How does Champagne compete successfully against other sparkling wine?

Champagne has been successful in competing against sparkling wine by creating a luxury product with a unique terroir, implementing quality-oriented production methods, protection of its appellation and a high-end marketing focus. It is the combination of quality product and effective marketing that has made the region so successful. The soil and climate with use of varietals contribute to Champagne's unique terroir. Vigilant and specific production methods focus on a quality product, heightened by the blending skill of the chef de caves. The role between the Houses and the Growers continues to evolve and rewards Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites with the highest prices. The Champenois have worked diligently to protect their distinct appellation, from lobbying with world trade organizations to taking legal action, when necessary. The investment in premium marketing has further cemented Champagne's pre-eminent role in the world of sparkling wines; there are no substitutes at this level. Champagne is the pinnacle of sparkling wines and other sparkling wines are not as successful in total sales, brand recognition and prestige. Today's current economic situation, however, creates challenges to that pole position as consumers are more price sensitive. However, only Champagne will ever be Champagne.

Champagne, located in France's northernmost vineyard land, has a unique terroir. Champagne's 35,000 hectares have a harsh, marginal climate and erratic sunshine. Located on a subsoil of belemnite chalk, the soil absorbs heat from the sun and slowly releases it during the night, challenging the vines to burrow for water, in addition to providing good drainage. Only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are authorized grapes, each imparting a specific character to Champagne. Chardonnay adds backbone, pinot noir gives body, while pinot meunier brings fruitiness and aromas. Strict controls restrict yields to 99hl/ha and grapes can only be hand harvested. There is no other place like Champagne.

Modern vinification focuses on quality and contributes to the Champagne premium. Temperature controlled fermentation of the base wines is common to retain fruit flavors and freshness. Champagne vinification is not extractive and the base wine contains only the cuvee and first tailles, vinified separately. Second tailles can not be used. A slow second fermentation in bottle adds to the complexity and a long maturation on lees adds fullness and richness. Aging requirements are 15 months for non-vintage(NV) champagne and to three years for vintage wines, however serious houses allow for two years for NV and up to six years aging for vintage. Blending is pivotal to Champagne. As a marginal climate, the quality of wines varies from vintage to vintage. Champagne is traditionally blended, from not only different villages such as the Montagne de Reims, Cote des Blancs or Vallee de la Marne but from different vintages and the three allowed varieties. Some houses use up to 20% of reserve wine to mitigate the quality and quantity differences from the year to produce a house style consistent with previous vintages. The blending skill of the chef de caves is paramount and arguably, one of the most important roles, to achieve consistent high quality Champagne, especially for non-vintage wines.

The role between the House and Grower has changed over time and currently, rewards the highest prices to the classified sites. On average, major houses only grow about 13% of the grapes needed for production. The remainder of this is purchased from the thousands of small growers. As prices increased in the 80s, the balance of power shifted to the growers and fixed pricing gave way to indicative pricing. Site classification has been the distinguishing mark of the region's crus, from a range of 80-100 percent of the maximum price, with the maximum price set by a committee of growers and house. The "Echelle des Crus," the ladder of growths, is a prorata system for determining grape prices. 17 Grand Crus receive 100% while the other 47 premier crus receive 90-99%. This is upwards from a revision in 1985 that was previously 50-100%. In 2008, the Growers agreed to supply a sufficient number of grapes to the houses, while the Houses agreed to share some of the economic upside with the growers. Growers, in line with the Houses, are committed to quality.

The Comite Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) has worked diligently to protect the brand of Champagne from improper use by limiting the use of the word Champagne from other countries outside France. Champagne is, by definition of the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), a GI, or geographical indication, qualities or reputation specific to that defined area. The EU protects this GIs. In 2008, over 3,000 bottles of illegally labelled Andre "California Champagne" bound for Nigeria were confiscated and destroyed by the EU. Under strict EU labelling laws, only sparkling wine from the Champagne region maybe labelled Champagne. An exception to this is the US, where sparkling wine not coming from northwest France can be labelled as Champagne but cannot be imported into the EU.

