Champagne

Champagne is the wine of choice for celebrating special moments in life such as marriage, job promotions and other milestones.  Beside special events, this unique type of wine is considered to be a flexible beverage that can be served with a meal or dessert.

Champagne comes from the vineyards of the French region named Champagne.  If you have a genuine bottle of Champagne, look on the label and you will notice the word “Champagne” is spelled with a capital C.  French vineyards are very protective of this name, and in France only vineyards in the Champagne region are authorized to use it. Some American producers call their sparkling wine products Champagne, but they are not at all the same as true Champagne from France.

Champagne is made in France’s northern-most wine producing region know for producing grapes with higher acidity than other regions due to the cooler temperatures and chalky soil. This is part of what gives Champagne its distinct flavor. All Champagne is made from 30 to 60 blends of three different types of grapes: pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay.  Pinot meunier and pinot noir are two types of red grapes, while Chardonnay is a white grape. 

The process of making true Champagne is very complex. 30 to 60 different blends of wine are combined, some of which are vintage wines held in reserve from previous production years. After blending, a small amount of yeast and a liqueur de tirage–a combination of sugar and wine–is added and the bottle is capped. The yeast eats and reacts with the sugar and produces carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide becomes trapped as dissolved gas, which give the Champagne its bubbly nature. The bottles rest in a cellar for at least a year to complete this process.

One of the tenants of fine Champagne is the size of the bubbles. Champagne has very tiny bubbles. In fact, it is generally believed that the tinier the bubbles, the better the wine. Both aging and temperature affect the size of the bubbles. Cooler temperatures and longer aging periods produce smaller bubbles.

There are several types of Champagne. Most varieties are produced using all three types of grapes, which produces a golden-colored wine. There are other types known as blanc de blancs (white from whites) Champagne produced using only chardonnay (white) grapes and blanc de noirs (white from reds) made only from pinot noir and pinot meunier red grapes. Rosé Champagnes are rarer and more expensive, and are considered to be some of the finest quality.

So how do you serve Champagne? Why chilled, of course. The proper method for chilling this wine is to allow it to sit in a bucket of ice for at least one-half hour. Also, the proper protocol for serving Champagne is to only fill a glass when it it empty. This assures that each serving will be chilled.

The next time you are about to celebrate something special, don’t forgot the Champagne.  Champagne can be found at almost any wine or liquor store.  Choosing the right Champagne can be difficult, so do not hesitate to ask an associate for advice.