Glossary:

Blend - Most champagnes are a classic blend of three varieties in varying proportions: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

Disgorgement - the removal of yeast sediment from the bottle. During remuage the sediment settles in the neck of the bottle. The neck of the upside-down bottle is then placed in freezing brine, and when the cork is popped, the frozen sediment is ejected.

Dosage - blend of wine (usually older champagnes) and sweet wines added to a sparkling wine to adjust the blend before final corking. Almost all champagnes with a few exceptions, have some sweetness added to the final blend to balance the high acidity of these wines and make them more approachable to drink. This is also true for those champagnes labelled as Brut. The dosage is also used as a final adjustment to bring the new wine into line with the house style.

Liqueur d’expedition - the name given to the sweet wine and usually older reserve wines used in dosage.

Malolactic fermentation - the conversion of malic acid (acid found in green apples) into the much smoother lactic acid (acid found in milk) giving the finished wine a smoother mouthfeel but also potentially creating buttery, creamy aromas and flavours).

Oxidation - a process which occurs when wine comes into contact with oxygen. The effects can range from browning and dullness right through to the eventual transformation of the wine into vinegar.

Racking - the act of transferring a wine from one tank or barrel to another in order to leave behind the sediment.

Remuage - the gradual turning of a bottle of sparkling wine so that yeast sediment settles in the neck for subsequent disgorgement. Only required for bottle-fermented wines. Also known as 'riddling'.