Elaboration of our champagnes

Viticulture

Champagne Pierre PINARD vineyards are only located on the municipality of Sézanne. Vines are subject to a considerable attention. “Quality of Champagne’s wine originates in the vineyard”.
Our farm operation is member of the first “Groupement de Développement Viticole de la Champagne” or Champagne Wine Development Group since its creation twenty years ago. A viticultural engineer comes every week to examine our control plot and provide us with his personalised advice. This allows us to adopt the principles of reasoned agriculture to fight against vine parasites: “The right product, at the right time, in the right place”. In this way we are limiting the number of treatments to what is strictly necessary.
During harvest, end of September, grapes are manually cut by grape pickers. The bunches are transported to the press in 45 kg weight crates.

Pressing

Grapes are weighed and poured in the press which contains 8000 kg. This press, a pneumatic one, is certified by Quality Charter.
Pressing should be both soft and quick to avoid grape skin to be in long contact with grape juices. Indeed, we want to obtain a juice as clear as possible. From the 8000 kg of grapes, 51 hectolitres are extracted, which represents 160 kg for 1 hl.
Juices or musts (unfermented grape juice) are split into 2 fractions:
- The “cuvée” for 41 hl which is composed of first juice, the best one
- The “taille” for the other 10 hl
Pierre PINARD Champagnes are made only with juice from the cuvée.

Vinification

Grape juice is kept in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats in order to limit temperature to 18°C during fermentation. Wine is then extracted (changed the vat) several times to clarify it, and filtered. In January or February, wines are blended. This blending consists of “combine” wines from white grapes and from black grapes in a proportion appropriate to each Champagne House and depending on cuvées that we want to produce. Reserve wines are added at the same time. This allows to obtain a quality and a constant taste from one year to the next.

Ageing

In the spring wine is ready to be bottled. Yeasts and sugar are added to boost fermentation within the bottle. These are then lying on laths for 2 to 3 years. Thus bubbles and foam are born; a 10 to 12°C temperature is required during the bottle fermentation called “prise de mousse” to obtain tiny and persistent bubbles. Bottle fermentation causes a residue. The “remuage” consists in making down this deposit in the bottleneck to eliminate it. Then the bottleneck is plunged in a cooling liquid. An ice block is formed. Next the bottle is held upright and the cap is removed. The trapped residue in the ice is ejected from the bottle by the gas pressure (6 bars), this step is called disgorging. The bottle is then filled with a “liqueur de dosage”. The champagne Brut contains a small amount of liquor, less than the Demi-sec.
Finally, the bottle is sealed with the champagne cork. After a few months of rest, the bottle will be covered with a cap foil and labelled.