Waist

The must produced during the first pressing is known as cuvée. The must that is extracted from the grapes after the first pressing is known as taille.

4,000kg of grapes (one Marc) fill a traditional press in Champagne. 2,550 litres of the grape juice from this quantity is used to make the Champagne utilised. Around 100 litres of juice are produced when the press is filled under the slightest pressure. This juice is known as bourbes. It contains dust and other impurities from the vines. This juice is unfit for consumption.

This is followed by the first pressing, which yields the best grape juice (la cuvée). This pressing yields 2,050 litres of juice. This first pressing involves three stages in detail, with the grapes being gently stirred twice in between (retrousses).Tête de cuvée refers to the (best) juice obtained from the first stages of pressing (also the term for the finest cuvée quality in general). This is followed by a second pressing, which yields a further 500 litres of grape juice. This is the juice known as taille or première taille. Some winegrowers sell the taille to other winegrowers and use only the must from the first pressing (the cuvée) themselves in the production of their champagnes.

In the past, the juice from a third pressing (deuxième taille) could also be utilised for Champagne. However, the total volume of grape juice that can be used for Champagne has recently been officially reduced from 2,666 litres to just 2,550 litres and the use of third-pressing juice for the production of Champagne has been banned.

A final pressing yields only coarse residual juice (rebêche). It is used for the production of brandy (Marc de Champagne).

The waist is enriched with other natural substances through the increasingly intensive pressing of the grapes.
For example, the breaking grape skins supplement the tannin content, which can have both favourable and unfavourable effects (see Tannin). In addition, the increased pressure on the grapes causes the taille to gain colour, which is of course not desirable for a white champagne. However, this 'Taille juice' from the second pressing is by no means to be understood as 'bad'. On the contrary: in the care of a skilful cellar master, it can contribute to very good champagne. In addition, the second-pressing Taille is considerably cheaper than the first-pressing juice (cuvée). Ultimately, this is also reflected in the relatively favourable price of a bottle of champagne on the supermarket shelf.

 

 

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