Champagne is marketed as a luxury product and more effectively, as part of a lifestyle. Champagne houses and the CIVC have spent significant money on marketing to the long-term customer. The seven biggest houses account for 70 per cent of the total champagne production and have focused on premium marketing. Few other beverages have the associations with wealth, power and luxury. Champagne is a symbol of glamour, good times and celebration. A high marketing spend is made possible by the high margin realized from Champagne. In 2003, Remy spent over 40% of gross margins on sustained marketing expenditures and recorded a 13% operating margin. In 2003 and 2004, the Office of Champagne spent multi-million dollars on a regional US campaign that asked “Champagne, not from Champagne?" in an effort to distinguish Champagne from other sparkling wines. In a recent study moderated by the Reims Management school, American Millenials(aged 21-31) perceived that champagne was more expensive and a higher quality. Moreover, they stated that champagne called for very special occasions. The Millenials focus group study underscores the effectiveness of Champagne’s marketing, even within this less sophisticated market segment.

Champagne, with 8% of the global sparkling wine market, has competed effectively against other less expensive sparkling wines such as Cava, Prosecco, Sekt and other tank or method tradionelle-produced wines by making and marketing the world's pre-eminent sparkling wine. However, as the recession takes hold, challenges abound. Recently, in key markets such as the UK and US, consumers traded down to less expensive sparkling wines. Moet Hennessy's champagne sales fell 35% in the first three months of 2009. Remy Cointreau fell 12% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. In 2008, the value of Champagne exports, according to CIVC, fell by 5%, a change from the 7% increase in 2007. In contrast, Spanish sparkling wine and cava, for the nine months ending September 2008 increased by over 35%. In March 2009, Waitrose commented that champagne sales were up 5% year on year, while cava and other sparkling wines saw an increase of 35%. The Champenois claim to have seen historic decreases in exports, with the last significant decrease following the dot.com downfall and this current downturn is part of the ebb and flow. Depending on how long worldwide economic challenges persist, other sparkling wines could gain considerable traction in the category. Growth in Champagne sales from emerging markets such as China and India could offset some of the current decrease.

In conclusion, Champagne, with its unique geology and climate, produced in a specific method, vigilant protection of its appellation and emphasis on premium marketing has made it successful in competing against other sparkling wines. Chalk, a marginal climate and the use of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier are unique to Champagne. Quality control in the vineyards and in vinification ensures a quality-oriented product, made consistent by the art of blending. Protecting the use of word Champagne, has helped to distinguish the unique and special attributes of the appellation that can only be found in northwestern France. Benefiting from higher margins, the Champenois have marketed aggressively, and combined with a quality product, are drivers of Champagne's success. Today's current economic situation, however, creates challenges to that pole position as people become more price sensitive but only Champagne will ever be Champagne.

Discuss the factors influencing the choice of rootstock.

Rootstock selection is determined firstly by survival, resistance to soil pests or diseases, then to environmental suitability, to the chemistry of the soil and climate, as well as to the objectives for production and performance of the chosen scion-rootstock pair. Rootstocks are most commonly used to prevent soil pests or diseases, the most important are phylloxera and nematodes. Adaptation to a particular soil and climate conditions, such as tolerance to drought or wetness, as well as to lime, acidic or saline levels in soils will also determine rootstock selection. A rootstock will be selected for production and performance compatibility with the chosen grafted variety, for control of yields, mineral conditions and ripening time. Sourcing of the rootstock is important and could be mandated by law. Some argue that rootstock choice is more important than scion selection. If the rootstock cannot root and grow, then it will never be strong and thus, economically viable.

Rootstocks are frequently used to prevent soil-borne pests or diseases such as phylloxera or nematodes. Widespread phylloxera devastation in France in the 19th century lead to the use of resistant American species and now more commonly, hybrids. One hybrid erroneously thought to be phylloxera resistant was AXR1, which succumbed to phylloxera in the 1980s, requiring the replanting of large amounts of land in Napa and Sonoma. The term "nematode resistant" is virtually meaningless as there are different nematodes such as dagger, rootknot and ring; the nematode resistance needs to be specified. Resistance to one nematode does not mean the rootstock is resistant to a other species of nematodes. SO4 is used widely in Europe and not as frequently in the US. SO4 offers high phylloxera, medium to high rootknot and low to medium dagger resistance. In some parts of Chile, Argentina, Australia and California nematode resistant grape rootstock need is thought to be on a par with, if not more important than, phylloxera resistance. At Errazuriz's vineyards in Casablanca Valley, Chile, nematodes thrive in the sandy soils, severely decreasing vigor and sometimes, killing vines. One of the rootstock in use is Harmony, with a high nematode resistance but with no protection to phylloxera. Keeping the rootstock healthy and free from soil pests and diseases is paramount.

