Champagne Sourdet Diot - Our work from A to Z

Vineyard Works

The Pruning

From November to March

This is carried out according to very precise rules with the objective of limiting the yield. The only methods authorized are: Chablis pruning, Cordon de Royat pruning, Guyot pruning and Vallée de la Marne – Marne Valley – pruning.
We can start when the leaves have fallen.

The Binding

From February to April

This involves binding the vine’s branches to wires.

The Disbudding

Beginning of May

We remove the unnecessary buds to ensure the quality of grapes.

The Lifting

From mid-May to mid-June

The shoots of the vine are directed upwards in order for them to enjoy more light. These grape bearing shoots are attached to wires above the vines that provide the necessary support. The lifting takes place before the flowering.
For information, the harvest begins around one hundred days after the middle of flowering period.

The Trellising

From mid-June to early July

The Trellising consists of placing clips, after having ensured an even distribution of the foliage, to attach the shoots to the upper wires.
The aim of the trellising is to encourage photosynthesis by providing a good ventilation to the foliage. Good distribution of sugars between the plant and the fruit is a major factor in the quality of the grapes.

The Tremming

From July until Harvest

With the tractor, we cut the shoots on the top and on the side. This task is important in order to remove the unnecessary shoots that rise up seeking light and risk depriving the grapes of nutrients and light.

The Spraying

We protect the vineyard against pest and diseases.
Appropriate treatments are carried out based on the advice of specialists and with due consideration for the environment.

The Harvest

Mid-September

The picking of the grapes is subject to strict procedures. It must be done only by hand in order for bunches to arrive intact at the pressing center. Harvesting machines are forbidden in Champagne. The bunches are placed in small baskets which are dotted with aeration holes to avoid asphyxiation and overheating of the berries, and to encourage any rainwater to drain away.

Winemaking Process

The Grape Pressing

As soon as the bunches are picked, they are taken to the press-house. Our press has a load capacity of 6 000 kgs of grapes in whole bunches. When the appropriate weight is reached, the pressing can begin and will carry on from 3 to 4 hours. All the varieties of grapes are pressed seperately – excepting concerning the bleeding rosée. We will obtain 30.75 hl of “cuvée” -first pressing- and 7.5 hl of “taille” -second pressing. The different juices and the different grapes varieties are then vinified separately.

The Racking

The must is then transferred into small tanks called “Belons”, to proceed to natural racking. The lees, also called foreign materials, will fall by gravity at the bottom of the tank during 12 to 24 hours.

The Alcoholic Fermentation

Before the fermentation, if the sugar level is not high enough, we need to add some sugar to the must. This is called “Chaptalisation”.
The aim of this step is to turn the must into wine. To do so, natural yeast are used to transform sugar into alcohol. During the fermentation, the temperature rises and is maintained at 18/20°C to keep the finesse and the aromatic complexity. To maintain the same temperature at all times, our vatting house is provided with Stainless stell tanks that are Temperature-controlled.

The Malo-Lactic Fermentation

This fermentation transforms strong malic acids into sweet lactic acids. It gives to the wine less acidity and more refinement flavours and assures a greater stability in the future. The malo-lactic fermentation is less intense but longer then the alcoholic fermentation.
This fermentation is not always necessary. We decide weither if it would benefit to our Cuvée after having tasted the juices of the year.

The Clarification

The effect of the yeasts during the two last fermentations creates a sediment in the bottom of the tank. That is why we rack the wines a second time.

The Blending

The blending is an essential moment in the Champagne-making process. This step of harmonisation keeps the same typicity of our Champagnes year after year.
It is the heart of a precise selection of different grape-varieties, different juices and different years, to obtain the perfect balance.

The Tartaric Stabilisation

The aim of this step is to cool down the cuvées that have just been blended, which gives a clean and stabile wine. If this process is not made, it could lead to gerbage, a situation when the bottle empties completely while beeing opened. Indeed, some tartaric crystals can be created because of a thermal shock.

The Bottling

During Spring, we bottle our production during 2 days with a rythm of about 4 500 bottles an hour. For this step we use the help of provider who comes to help bottling.
2 to 3 people are in charge of putting the empty bottles on the chain. Each one of the bottles is filled up with wine and closed by a crown caps. Then, 5 to 6 people get the filled bottles to organize them, in order to store them for the ageing process on laths.

The ``Prise de Mousse``

The “Prise de Mousse” begins 3 or 4 days after bottling. The cellar has to be at a constant temperature, so that the creation of bubbles and pressure will be optimum. It is one of the most delicate step of the Champagne elaboration. This moment is the one when the difference between a wine and a sparkling wine is made.

Last Steps

The Maturation on Laths

Once the “Prise de Mousse” is over, the bottles will age in our cellars to reach their maturity. In Champagne, legislation sets minimum periods. There must be at least 15 months between the draw and the expedition for non-vintage champagnes. For vintages, the period is extended to 3 years.
For most of our cuvées, this ageing process lasts at least three years.

The Riddling

To remove the sediment created by the yeasts during the “Prise de Mousse”, we have to riddle the bottles. This gesture, carried out manually or automatically -on gyropalettes-, consists in helping the yeast sediment going down in the neck of the bottle. Using wooden puppets, this operation lasts 1 month and we have to riddle the bottles by hand every day. Thanks to gyropalettes, this operation can be carried out in 1 week.

The Disgorgement

The disgorgement is the moment when we remove the sediment grounded in the bottom of the neck of the bottle. To do so, the neck of the bottle is immersed in a solution at -25 °C, which freeze the sediment directly inside the bottle. At the opening of the bottle, the pressure expells the ice-cube containing the sediment. The bottles remain open for about 30 seconds. Then, the bottle receives a dosage liquor – liqueur d’expédition – to replace the loss of wine and give its personality to our Champagne. The dosage liquor determines the type of Champagne (Brut, Half-Dry, Extra Brut) by adding cane sugar and reserve wine. Once the liquor is incorporated, we put the cork and the muselet.

The Labelling

Two months after the disgorgement, so that the dosage liquor and the Champagne mixes well, we dress the bottles with their festive clothes. Once this is done, our bottles are ready to fancy up your tables.