🍇 Champagne harvest: why all grapes are picked by hand
In Champagne, strict rules safeguard quality and tradition. One of them makes the region unique: all grapes must be harvested by hand. No machines, just people and secateurs. This process, known as the vendanges, marks the start of every champagne story.
🥂 Hand harvesting for top quality
Why no machines? Because grapes for Champagne are extremely delicate. As soon as the skin breaks, the juice meets oxygen: oxidation can affect freshness and clarity. With black grapes (Pinot Noir, Meunier), the juice can also take on unwanted colour.
👉 Only hand harvesting ensures the grapes reach the press intact and clean.
📦 Small crates, great care
Harvested bunches go into small crates of 45–50 kilos, so they don’t get crushed under their own weight. Within a few hours of picking, the grapes are taken to the press houses, where the juice is carefully divided into:
- Cuvée: first pressing of 2,050 litres, highest quality.
- Taille: second pressing of 500 litres, lower acidity, lower quality.
This precision is part of what makes Champagne unique and helps explain why only hand harvesting is allowed.
👨🌾 The vendanges: harvest season in Champagne
The Champagne harvest is more than work; it’s a tradition. Every September/October, thousands of pickers fill the vineyards: families, friends, seasonal workers. There’s hard work, but also shared meals, laughter and celebration. For growers, it’s the highlight of the year, when months of vineyard work finally pay off.
🌍 Tradition and terroir, written into the rules
The requirement for hand harvesting is set out in the AOC rules for Champagne. It guarantees that every bottle tells a story of craftsmanship, terroir and respect for tradition. That’s one of the reasons Champagne stands apart from other sparkling wines.
✨ Brut23 - champagnes with character
At Brut23, we work with independent growers who hold this tradition close. You can taste their attention to detail and respect for nature in every cuvée.
Because Champagne is more than bubbles; it’s a story that starts with a hand in the vineyard.