Ghislain Payer is the one who mainly takes care of the vinification and the wine ‘cuverie’.
Pressing (‘le pressurage’), inspired by the craftsmanship of our ancestors and applied to today’s techniques, is carried out at the Domain with a 4000 kg pneumatic press. The entire harvest is pressed on site and stored in tanks where the first fermentation will take place.
Each grape variety (Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) is kept in a separate tank (‘la cuve’).
When the moment of assembly has come, the winegrower becomes an oenologist: he chooses grape varieties and proportions to obtain the best possible wine, with that very typical taste, specific to each House.
Champagne ‘Ghislain Payer et fille’ is mainly characterized by Chardonnay and Meunier, which bring fruitiness and finesse.
In April the wine leaves the tanks for bottling. The second fermentation takes place in the bottles, which creates the bubbles (‘la prise de mousse’).
The bottles rest in our cellar for 3 to 10 years (the minimum for AOC Champagne is 15 months; AOC = ‘Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée’).
Before the sale can start, each bottle should be ‘disgorged’: the winegrower will remove the residue and place a cork stopper. « We use the highest quality corks, so that our wines do not have a corky taste. »