Drinking Champagne, sparkling wine like 'sipping stars'
The Benedictine Monk, Dom Perignon, is quoted as saying "I am tasting the stars" upon sipping Champagne. Regardless of its factual relevance, the quote is a nice place to start, and with the holiday season approaching, there is no better time to talk about Champagne.
True Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France, be made only from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and be finished in the traditional method. Unlike still wines, Champagne goes through its final fermentation in the same bottle that you purchase it in. It is this final fermentation which produces the tiny bubbles in the bottle.
Since wines from outside of the Champagne region should not be labeled as such, how do you know that your "non-Champagne" Champagne has been made in the traditional method? The best advice when buying sparkling wine is to look for any of the following phrases (or some variation of them) on the bottle
- Methode Champenoise
- Methode Traditional
- Fermented in this bottle
- Champagne Method
Sparkling wine that is made in the traditional method has a different flavor (richer and creamier), different bubbles (much smaller) and different aroma (toasty and yeasty) than wines that are produced by a bulk (sometimes called "charmant") method. Does this make them better than bulk method wines? That all depends on what you like to drink. Remember, the best wine is the wine you like the best. Plain and simple.
Unfortunately Champagne can be expensive, with even the cheapest versions in the $30 range. I would recommend looking at other sparkling wines to start with: California is making some excellent sparkling wines (again...look for those phrases) as are Spain and Germany. Spain's famous sparkling wine is called Cava, and its German counterpart is called Sekt.
If you are interested in learning more and tasting some great sparklers, join me at the Ann Arbor Art Center on December 2 for an evening covering the various styles of sparkling wine.
Cheers.
Ron Sober is a Learning Specialist at U-M by day and an international wine judge, consultant and educator by night. He blogs about wine for AnnArbor.com
Comments
Hot Sam
Sat, Dec 5, 2009 : 9:11 p.m.
Ron...your welcome...it was a nice article...and for those of us lucky enough to still be working, it's a good year to buy bubbly!!!
Ron Sober
Fri, Dec 4, 2009 : 9:12 a.m.
Thanks sam...Yes, I thought of this after I wrote the posting and should have gone in and updated it.
Hot Sam
Thu, Dec 3, 2009 : 7:46 p.m.
There are actually 3 different grapes used in "Champagne"...Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
Ron Sober
Wed, Nov 25, 2009 : 8:29 a.m.
Maybe it is because if it is less expensive you buy and drink more:) thus the headache. While there may be some correlation between bubble size and price, it is more the method of how the wine is made. As it sits in the bottle fermenting the wine goes through a bit of a transformation. The longer it sits in that bottle (in contact with the yeast cells...etc.) the bubbles will get finer and finer. Wines made like this are usually pretty expensive. Fine bubbles produce a nice mousse (think of it like a foam on the top) and that is a very desirable quality in sparkling wine. The good thing is that you can get some great wines at a reasonable price. Check out Eric Arsenault's posting about holiday wines for some great champagne selections. Neither is cheap, but both are great values. http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/top-ten-wines-for-the-2009-holiday-season/
Peipei
Wed, Nov 25, 2009 : 7:06 a.m.
Very informative. We heard the "cheap" Champagne gives you headache (drink moderately, of course) and the finer the bubbles the better. Is it equivalent the more expensive Champagne the finer the bubbles?