A Toast to Champagne!

"Tiny bubbles in the wine...."  As you read those words does the tune pop into your head from the familiar song?  I'm not a regular drinker of Champagne but when celebrations, events or holidays roll around, I do like to enjoy a glass or two.  My husband and I toasted our wedding day with Champagne and we've enjoyed a few New Year's Eves with a sip, as well.  With the holidays coming up and many parties to attend, Champagne may be offered - so I thought I would read up and learn a little bit more.

First of all, what IS Champagne? We all know it's that bubbly, sparkling drink that we enjoy on New Year's Eve, but Champagne is actually a region in France-the country's northernmost winemaking region-and it's an hour and a half northeast of Paris. The grapes in this region are picked with higher acidity than in most other French regions, which is one of the reasons for it's distinct taste.

The Champagne region is divided into four main areas:  Valley of the Marne; Mountain of Reims; Cote Des Blancs; and Cote Des Bar.

Three grapes can be used to produce Champagne: 
               Pinot Noir: accounts for 38% of all grapes planted
               Pinot Meunier: accounts for 35% of all grapes planted
               Chardonnay: accounts for 27% of all grapes planted

In France, only sparkling wines that come from the region of Champagne my be called "Champagne".  Some American producers have borrowed the name Champagne to put on the label of their sparking wines, however, these cannot and should not be compared with Champagne from France.

Three major types of Champagne:
               Non-vintage/multiple vintage: a blend of two or more harvests, 60 to 80 percent base wine
               from current harvest and 20 to 40 percent wine from previous vintages. (These will most
               likely not have a vintage date since they are blends of various years).
               Vintage: from a single vintage
               "Prestige" cuvee: from a single vintage with longer aging requirements

There is definitely a price difference between the non-vintage and "prestige" cuvee. Why, do you ask? "Prestige" Champagnes usually meet the following requirements to be designated as such:
            * Made from the best grapes of the highest-rated villages
            * Made from the first pressing of the grapes
            * Spent more time aging in the bottle than non-vintage
            * Made only in vintage years
            * Made in small quantity, and the demand is high. (Price is dictated largely by supply and
              demand)

Another reason the price of French Champagne is so high is the production process, called the Methode Champenoise (Shahm-pen-WAHZ). Following are the steps:

            Harvest: usually late September or early October

            Pressing the Grapes: Only two pressings of the grapes are permitted.  Prestige cuvee 
            Champagnes are usually made exclusively from the first pressing. The second pressing, call the
            taille, is generally blended with the cuvee to make vintage and non-vintage Champagnes.

            Fermentation: All Champagnes undergo a first fermentation when the grape juice is converted 
            into wine (which takes two to three weeks and produces still wines).

            Blending: The most important step in Champagne production is the blending of the still wines.
            Each of these still wines is made form a single grape variety from a single village of origin.  The
            winemaker has to make many decisions here.  Three of the most important one are:

            1. Which grapes to blend--how much Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier?
            2. From which vineyards should the grapes come?
            3. Which years or vintages should be blended?

            Liqueur de Tirage: After the blending process, the winemaker adds Liqueur de Tirage (a 
            blend of sugar and yeast), which will begin the wine's second fermentation.  At this point, the
            wine is placed in its permanent bottle with a temporary bottle cap (similar to a beer bottle cap.)

            Second Fermentation: During this step carbon dioxide stays in the bottle (thus the bubbles) 
            and leaves natural sediments. (So how do you get rid of the sediment without losing carbon 
            dioxide? See next steps).

            Aging: The amount of time the wine spends aging on its sediments is one of the most important 
            factors in determining the quality of the wine.

            Riddling: The wine bottles are now placed in A-frame racks, necks down.  The remueur, or 
            riddler, goes through the racks of Champagne bottles and gives each bottle a slight turn while 
            gradually tipping the bottle farther downward.  After 6-8 weeks, the bottle stands almost 
            completely upside down, with the sediments resting in the neck of the bottle.

            Degorgement: The top of the bottle is dipped into a brine solution to freeze it, and then the 
            temporary bottle cap is removed and out fly the frozen sediments, propelled by the carbon 
            dioxide.

            Dosage: A combination of wine and cane sugar is added to the bottle after degorgement.  At 
            this point, the winemaker can determine whether he wants a sweeter or drier Champagne.

             *Brut: dry
             *Extra Dry: Semi dry
             *Sec: Semisweet
             *Demi-sec: Sweet
             Recorking: The wine is recorked with a real cork instead of a bottle cap

WOW!  With a process like that, no wonder it's so good.  Now when I raise a glass of Champagne for a toast, I will really appreciate all the effort that went into the making of it.

Cheers!
Lisa

         Wine Word of the Week

Remueur:  (winemaking) (in the making of sparkling wine, especially champagne) a person engaging in remuage, or the turning of bottles to remove sediment.