Gluttons Club

It's the time of year for celebrations, parties and getting together with friends and family. It is, therefore, the season of Champagne and other sparkling wines.
This category of wines can be confusing so I offer here a quick primer on what makes bubbly so alluring.

What makes it bubbly?
First off, you must understand the difference between "Champagne" and all other "sparkling," "bubbly," or carbonated wines. Champagne comes from Champagne, is made with some combination of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, and is made bubbly with the "methode Champenoise." This method, which is widely reproduced, is what makes it special. After the wine is fermented and blended, it is fairly ordinary wine. The producers take this still wine, dose it with some sugar, bottle it and allow a small amount of secondary fermentation to take place which will produce CO2 in the bottle. The sediments which are a by-product are 'riddled' to the neck of the bottle through a long process where the angle and position of the bottle are shifted day by day until it has very gently been corraled at the cap in the upside-down bottle. The bottles are then 'disgorged' wherein the end of the neck, where the cap and sediments are, is frozen and broken off. The wine that is lost is replaced as needed and before the bubbles blow off, the bottle is recorked and packaged for you.

This process allows extended ageing where the wine is in contact with the yeast. This is where the biscuit-y, bread flavors in some sparklies comes from. This effect is desired and intended though the process to produce it is costly. As stated above, the traditional method is employed by bubbly producers all over the world and produces the signature cascade of bubbles and froth that makes true champagne so special. Notice how the bubbles in something like a soda or seltzer are large and tingly? Compare that to the fine bubbles in a champagne and you get the idea of why the great effort is worthwhile.

If anyone is paying attention, you may have noticed that one of the three grapes allowed in Champagne is pinot noir, familiar to wine drinkers as a red grape. Red wine gets its color from skin contact; by pressing the fruit at the same time as maceration, the juice runs white. Champagne (and imitators) is classified as "blanc de blancs" when made entirely from chardonnay, "blanc de noir" when from pinot noir or pinot meunier, which is also a red grape. Many Champagnes are blends of all three.

Vintage champagnes are labeled with a year on the bottle and are, obviously, made from grapes harvested in that year (though a small percentage of older wine is allowed in the blend to achieve certain characteristics. Non-vintage bubbly is produced by blending several years worth of wine to produce a consisten product year after year. Though some differences will inevitably result over time, the NV wine you drank a few years ago should be more or less the same style and taste similarly to this year's release. This allows producers to make up for not so great vintages and provide a less expensive, consistent product.

Rosé champagnes are produced by either blending in red wine after fermentation (the only legal instance of this in the European appelation laws) or by allowing brief skin contact when the red grapes are macerated. Rosé bubblies have a distinct tartness and berry flavor that is appealing in it's own right. There are of course some sparkling red wines out there but they are rare and sometimes scary.

The Champagne style is widely imitated around the world to varying degrees of success. Often in the new world, the grape varieties, methods and packaging are mimicked from the Champagne style. Indeed, many of the bigger Champagne houses have established wineries in California, Argentina and other places. These wines come close to capturing the style but the majesty of terroir is impossible to copy and the allure of Champagne is unrivaled. Spanish Cava and Italian Proseccos and Astis are perhaps the best known versions where the process is imitated thought the grape varieties are different. These are fine wines in their own right and are normally far more affordable for the casual consumer.

Other sparkling wines exist that don't intend to copy the style or character of Champagne. Consider the Portugese vinho verde or Italian Lambrusco which are semi-sparkling table wines. In these instances, the wine is bottled before fermentation is complete, leaving a slight fizz. This is normally a fault in the wine-making process but here it is a recognized style. Another example is Moscato d'Asti, an Italian semi-sparkly often served at dessert. The moscato grape has a distinct tropical fruit acidity that gives the impression of sweetness. The bubbles in this wine provide a nice counterpoint to this flavor.

Bubbly Buying
When purchasing bubbly, there are several things you should look out for. First off, if you intend to get Champagne, look for the word "Champagne" on the label to verify what you're getting. You may see a label that is mostly in French and features the name of a well known Champagne house but end up with something from Cali or elsewhere. This is not to say that they aren't good, just that they aren't true Champagne. Wines from elsewhere that use the Champagne method will usually mention that on the label. As stated earlier, this method produces a superior sparkle and can be a mark of quality.

Non-vintage, or NV bubblies are normally less expensive than vintage bottles and are fine to drink though will have less character and distinction than a vintage. They do however, remove the possibility of getting a poor vintage though to be honest, if a producer releases a vintage bottling it is usually only because it was a good year. Wine from a bad year will most likely be set aside for blending.

The labelling on a bottle of bubbly may mention the following: brut, dry or extra dry. This obviously indicates the amount of sweetness in the wine but just to make things confusing, extra dry is actually semi-sweet; Brut is the driest. (Just so you know, the best wines are bruts.) Also on a Champagne label, you may see a name like "grand cru" or a specific name like "la Grande Dame." Named wines are often the top of the producers line. They are specially produced and are a step up from the normal vintage wines. For more specific bottle picks, see this article in the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/dining/14wine.html?pagewanted=2

Non Champagne sparklies offer a wider range of flavors at lower prices. You could easily fool most people with a 12 dollar cava in a nice champagne flute. For a crowd or for casual drinking, these are great options. There's very little shame in serving a decent non-Champagne bubbly to, say, your wedding guests while serving an expensive vintage bottle to the wedding party. That is, unless you're very wealthy and can afford otherwise.

Beyond New Years
We associate Champagne with celebrations; weddings, New Year's eve, promotions or the launching of ships but good bubbly is good a wide variety of foods and terrific as an everyday aperitif. If you like it, don't wait for some special occasion to drink it. I make a point to always have a nice bottle of something bubbly for those unexpected special occasions but wouldn't think twice of popping open a bottle of something more affordable if the meal called for it.

Service
Whenever you do drink bubbly, serve it in the tall flutes when possible, they are best for keeping it bubbly and enhancing the experience. The flat, wide glasses that are occasionally used are the worst shape for maintaining the sparkle and concentrating aroma. Use a conventional white wine glass instead of these, particlarly if they are made of plastic. The wine should be chilled and kept chilled in an ice bucket. The colder temperature enhances the flavors and actually maintains the bubbles.