Let's Talk About Champagne

Royalty has been associated with Champagne since the 17th century. Throughout time, vineyards associated their Champagnes with nobility and royalty through advertising and packaging. The wine industry has done a wonderful job of selling Champagne as a luxury good, dressing it up in a designer bottle and handsome box, ready to pop and pour.

True Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France following rules that demand secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create the carbonation. The primary grapes used in the production of Champagne are black Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, but also white Chardonnay.

The traditional method is clearly time-consuming and labor-intensive, and over the years winemakers have developed less costly variations on the process. Today, we use the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine, but in some countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under their official rules. What puts the sparkle in all of these sparkling wines? The not-very-romantic answer is carbon dioxide. History tells us Champagne was accidentally discovered as the result of secondary fermentation occurring within bottles of wine.

Before central heating, bottled wine would get cold over the winter, and in the spring, the contents would warm up and begin fermenting again. The fermentation process releases carbon dioxide. However, the gas has nowhere to go in a sealed bottle, and forms bubbles that are suspended in the wine. This accidental effervescence was not welcomed at first – a lot of bottles exploded before patrons discovered how tasty the sparkling wine was. They had to create heavier, stronger bottles to contain the lively new wine.

More Champagne is sold in the fourth quarter of each year than in the first three quarters combined, which tells you two things: 1) we understand that Champagne and other sparkling wines can be celebratory beverages; and 2) we have no idea what we are missing the rest of the year.

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Champagne is remarkably versatile, wonderful with a wide variety of foods. It can be great with sushi and seafood. But it’s also terrific with foods that might be considered too ‘low class’, like popcorn, fried chicken and even pizza. One of the few foods that it doesn’t taste good with is caviar, as it tends to make Champagne taste metallic. Chilled vodka is a much better choice. Of course, the Russians could have told us that.

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Champagne: Dry or Sweet?
Champagne and most sparkling wines indicate their level of sweetness on the label. Look for these key words.

Brut: This is a wine with no perceptible sweetness. It will go well with food, because of the low sugar level and acidity.

Extra Dry: Surprise! This wine is actually slightly sweet, not as dry as Brut. There is just enough residual sugar on the palate to make it noticeable, but not so much to be syrupy.

Sec: This wine labeled with the French word for ‘dry’ is sweeter than Extra Dry.

Demi-Sec: This is a fully sweet sparkling wine, often served with dessert.

Champagne: The Grape

Many Champagnes and sparkling wines will give you a clue to their contents in the name. Look for these French phrases on the label:
Champagne: This is made from a combination of the traditionally permitted grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Blanc de Blancs (‘White of whites’): This is made from 100 percent white grapes. In the case of Champagne, it will be 100 percent Chardonnay. In regions outside of Champagne, any white grapes may be used. These wines are typically lighter and more delicate than those incorporating red grapes.

Blanc de Noirs (‘White of blacks’): This is wine made entirely of black grapes—either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two. It will be heavier-bodied than a Blanc de Blancs or Champagne made with Chardonnay. After crushing the grapes, winemakers quickly remove skins from the clear juices, so little of the grapes’ color is imparted to the wine.
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Champagne: How To Serve
Don’t chill your bubbly in the freezer – that tends to kill the wine’s effervescence. For quick chilling, place the bottle in a mixture of ice and water for 15 to 20 minute or lay the bottle down in the refrigerator for three to four hours. Open a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine very carefully! Don’t forget this wine is bottled under pressure of 90 pounds per square inch. It’s fun to hear to pop and watch the cork and froth explode from the bottle, but remember it’s also a waste of good wine. Use long-stemmed tulip glasses or flutes to minimize the wine surface area that comes in contact with the air. Wide-bowl glasses look great in old movies, but they tend to let the bubbles dissipate too quickly.

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