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What puts the sparkle in sparkling wine?
By Neil Best
We all associate sparkling wine and champagne with joyous
celebrations. However, recently, many people have recognized
that sparkling wine can provide a bargain accompaniment even
for an everyday meal.
Making Sparkling Wine and Champagne
If you see the words 'traditional method' or 'methode
traditionelle' on a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine, then it
has been made using the methods originally developed in the
Champagne region of France.
The first step in making sparkling wine is to create a base wine
that is very acidic. Secondly, the base wine is put in a bottle with
some extra yeast and sugar and sealed. A word of warning, if
you are planning to make your own, the seal must be VERY
strong as the build-up of carbon dioxide can be extremely
powerful!
Finally, the bottle needs to be tipped forwards so that the
sediment sinks into the neck of the bottle. In traditional
champagne houses, the bottles are turned daily and tapped for
a period of up to three months to remove the sediment.
However, the more modern approach is to freeze the neck,
release the sediment and then re-cork the bottle.
Champagne Uncovered
Only wines produced in the French region of Champagne are
allowed to carry the label 'champagne'. Therefore, we are
seeing a lot of sparkling wine on our shelves that is of excellent
quality. Not only must champagne be produced in the
Champagne region, but it must also be made from the
chardonnay, pinot noir or pinot meunier grape varieties. Even
the bottling method is unique to the Champagne region.
A champagne label will tell you about the sweetness of the
particular champagne. For example, rich or doux champagne is
very sweet with over 50g of sugar per liter, demi sec has
between 17 and 35g of sugar per liter, extra dry is a label used
for champagne containing between 12 and 20g of sugar per
liter, brut is dry champagne with less than 15g of sugar per liter
and extra brut is very dry champagne with under 6g of sugar per
liter.
If you want a very special bottle of champagne look for the words
¡°t¨ºte de cuv¨¦e¡± on the bottle as this refers to a premium
champagne which is normally made from a single harvest.
Choosing and Serving Sparkling Wine
Sparkling wine or champagne is a popular choice for those
trying to choose wine for non-wine drinkers. Champagne is
known as the quality bubbly; good champagne is expensive and
deservedly so. You'd be wise to avoid the cheaper end of the
market as it will be at best a disappointment and at worst
undrinkable.
For a cheaper alternative, often of similar quality, look for
sparkling wines from areas such as Australia, New Zealand and
California. France also produces some excellent sparkling
wines from regions other than Champagne, for example,
Saumur in the Loire Valley. Other worthy alternatives include the
sparkling offerings from Italy, including the light Prosecco and
the sweet Asti varieties. If you are looking for a very good value
sparkling wine then consider Spanish cava. Whilst nowhere
near the same quality as champagne it is a well-priced,
drinkable alternative.
Sparkling wine and champagne should be served at 6 Degrees
Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit); therefore, an ice bucket is
essential from the moment the bottle of sparkling wine leaves
the refrigerator. A final word of caution, when you open a bottle
of bubbly, there will be a large release of gas so make sure that
the cork is controlled and not pointed at anyone!
About the Author
Since Neil Best first investigated wine history he's been recording his findings at http://www.goodglug.com. This article is part of the free Good Glug Wine Appreciation Mini Course. Visit http://www.goodglug.com/free-wine-course.php now and get your copy.
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