'Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life -Charles Dickens
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| The entrance |
I must confess my knowledge of wine and champagne leaves a lot to be desired.
Many people I know may have a preference for a 'Shiraz' or Pinotage, for example, however, I only know that I like a semi-sweet, fruity taste.
Champagne is synonymous with festivity and happy times and I had a sense of this from the team at Colmant
The owners, Jean-Philippe Colmant and Paul Gerber, clearly run this farm with love and it is much more than just a business for them.
The farm is located very close to the town of Franschoek, hence it is very easily accessible.
When you enter the tasting room the first thing I noticed besides the bottles of champagne, were the figurines of the characters from the popular cartoon, Tintin which was created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, which gives visitors a hint of the owners' heritage
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Tintin in his car between the bottles of champagne
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The staff are really friendly and willing to share their vast knowledge of wine and champagne production.
I spoke to JP(Jean-Philippe) Colmant about the farm. He told me that he emigrated to South Africa 18 years ago and built the winery making exclusively Cap Classique, therefore, holding the accolade of being South Africa's first cellar solely dedicated to the production Cap Classique
They produce about 60,000 bottles of Cap Classique per year.
Interview with Jean-Philippe Colmant
What is Cap Classique?
Méthode Cap Classique(MCC) is a South African term for a sparkling wine made in the traditional method (the same way as champagne ) by undergoing a second fermentation
The team (Jessica and Cara) are really friendly and willing to share their vast knowledge of wine and champagne production.
I was given a tour of the property by Jessica Steyn, who impressed us with her extensive knowledge of the product. She gave us a lovely synopsis on the riddling process as well as Brut Plaisir, Brut Reserve, and Brut Rose
The riddling process
Riddling :
The process of moving the sediment remaining in the bottle from the second fermentation to rest in the neck of the bottle for easy removal
I had an opportunity to visit the cellar! I was impressed by the huge French oak barrels from the best coopers in Champagne, Jerome Viard of Tonnellerie de Champagne
It was lovely to visit the Colmant Cap Classique and Champagne. My knowledge of the production of the 'bubble' has certainly improved!
For more information check out the below links :
Colmant:
