Sparkling Wine

Asked when she drank Champagne, Lily Bollinger, 'grand Dame' of Champagne replied: “I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty.”

Sparkling wine is made all over the world, but it’s only the sparkling wine that’s made in the tiny Champagne region of France that is called Champagne. Champagne and Champagne-like sparkling wines are made primarily from one or a combination of chardonnay and pinot noir. If the wine is made from 100% chardonnay, it is called a Blanc de Blanc, meaning white wine from white grapes. If it is made from 100% pinot noir it is called a Blanc de Noir, meaning white wine from red grapes. If it’s made from a combination of the two it is called a Rosé.

Producing sparkling wines is a time and labor-intensive process. The process starts with regular chardonnay and pinot noir wine, made in the normal way. The still (non-bubbly) wine is put in bottles along with yeast and a small amount of sugar and allowed to ferment a second time. It is this second fermentation that produces the natural carbonation. When the wines have aged appropriately they are put upside-down in special racks and turned slightly (called riddling) several times a day. This causes the sediment from the second fermentation to settle into the neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is then frozen, causing a plug of ice to form in the neck containing the sediment. The bottles are then uncorked and the pressure inside the bottle blows out the frozen plug. The bottles are then topped-off with still wine and resealed.

Champagne was invented in the 17th century but not, as is popularly believed, by a Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon. In fact, the Dom worked hard to prevent bubbles. Secondary fermentation sometimes occurred naturally, and the carbonation was breaking a lot of bottles back in the Dom’s day. His contribution to Champagne was the creation of thicker bottles that didn’t explode and the idea of tying-down the cork.

Sparkling wines are produced with varying degrees of dryness (lack of sweetness). The driest (least sweet) are labeled as Extra Brut or Brut Naturale. Brut is only slightly less dry and is the typical style of Champagne. For some reason wines labeled Extra Dry are less dry than Brut. Those labeled Sec will have just a hint of sweetness, while those labeled Demi-sec will be fairly sweet. These are not absolute terms. While a wine labeled Extra Brut will be the driest produced by a particular maker, it may be more or less sweet than the Extra Brut of another maker.

Serve sparkling wine well chilled in a glass called a flute. This tall, slender glass will hold the carbonation and enhance the bubbles. Never use wide mouthed, saucer shaped glasses. Pouring sparkling wine is a two-step process. The first pour should be only an inch or so. Let the foam dissipate, then fill the glass the rest of the way. If you try to fill the glass with one pour it will almost always overflow (or be only half full). Don't refill the glass until it’s nearly empty. This way there will be less warm wine in the glass to take the chill off of cold wine from the bottle.