Champagne

[ozzy72]

So you want to know how those fine bottles of bubbly are made?
That barrel holds over 10,000 litres of wine ready to be made into bubbly alas I forgot my straw!

Fozzers fantasy (the non-Jordan one)

This takes out some of the romance, mould, vital to the process


A couple of nice old barrels (German style)


Special thanks to Hagar who has been helping me to master this shiny new camera, and then adjust the pictures to look just right. Cheers Doug, I'll try not to ask any more silly Q.s.... maybe

[Craig.]

so how many barrels did you manage to fit in the back of your car then cool photos dunno about the mould though

[ozzy72]

Actually I wasn't driving, but as this place is about an eleven minute bus ride followed by a 3 minute walk from home why bother

[Craig.]

i am guessing thats a 3 minute sober walk home

[pete]

Nice pics Ozzy - did you sneek a couple of bottles out?  :D

Though ....  As a wine lover - I would have to point out that Champagne can only come from the Champagne area of France - otherwise it ain't Champagne  ;D

(loved getting that one in!)

But maybe you were indeed in France?

[ozzy72]

I don't hold with this wee piece of French snobbery I'm afraid... and the chap that founded this place had learnt the art in France a long long time ago (about 150 years).
Oh and walk home sober? If you can do that then there is something v.wrong

Mark

Ps. We have a brewery in town as well, so next open day I'll try and get some snaps in there. And of course there is our vineyard etc etc

[Hagar]

Good one Mark. These shots came out well.

Pete beat me to it with the definition of Champagne.

PS. I don't really see what the mould has to do with it except show how long it's been stored. Surely it can't get through the bottle into the bubbly? If memory serves me right from a visit to a similar establishment in the dim & distant past they have to rotate the bottles regularly.

[ozzy72]

Every two days all bottles must make a quarter turn, and always in the same direction. The racks of bottles you can see either side of the first shot are done that way.
The mould has something to do with the corks and preventing some chemical reaction, I didn't really understand it all myself, but I'm not a viticulturalist, just a drunk

[Fly2e]

Mark, I don't get the mold and cobweb thing  
Is that because the bottles have not been touched in so long? Why does mold grow only around the bottles?

Dave

[ozzy72]

I don't really understand the chemisty of this, its something to do with the fermenting juice reacting with the cork, so they allow the counter-active mould to grow to prevent dangerous reactions.
If you go to any established wine-maker then you'll see mould on the walls in the cellar, none of your stainless steel kit rubbish