1973

The year Riedel released its “Sommeliers Series” stemware. This iconic glassware line was the first ever to be based on different wine varietals.

A non-vintage Champagne

A. Is made from a blend of wines from chardonnay, pinot noir, and meunier, unlike vintage Champagne wines which are made from just one of those grapes in an especially good vintage year

B. Is primarily made from chardonnay in good but not great vintages

C. Is a blend of dozens of different wines from the same year but from potentially dozens of different villages (crus)

D. Is a blend of wines from several years and from several different vineyards and villages (crus)

Non-vintage Champagne (designated NV on the wine’s label) is a blend of wines from different years’ harvests and from different vineyards and villages (crus) within the Champagne region. Non-vintage Champagne wines represent the vast majority of Champagne wines produced. (By contrast, vintage Champagne represents a little less than 6% of exports). Non-vintage Champagne wines are valued for their consistency year to year. By blending multiple vintages, each Champagne maker can maintain a “house style” that consumers can depend on. Amazingly, in some cases, the range of vintages in a non-vintage Champagne can span up to 20 years. By law, non-vintage Champagne wines need to age on the yeast lees for at least 15 months, although most are aged longer. The minimum aging for a vintage cuvée is three years on the lees.

“It’s like Audrey Hepburn in the perfect little black dress. It’s not just a black dress—it’s a perfectly-lined black dress, with the perfect strand of pearls, the wrap, the whole thing. It’s not fancy, it’s not overdone. In winemaking, I do that. I don’t make blousy wines. I don’t make wines that are heavily out front. I make wines that you need to pay attention to.”

—Eileen Crane, CEO and Chief Winemaker at Domaine Carneros who retired after 33 years, on her winemaking style.

1973

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