Deligogo Blog, share food and wine articles and add your reference links

Deligogo blog articles are randomly featured with each listing (individual services and products) by matching keywords. Every time a listing page is refreshed, different articles will appear. Articles contain embedded links (a nice way to exchange links!) and are always presented with the writers image and a reciprocal link to the writers blog or website. If you interested to post articles in this blog feel free to contact us (read more ...).

CATEGORIES - General - Deligogo website - Culinary courses - Wine courses - Design labels - Culinary Tours - Wines - Deserts - Other alcoholic drinks - Vinegar and Oil - Non alcoholic - Fine Food - Dairy products - Meat & Meat products - Sea Food - Herbs & Spices - Sweets - Recipes - Other Subjects - Preservation Methods - Profiles - Profile Video

Cuvée Champagne - Another Champagne Myth?

Jiles Halling,
UK’s leading Champagne host

Recently I noticed how many people search Google every month for the term Cuvée Champagne. There are thousands and I got to wondering why.

I suppose that many people think that these two simple words somehow indicate a better quality champagne. If that’s the case then I’m sorry to say that this is just another of those weird tales and anecdotes that champagne seems to attract for no apparent reason. Here’s why...

Don’t get me wrong, I love the glitz and glamour that has been built up around champagne just as much as the next person; without it a glass of champagne would be just another glass of wine, with it champagne becomes a luxurious little indulgence that leaves us feeling that the sun is shining and all is right in the world.

In many ways the reputation of champagne is built on real quality but on the other hand the aura of mystery and magic that goes with champagne can conceal a lot of hot air and ‘marketing speak’ that has little or no foundation in fact.

If you don’t want to waste your money it’s important to be able to tell the difference between the two and cuvée champagne falls fair and square into the category of ‘champagne misconceptions’

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

The word cuvée comes from the word Cuve which means a vat or container used to store wine. The picture above shows a row of 'cuves' and there's nothing particularly glamourous or special about them, as you can see.

The cuvée is the actual liquid that’s in the vat, so for all intents and purposes cuvée really only means ‘wine’ and doesn’t have any notion of special quality whatsoever.

The meaning has been extended to indicate a particular blend that the champagne maker has put together, but there’s nothing remarkable about that either because all champagne is a blend so every single champagne that is produced could be described as cuvée.

Sometimes you see the words special cuvée or even cuvée de prestige which people assume means that the champagne is of a higher than normal quality. Well, that’s true as far as it goes: Dom Pérignon is considered to be a cuvée de prestige and the same could be said for Cristal or any other famous brand but there are no absolute criteria to say what can and can’t be a special cuvée or a cuvée de prestige, so in theory any champagne maker can use these words.

The word cuvée is also used in another sense. It’s the word used to describe the first juice that comes from the grapes as they are pressed.

Lots of champagne makers make a big thing about only using La Cuvée for their champagnes as if this is very rare, but here again you’ve got to be careful not to get taken in by flowery language.

La Cuvée is the most sought after part the juice because it’s rich in both sugar and acid - you need both to make a great champagne – and it has none of the bitterness that you can find in La Taille which is the juice that comes out of the press towards the end of the pressing process.

That’s when you're getting down to the skins, pips and stalks and these can give the juice a sort of astringency and that’s best avoided.

BUT...
The fact of the matter is that a full 80% of the juice that comes off the press is classified as Cuvée, so it’s not that exclusive after all.

That’s the thing about champagne: a little knowledge can be dangerous, so my advice would be don’t put too much importance on the word cuvée and certainly don’t automatically think that cuvée champagne is necessarily the stuff to look out for.

Second picture courtesy of Billecart-Salmon

For an update of Jiles last publications: read more …..

If you would like to comment, login.

Current Comments:

No comments have been made yet. You should make one now!

