years. At this time the champagne bottle is capped with a crown cap. The bottle is then riddled, so that the lees settles in the neck of the bottle. The neck is then frozen, and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the lees, and the bottle is quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution. 
The Vintage:
The grapes are hand-picked in September – mechanical harvesting is forbidden as might mangle the black grapes and cause discoloration of the juice. Only grapes prime condition are gathered. This selectivity, so important for quality, is called epluchage. The premier producers use only the juice from the fist pressing, known vin de cuvee, to make their champagne. A subsequent pressing – premier taille – which gives slightly darker juice, is often sold to co-operatives to make their champagne or sold to concerns who specialize in making BOB champagne. In 1992 the authorities abolished the use of the deuxieme taille – thin pressing of the grapes – to be used for making champagne. This usually fermented and distilled into local brandy – Marc de Champagne.
Fermentation:
When the pressure juice emerges it is allowed to settle for about 12 hours, so that impurities and solid matter descend to the bottom as the vat. Fermentation follows in stainless steel vats at a temperature of 20oC (68oF). The resulting dry white wine will have an alcoholic strength of 11%. The wine is rested until the following spring when cuvee or blend is made. Ones the blend agreed by the principles of champagne house, the still wine is pumped into large vat. A controlled proportion of liqueur de tirage – mix of old champagne, sugar and yeast – is added. The wine is immediately bottled and crown caps are attached.
Methode Champenoise: 
A second fermentation, which can last up to three months, takes place within each bottle and as the carbon dioxide is unable to escape chemically bonded in the wine. This slow process, known as presse de mousse (capturing the forth) produces a continuous stream of minute bubbles – the smaller and more intense they are the better. It also raises the alcohol content from 11% to 12% and the internal pressure to a peak of about six atmosphere (one atmosphere = 15 pounds per square inch). The bottles lie horizontally, piled high, resting on wooden slat dividers – sur lattes.
The wine is now powerfully effervescent but it is not clear, as an opaque deposit of dead yeast, tannin and other matter has settled along the inside of the bottle. 
Remuage:
Remuage or riddling is the traditional method used to clear the wine. The bottles, still horizontal, are taken to a holed wooden frame call a pupitres. This is made up of two rectangular boards hinged together to from an 
inverted V shape. The holes can accommodate the bottles (necks inwards) in any position from the horizontal to the vertical. The remueur (the removal person) manipulates the bottles, turning oscillation and tilting each one gradually to encourage the sediment into the neck of the bottle. At the end of this skilful but labour-intensive operation, which takes up to three months, the bottles will be almost vertical and the sediment resting on the cap. Many firms have now replaced their remueurs with mechanical, computerized gyropalettes which can do the some job equally well in one week. The bottles may be rested –upside down (the neck of one in the punt of another) for some time. The minimum ageing for non-vintage and vintage champagne is one year and three years respectively. However, the maturing period is more likely to be three years from non-vintage and five years for vintage quality. 
Champagne producers:
There are over 100 champagne houses and 15,000 smaller vignerons (vine-growing producers) operating in Champagne. These companies manage some 32,000 hectares of vineyards in the region, and employ over 10,000 people. Annual sales by all producers total over 300 million bottles per year, equating to roughly €4.3 billion of revenue. Roughly two-thirds of these sales are made by the large champagne houses and their grandes marques (major brands). 58% of total production is sold within France, with the remaining 42% being exported around the world – primarily to the UK, the U.S., and Germany.
At any one time, champagne producers collectively hold a stock of about 1 billion bottles which are being matured, equating to more than three years of sales volume.
The type of champagne producer can be identified from the abbreviations followed by the official number on the bottle:
Degorgement a la Glace:
When required for sale the bottles, still upside down, are passed along an automated line and necks are immersed in a freezing liquid of brine for seven minutes. The sediment is frozen into a pellet of ice which is removed by the process of degorement (disgorging). The degorgeur (the discharger) removes the temporary crown cap and the pressure of carbon dioxide within the bottle expels the pellet of ice. What is left behind is brilliantly clear champagne with an internal pressure of about five to six atmosphere. The little champagne lost by discharge is replaced by a dosage or solution of cane sugar and older champagne called liquor d’ expedition. The amount of sugar in the dosage will determine the style and relative sweetness of champagne. This will be indicated on the label.
The bottles are now sealed with best-quality corks from Portugal or Spain and wire cages are affixed to hold the corks in place. They may get a little more ageing before being dressed - neck foil and label – for sale.
inverted V shape. The holes can accommodate the bottles (necks inwards) in any position from the horizontal to the vertical. The remueur (the removal person) manipulates the bottles, turning oscillation and tilting each one gradually to encourage the sediment into the neck of the bottle. At the end of this skilful but labour-intensive operation, which takes up to three months, the bottles will be almost vertical and the sediment resting on the cap. Many firms have now replaced their remueurs with mechanical, computerized gyropalettes which can do the some job equally well in one week. The bottles may be rested –upside down (the neck of one in the punt of another) for some time. The minimum ageing for non-vintage and vintage champagne is one year and three years respectively. However, the maturing period is more likely to be three years from non-vintage and five years for vintage quality. 
Champagne producers:
There are over 100 champagne houses and 15,000 smaller vignerons (vine-growing producers) operating in Champagne. These companies manage some 32,000 hectares of vineyards in the region, and employ over 10,000 people. Annual sales by all producers total over 300 million bottles per year, equating to roughly €4.3 billion of revenue. Roughly two-thirds of these sales are made by the large champagne houses and their grandes marques (major brands). 58% of total production is sold within France, with the remaining 42% being exported around the world – primarily to the UK, the U.S., and Germany.
At any one time, champagne producers collectively hold a stock of about 1 billion bottles which are being matured, equating to more than three years of sales volume.
The type of champagne producer can be identified from the abbreviations followed by the official number on the bottle:
Degorgement a la Glace:
When required for sale the bottles, still upside down, are passed along an automated line and necks are immersed in a freezing liquid of brine for seven minutes. The sediment is frozen into a pellet of ice which is removed by the process of degorement (disgorging). The degorgeur (the discharger) removes the temporary crown cap and the pressure of carbon dioxide within the bottle expels the pellet of ice. What is left behind is brilliantly clear champagne with an internal pressure of about five to six atmosphere. The little champagne lost by discharge is replaced by a dosage or solution of cane sugar and older champagne called liquor d’ expedition. The amount of sugar in the dosage will determine the style and relative sweetness of champagne. This will be indicated on the label.
The bottles are now sealed with best-quality corks from Portugal or Spain and wire cages are affixed to hold the corks in place. They may get a little more ageing before being dressed - neck foil and label – for sale.
To be Continued..........
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