March 28, 2024
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Bursting myths of the bubbly> True champagne history shrouded in tall tales

While you are in the midst of ringing in the New Year this evening, there is a pretty good chance you will be celebrating it with a bottle of bubbly.

Champagne, considered the most elegant of wines, will be flowing freely throughout the world tonight. But is the wine that you are drinking Champagne or simply a sparkling wine? This question and many others that are often associated with this mystical wine can be answered by “bursting” some of the popular myths.

Myth No. 1: Any wine with bubbles that says Champagne on the label is Champagne.

Wrong! A wine can be called Champagne legally only if it is produced in the Champagne region of France under the closely regulated “Methode Champenoise.” The conditions of this method include using specific grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) to be made into wine fermented in a bottle twice (not a tank). In a process called remuage, the bottle is then painstakingly rotated, in many cases by hand, to move the sediment down to the base of the cork where a “plug” of sediment is frozen and then blasted out of the bottle. The bottle is then refilled with an agent such as a simple syrup (Brandy used to be the agent) to balance and stabilize the wine until it is ready for market. Any other wine, even if it is made in the same process from the same grapes, is simply known as sparkling wine (despite what the label may say).

Myth No. 2: A Benedictine monk named Dom Perignon invented Champagne.

Maybe … maybe not. The Moet & Chandon people would have my head for this response. They have named their “tete de cuvee,” or top blend, after this wine-making monk. As legend has it, this famous monk was baffled with the cork constantly popping out of his wine bottle. So being the creative monk that he was, he wired it shut. The legend goes on to say that after he tried the wine again, he proclaimed that he “was drinking stars.” Maybe he just had a little too much wine!

So where did the stars, or bubbles, come from? When you make wine, it is simple chemistry. You are taking the natural elements of sugar from the juice of the grape and combining them with the yeast of the skins. The end result is alcohol and carbon dioxide. If you cork a bottle of grape juice that is still going through fermentation or going through a secondary fermentation, the gas — CO2 — will push it out. My educated guess is that a lot of people had this problem and more than likely solved it in a similar way. I think that Dom Perignon was probably a monk who had a little marketing savvy and realized that wine tasted pretty darn good with bubbles in it.

However, the first several attempts at this wine produced less than attractive results. Because of the yeast and other sediment from the grapes being included in the wine, it produced a gross-looking but tasty mess that was mostly consumed in steel goblets until the remuage process was refined by the Clicquot Champagne house in the late 18th century. People could then proudly use real glass.

Myth No. 3: Champagne and sparkling wine are only made in “vintage” years.

False. The region of Champagne has particular years where the standards or grape quality are higher than others. In such years, collectively all of the producers in the region will “declare” a vintage year. In nondeclared years, the wine is often rolled over and blended with a previous year into what are called a nonvintage or NV wines. This NV practice is also used in California. NV wines are generally rated as high and sometimes higher than their declared counterparts.

Myth No. 4: Champagne and sparkling wine that are labeled extra dry are drier than Brut.

Wrong again, bucko! The term “dry” usually means lacking noticeable sweetness. Champagne and sparkling wine is a little different. The designations for Champagne and sparkling wine in order from driest to sweetest are: extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec, demi-sec and doux.

Myth No. 5: Champagne is better than sparkling wine.

That’s a matter of opinion. Quite honestly, real Champagne is expensive and somewhat overpriced. Unstable dollar exchange with France and luxury taxes impose an unusually high markup on this wine. But the French who know this all too well have done their very best to combat the situation. Over the past decade or more, many French Champagne houses have purchased large parcels of land in Napa, Carneros and Mendocino. They have even imported rootstock from Champagne vineyards in France to produce a remarkably similar wine right here in the U.S. for about half to a third of the cost of their more traditional tasting European cousins. Dollar for dollar, they are a much better value. Here is a short list of recommendations. An * indicates exceptional value:

Champagne

1988 Champagne, Clos des Goisses, Philiponnat — $100

A delightfully full-bodied blend. If you are going to really splurge, this one is worth it!

NV Champagne, Yellow Label Brut, Veuve Clicquot — $45

Perhaps one of the best NV blends made. It truly has a delicate style with an intense finish.

NV Champagne, Brut Imperial, Moet & Chandon, France — $40

You can’t go wrong with Moet. (Pronounced MOW-ETT with a hard “T”.) This wine is a consistent favorite among Champagne aficionados.

Sparkling Wine

NV Roederer Estate, Anderson Valley Brut, California — $17

Roederer of course is a fine French Champagne house. They have a great parcel of property in Mendocino that produces a wine that often is better than their French Brut Premier.

NV Domaine Chandon, Napa Brut, California — $16

Owned and operated by Moet & Chandon, one of the first Champagne producers from France to establish itself in California. Always well made and food compatible.

* NV Indigo Hills, Brut Chardonnay, North Coast, California — $12

A relative newcomer to the market, this wine has a surprisingly clean Chardonnay flavor and a nice balanced aftertaste. It’s really worth a try!

NV Domaine Mumm Cuvee Napa — $16

From Mumm of France, this wine has won many high marks this year. It has a delicious flavor and slightly yeasty aroma with a long, crisp aftertaste.

* 1991 Brut Sparkling, St. Hilaire, Blanquette de Limoux, France — $12

If you want the flavor and style of French Champagne without the price, this French sparkler may be what you’re looking for. It’s a great value. Look for it in the funny shaped bottle and the Clicquot look-alike yellow label.

And one more thing.

Myth No. 6: Cheap sparkling wine will give you a worse hangover than the good stuff.

Get real. It’s the amount of alcohol that you drink that gives you a hangover, not the quality. Too much of anything will give you a headache. The cure-all for the Champagne hangover? Don’t drink in excess. If you do, park the car and have plenty of ibuprofen the next day. Happy New Year!


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