A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 1 Dec 2015 - T for Champagne

Good Morning Bloggers!

It's Tuesday again and I will link up with Elizabeth at T for Tuesday. Please join us. All you have to do is have something drink related in your post (I bet you have a mug on your desk and that will do).

My drink related things are postcards of champagne making. The following postcards are from my grandmother's collection. She traveled a lot in Europe after WW2 and her cards are all from the late nineteen forties to the early sixties. 
This card shows the pressing room at Moet & Chandon.

Moet & Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house in Epernay, France.

After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding yeast and sugar. During this time the champagne bottle is sealed with a bottle top like the ones used for beer bottles.
The bottles are then placed in racks called 'pulpitres' .

After ageing, the lees (dead yeast and residual particles) must be consolidated for removal. The bottles undergo a process known as 'riddling' (French: remuage). Every two days the bottles are given a slight shake and turn, alternatively on right then left, and dropped back into the pulpitres, with the angle slightly increased. The drop back into the rack causes a slight tap, pushing sediments towards the neck of the bottle. In 8 to 10 weeks the position of bottle is straight down, with the sediment settled in the neck.

Le Remueur (1889), engraving of a man engaged in the laborious daily task of turning each bottle a fraction.

The lees removal process is called 'disgorging'. Modern automated disgorgement is done by freezing a small amount of the liquid in the neck and removing this plug of ice containing the sediment.

I have seen photos on Trip Adviser of the cellars and they don't look any different to these.

On a personal note: our house is coming on fine. We now have a back door:

Since we took the photo we have made a threshold and covered the gap at the top.

This space, now occupied by building materials, will be the car port. The door opens up to a long staircase  down that connects all four floors.
This is what it looks like on the other side:

The back door is not visible on this photo as it's on the other side. We have a magnificent view from our house.

I finally have my Tangle it! Journal. It nearly took a month to arrive but i have it now!

I have started tangling on the first page. This book is going in my handbag when we travel (we're going to Holland on the 21st) as it is ideal to while away waiting time.

That's it from me for today. Have a great T-Day and see you tomorrow for WOYWW.

Blessings,

Lisca