Wine Lessons #2: How Do Sparkling Wines Get Their Bubbles? (Part 2/2)

LESSON #5: How Do Sparkling Wines Get Their Bubbles? (Part 2/2)
The most famous and arguably the best method is called methode champenoise, so named because it is the method used in Champagne, purportedly invented by the famous monk, Dom Perignon

Click here to read Part 1

THE word "Champagne" can no longer be put on labels unless the wine comes from the appellation Champagne and has conformed to a certain set of rules and regulations governing the making of the wine.

Lesser non-conforming wines from the Champagne region can only be called Crémant or just Sparkling.

For the rest of the world, the generic term "Sparkling Wine" replaces the familiar once-generic and ubiquitous Champagne, not without some very notable exceptions. Some sparkling wines never had the need or the urge to call themselves Champagne to being with. Let's run through a short list of these illustrious sparkling wines.

Blanquette: sparkling wine from France's Limoux region within Languedoc, made from Mauzac grape

Cava: Spain's pride and joy, affordable fizz made from macabeo, xarello and parellada

Crémant: both in Limoux and Loire, fresh and crisp sparkling wine made from Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc

Crémant de Bourgogne: "Champagne" made in other parts of Burgundy, no longer legal to bear the Champagne label

Prosecco: Italy's fizz made from grape of same name

Sekt: Germany's slightly lesser known but nevertheless excellent bubblies

There are many styles of Sparkling wine and here are a few most notable ones:

Vintage Champagne: made only in very good years from grapes of a single vintage always built for ageing

Non-Vintage Champagne: NV as they are called, these are "house" blends made from base wine from several vintages, done with precision to achieve consistency. Although NV can easily live for several years, even over a decade for the high-quality brands, it is designed for consumption on release

Brut: bone dry; classic blend is Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier

Blanc de Blancs: Made from 100% Chardonnay

Rosè: a bit of red wine added in resulting in pink color and often a little more body than the usual brut

Blanc de Noir: made from red grapes like Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier

Champagne is customarily served chilled to near freezing. There is wisdom behind this practice. Acidity is purposely high in Champagne to achieve vigor and freshness.

In our lesson on serving temperatures we discussed how lowering the temperature can soften the sharpness of acidity on the palate. However if you have bottle of luxury Vintage Champagne, it is probably better to drink it a few degrees warmer.

Our palates become numb if temperature is near freezing. It would be hard to appreciate the nuances of a great wine.

Although most Champagne and sparkling wine are drunk on their own, they are remarkably good with food. Strawberries and shellfish are classic pairings but Champagne is a lot more versatile than that.

For example, cheeses like Double Gloucester and Red Leicester, Brie and even Gouda go very well with Brut. Chablis is a first choice with raw oysters but Champagne is a very close runner-up. With Sushi, Champagne is the wine of choice.

"In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"I 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'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty." - Madam Lilly Bollinger

Next lesson: Grape Talk – Cabernet Sauvignon

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