Link to this Blog:

The permanent link to this blog is:
http://www.deligogo.com/blog/184/

Posted	Blog
February 5, 2011	Rossese of Dolceacqua
February 1, 2011	@VitaBellaWine Champagne Pol Roger 1914: What makes a Luxury Wine…Extraordinary?
January 24, 2011	M.Chapoutier Australia Trophy for Best Shiraz at Concours des Vins du Victoria awarded to Harcourt Valley Vineyards
November 6, 2010	What is Wine for us Human by Dejan Panjicanin
October 27, 2010	Wine in Austria
October 24, 2010	A Glimpse Inside A Champagne Press House
October 23, 2010	Aussie Cult wines go through a turbulent period and the emergence of social media age may not help to restore the good image they built over the last 30 years.
August 26, 2010	Champagne-How Much To Harvest?
August 8, 2010	Handcrafted wineries in France
July 19, 2010	Champagne Appellation - No Second Chance
July 6, 2010	Champagne Labels - It's All Back To Front (short version)
July 3, 2010	Champagne Brands - The Real Way To Discover Amazing Small Brands - Part 1
June 19, 2010	Hermes and its new brand - Shang Xia -: a good lesson for luxury wines
June 16, 2010	Château Gruaud Larose, first Second Growth to offer its 2009 as futures
June 15, 2010	Siam and the Floating Vineyards
June 14, 2010	Acker Merrall’s luxury wine auction or the new battle between First Growth Bordeaux in China
June 13, 2010	Rasa Shiraz 2007 - The first and only Indian wine to be awarded a medal at Syrah du Monde
June 11, 2010	Acker Merrall’s luxury wine auction or the new battle between First Growth Bordeaux in China
June 8, 2010	Robert Parker, Primeur 2OO9 and eRobertParker.com
May 26, 2010	The Chablis wine region
May 25, 2010	Andrew Jefford - A Day in the Life of a Wine Writer
May 25, 2010	Château Palmer - Video
May 14, 2010	Château Pierre Bise – Coteaux du Layon Les Rouannières vertical & latest releases
April 28, 2010	News just in ... Red wine starts off GREEN!
April 26, 2010	PB Valley Winery - Thailand - World Wine Tour
April 10, 2010	Chateau des Brumes - World Wine Tour
April 6, 2010	Vinitaly 2010: Interview with Vito Catania, owner of Azienda Gulfi, about the 4 Crus in Sicily
March 31, 2010	Where to Eat in Champagne
March 26, 2010	BMW, Audi and Forbes Reports: some good News for Luxury Wines?
March 24, 2010	Experience the Red Shoe Magic from The View
March 17, 2010	Robert Parker, Bordeaux Primeurs and the New Decade: To be Graceful or not to be
March 15, 2010	Bordeaux En Primeurs: Chateau Gruaud Larose holds a Clinic with Leading International Wine Experts
March 13, 2010	Why an Italian Luxury Wine goes to En Primeur Tasting in Bordeaux?
March 12, 2010	Kanonkop, A New Luxury Wine in South Africa
March 6, 2010	How to Decipher an Italian Wine Label
March 3, 2010	First stop Krug - Jiles Halling - Champagne
February 26, 2010	Rosé Champagne - How to Find The One You Love, part 2
February 26, 2010	Jayson Bryant - The first Wine Video Blog in NZ
February 26, 2010	Tasting wines in Langhe and Monferrato (Piedmont - Italy)
February 19, 2010	Kinkead Ridge - Chehalem Valley Vineyards in Yamhill
February 13, 2010	Okanagan Villa – A Dream Realized - Wine Trails – Canada
January 10, 2010	Rosé Champagne - How to Find the One You Love, part 1
January 8, 2010	What are Grower Champagnes and why you should try them.
January 5, 2010	Wines of Cahors, Capital of Malbec, France (video)
January 5, 2010	Online webshops - www.bestofwines.com (European buyers) - www.wine-searcher.com (global site)
January 5, 2010	Online wine auctions - www.spectrumwine.com - www.winebid.com
December 9, 2009	Death of the Wine Magazine