Despite the importance of disease resistance, environmental adaptation has been one of the main reasons for continued rootstock trials. Rootstocks are selected for their suitability to particular soil conditions relative to the chemical levels of lime, acidity, pH or salinity in soils and climate conditions such as drought or wetness. Some rootstocks are better suited to certain soil types than others. SO4 has low to medium to tolerance to drought, low to medium tolerance to salinity and medium tolerance to lime. Colome in the Salta region of Argentina is currently in the process of replanting rootstock as the previously planted SO4 had a poor uptake of magnesium that resulted in a deficiency that inhibited photosynthesis. Lime-rich soils can induce lime-induced chlorosis in areas such as Champagne and Burgundy, where limestone content is high. SO4 and Fercal are popular choices. Acidic soils such as those found in Oregon need rootstocks that can tolerate acidity although liming the soil is an alternative. A study in Australia showed that vines grafted to Ramsey did not have any effect on yields in areas of high salinity. In the hot and arid Cotes-du-Roussillon, rootstocks like 110R have a high drought tolerance. Drought tolerance rootstocks may become more important with global warming but 110R may be too vigorous if the climate becomes warmer and wetter. In Inner Mongolia in China, winter hardiness is important for survival due to extreme sub-zero temperatures. Rootstocks such as Beta may be used. The complex puzzle of rootstock selection needs to be matched with soil and climate.

Rootstocks can affect vigor, mineral nutrition and ripening time and need to be paired accordingly with the scion. Many growers think that controlling vigor is the most desirable rootstock trait, second only to phylloxera resistance. Rootstocks at Errazuriz were chosen with a dual purpose to both to combat nematodes but also to control vigor. With chardonnay, high vigor rootstocks in low vigor sites can reduce the time needed to train vines. However, high vigor rootstocks like St George can adversely affect quality by producing overly dense canopies and high yields. SO4's main drawback is its low vigor; however, it is more productive on high vigor, irrigated and fertile sites. Cabernet Sauvignon has both a high magnesium and potassium demand and should not be grafted onto rootstock that is susceptible to those deficiencies, especially when levels are low in the soil. The effect of rootstocks on fruit ripening is particularly important in cool-climate viticultural regions such as Oregon and New York. In years when rain or frost looms, advancing fruit maturation by a few days could result in a significant economic benefit to the grower. Selecting an earlier ripening rootstock may allow for greater optimal grape maturity before harvest. Matching the appropriate rootstock with the varietal can positively affect quality.

Growers should seek certified virus-free plants with no record, according to Channing Daughters Winery in Long Island. Reputable nurseries sell certified virus free plant material from the Foundation Plant Services(FTS) at UC Davis with similar programs available from Geisenheim, Montpelier and Bordeaux. Other local growers, a nearby cooperative extension and consultants may have local experience and are helpful in determining the choice of rootstock. In addition, appellation rules in the EU may specify the usage of rootstock, limiting the choices.

Choosing more than one rootstock, even for the same conditions, is a method to hedge one's bets. Cain Vineyards in Napa uses an assortment of rootstocks as they feel they are still discovering which rootstocks work best with their sites and produce the best tasting grapes.

In conclusion, there are many factors influencing the choice of rootstock. Prevention of soil pests such as phylloxera and nemotodes are the first priorities. Chances for success can be increased by matching rootstock attributes to soil and climate conditions of the site. Finally, matching scion and rootstock to obtain optimum yield, mineral levels and ripening is another factor in rootstock selection. Rootstock selection is both an art and a science as multiply remedies are available, depending on the objectives of the grower.