Champagne–let it bubble over in 18 weeks
To my friends and supporters and wine lovers,
It has now come to my attention that there are 18 short weeks until I sit for the Master Sommelier exam, where I pray I will pass my service and tasting exams to earn the Master Sommelier title.
Back in the saddle, and ready to get my wine on, I have started my weekly emails with my fellow tester in the Chapel Hill area. He proposed we start with Champagne, and I could not be happier.
As part of this weekly study session, we pick a region or a subject and we send questions (approximately 15-20) to help prepare for any challenges that may come our way.
In case there are any readers who really want to geek out on wine, I share these questions in your honor.
So let it pop:
- Who makes Noble Cuvee?
- Name two premier crus in the Cote des Blancs.
- What are the only 2 premier crus in Champange with a 99% rating?
- What is the Special Club?
- When did the Special Club originate?
- Name three of its original members.
- What percentage of grapes must originate from the producer’s own vineyards to have RM on the label?
- What is the sweetness range, in grams per liter, of Extra Dry Champagne?
- List the grand crus of Montagne de Reims from north to south.
- What is deblocage?
- Gran Cordon is the tete de cuvee of what house?
- Mailly is a grand cru in what region?
- What is rebeche?
- What are the letters on a bottle of champagne that indicate the producer made and marketed the Champagne in conjunction with a Co-Operative?
- Name the Krug bottling made from 100% Pinot Noir.
- What is degorgement a la volee?
- Name the tete de cuvees of the following houses:
- Gosset
- Duval Leroy
- Veuve de Fournay
- Billecart Salmon
I know this may be a little extreme, but we’re in the short rows here, and extreme is all I got.
Cheers to making sure I have all of these answers in my back pocket come February.
Bubble or nothing.