All true Champagne comes from France's northernmost winemaking region,
Champagne, which encompasses only about 85,000 acres. The wine is made
through a carefully defined process called the "Methode Champenoise."
There is lots of other bubbly stuff out there, some of it very good, but
it is technically not Champagne.
Wines that bubble like Champagne, but are made somewhere else, are
called "sparkling wines," even if they are made by the Methode
Champenoise. Sparkling wines are often less expensive than true
Champagnes. If you don't feel like investing in a bottle of French
Champagne, you can try a good sparkling wine from California or Spain,
among other places.
A word of warning: The use of the word Champagne is controlled by
French, not international, law. While no French wine maker from
somewhere other than Champagne would dare put the word "Champagne" on a
label, producers from other countries will. Some American wineries label
their sparkling wine "Champagne," others do not.
LABELS
Sweet or Dry? Part of the Champagne's name indicates its sugar content.
Brut is the driest; Extra-dry is actually less dry than Brut; Sec is
sweet; and Demi Sec is even sweeter. There are, of course, exceptions.
Some Champagnes are not labeled with any of these terms, just as some
wines are not labeled with the types of grapes which have gone into
them.
The classic Champagne style is Brut. When in doubt, buy this + but you
owe it to yourself to try the other styles to see whether you like them.
Knowing how sweet you like your Champagne is more important than
recognizing brand names, because many brands make Champagnes of varying
sweetness. A bottle of Moet & Chandon could be Brut, Extra-Dry or
Demi-Sec.
Vintage or Nonvintage? The presence or absence of a date tells you
whether the champagne is vintage or nonvintage (NV).
+Nonvintage is often the best value and is most indicative of the
Champagne house's style because it is a controlled blend, often from
several different harvests. One of the best buys on the market is Veuve
Clicquot Brut NV, $32.
+Vintage indicates that the Champagne came from a particularly good
harvest. Champagne producers, or "houses," get to declare their own
vintage years, so a given year may be vintage for one brand, and
nonvintage for another. Because they were generally good years for
grapes, though, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1989 and 1990 were vintage years for
most Champagne houses. A classic example of vintage Champagne is
Bollinger Brut Grand Annee 1989, France.
Another type of vintage Champagne is called "prestige." It represents
the highest-quality wine of a given Champagne house and often comes in a
specially created bottle with its own name. Prestige Champagne is also
the priciest as it is generally made from the first pressing of the best
grapes of the premier vineyards, and aged longer than average.
Roederer's clear-bottled Cristal and Veuve Clicquot's La Grand Dame are
both prestige. And, of course, a classic example is Moet & Chandon Cuvee Dom Perignon Brut 1988, France, $89.
White or Rose? If the label doesn't say "rose", you can generally assume the Champagne is "white." The elegant pink hue of rose Champagne is a natural coloring which comes from the skins of the Pinot grapes. White Champagnes are produced by pressing the red grapes quickly, without extracting any of the color. The idea that pink Champagne is always sweet and cheap is a myth.
Appellation. The words Appellation d'Origine Controlee (A.O.C.) beneath the word Champagne indicate that this is a product of the Champagne region. French Champagne production is closely quality-controlled and policed through the A.O.C. system. Still, not all bottles of French Champagne necessarily bear an A.O.C. mark. Don't worry. If it's made in France, and it calls itself Champagne, it's still the real thing.
BUYING GUIDE
If you have the money to spare, it's worth buying a fine Champagne. They do taste better (and experienced drinkers will swear that you don't get hangovers with better Champagnes). Remember that Champagne is a matter of taste: a more expensive wine won't taste better to you if it's Sec when you prefer Brut.
Here are a few of the more popular selections from the many brands of Champagne and sparkling wine that you might look for. All are readily available in the United States (prices may vary). It is worth remembering that nonvintage is generally a more accurate representation of a house's style than a vintage bottle.
