Marc

French · press load; pressed cake

In Champagne a marc is the standard pressing unit of 4,000 kg of grapes; the word also denotes the pressed cake, which goes to distillation.1,2

One 4,000 kg marc yields 2,050 L of cuvée and 500 L of taille, 2,550 L in total.2,3 Overall, Champagne base wines are limited to 102 litres of settled must per 160 kg of grapes.4 Presses today range from 2,000 to 12,000 kg of whole grapes.5

In its second sense, the pressed residue, Champagne also uses the word aignes.6 See pressurage, pressing and cuvée vs taille.

See also

PressingMethodsCuvéeGlossaryTailleGlossaryAignesGlossaryCuvée vs tailleStyles

Sources

  1. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Factsheet: Champagne making process (EN) (2024-05)
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Pressing
  3. Comité Champagne / champagne.education. L'élaboration du Champagne (fiche) (2024)
  4. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  5. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Pressing
  6. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19