FRENCH VINTAGE Krug Brut 1985, France, $135
Moet & Chandon cuvee Dom Perignon Brut 1988, France, $89
Bollinger Brut Grand Annee 1989, France, $60
Pol Roger Brut Rose 1988, France, $55
Charles Heidsieck 1985, Brut, France, $48
Louis Roederer Brut 1990, France, $46
FRENCH NONVINTAGE Veuve Clicquot Brut NV, France, $29
Moet & Chandon Demi-Sec NV, France, $30
Moet & Chandon White Star Extra Dry NV, France, $29
Perrier-Jouet Brut NV, France, $23
Nicolas Feuillatte Brut NV, France, $20
CALIFORNIA VINTAGE Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs 1990, California, $45
Schramsberg Reserve Napa Valley 1987, California, $35
Jordan J Sonoma County 1991, California, $24
CALIFORNIA NONVINTAGE Mumm Cuvee Napa Brut NV, California, $30
Piper Sonoma Blanc de Noirs Sonoma Valley NV, California, $14
Korbel Brut Rose California Atlanta 1996 NV, California, $11
Note: If you are making Champagne cocktails or punch, there is no reason to use an expensive Champagne. An inexpensive bottle of sparkling wine will do just fine.
STORING & CHILLING
Like any other wine, Champagne should be stored in a cool, secure place.
But don't bother to keep it for too long: it won't improve, and it might
deteriorate after three or four years. (In other words, don't save a
bottle from your wedding to drink on your tenth anniversary.)
If you forget to chill the Champagne well before serving, do not put it
in the freezer. Champagne is under a lot of pressure, and a bottle that
explodes in the freezer is not a pretty sight. A quick way to chill
Champagne is in a bucket filled with ice and water. It will be cold
enough in about 20 minutes.
Once the bottle's open, it's easiest just to serve the whole thing. The
efficacy of the trick of putting a silver spoon upside down in the
bottleneck to help save the bubbles is unproven. There are, however,
special Champagne stoppers you can buy. Don't use a regular stopper +
the Champagne is likely to push it out.
SERVING AND TASTING
Serving When opening a bottle of bubbly it is important to pay attention. Most
people, both in real life and in movies, open Champagne bottles in
stupidly dangerous ways. Here's the correct method:
1. Cut the foil around the top of the bottle.
2. Place your hand or your thumb on top of the cork. Keep it there until the cork is out. Shooting corks all over the place is not cute.
3. Loosen the wire cage. No, you don't need three hands; the hand that holds the bottle can have its thumb on the cork.
4. Wrap a towel around the bottle to prevent slippage.
5. Ease the cork out gently by slowly twisting the bottle in one
direction. You do not want the Champagne to foam or the cork to pop, or you will lose precious bubbles.
Serve Champagne in either a flute or tulip-shaped glass. This helps preserve the bubbles which, after all, are what make Champagne unique. If you have any of the old-style shallow-bowled Champagne coupes (which, legend has it, were molded from Marie Antoinette's breast), use them for sherbet or berries. Serving Champagne in them will simply make the bubbles disappear more quickly.
Tasting You can impress someone with your Champagne knowledge even before you taste your glass. Look at the bubbles: If they are small, like pinheads, the odds are it's a good champagne. If they are big, like the bubbles in seltzer, don't be impressed!
Different flavors come from the percentages of the three kinds of grapes + Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier + in the blend. In general, more white grapes makes for lighter Champagne; more red grapes means fuller Champagne. The containers used for the first fermentation can also influence the flavor. Champagne fermented in wood tends to have fuller body and bouquet than that fermented in stainless steel.
Though wine critics bandy about mouthfuls of terms and flavor
associations to describe the different characteristics of Champagne, what matters most when you sip it is how it tastes to you. If you are fortunate enough to be able to taste several Champagnes side by side, the comparison will help you identify characteristics you prefer. It's as good an excuse as any for a party.
