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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.
Madame Lilly Bollinger
Champagne is synonymous with luxury, quality and celebration.
The fizzy wine takes its name from the Champagne region, located about 90 miles north-east of Paris. Champagne is home to 319 crus over 5 French departments: Marne (67% of total vineyard), l'Aube (22%), Aisne, Haute-Marne and Seine-et-Marne. The three main vineyard concentrations are the Vallée de la Marne, the Montagne to Reims and the Côte des Blancs. The traditional grape varieties used in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. All three are found in the Vallée de la Marne, Pinot Noir is mostly found in the Montagne de Reims and Chardonnay (the only white grape) is found in the Côte des Blancs (blanc means white in French). Pinot Noir gives Champagne its body, length and backbone to most blends, whereas Chardonnay imparts acidity, citrus fruit character, lighter body and fine-textured bubbles. Champagne made 100% from Chardonnay is known as "Blanc de Blancs" and Champagne made from only black grapes is known as "Blanc de Noirs".
Champagne Production
Champagne is produced using the traditional method, formerly known as the Champagne method or méthode champenoise. The traditional method implies that the secondary fermentation, which creates the bubbles, takes place in bottle with the addition of liqueur de tirage, a cocktail of wine, sugar, yeast nutrients and a clarfiying agent. The bottle is then closed with a temporary seal. During this second fermentation, the yeasts act on the sugar to create alcohol and CO2. As the wine slowly ferments, the gas, being unable to escape, is slowly dissolved into the wine. The bottle is laid down horizontally during this process. By law, non-vintage champagnes must be aged for at least 15 months, and vintage champagne for a minimum of 36 months.
After the maturation process when the enzymes from the dead yeast cells interact with the wine (known as autolysis), the winemakers concentrate on removing the sediment from the side of the bottle. This is done firstly by remuage - moving the sediment from the side of the bottle to the neck, followed by disgorgement - the removal of the sediment. Remuage involves turning the bottle gradually to the upside-down vertical. This used to be done by hand by remueurs but most producers now use a machine. For the disgorgement, the neck of the bottle is frozen in a brine solution. The bottles are then put into their upright position, where the ice will hold the solid sediment in place. The crown cork is then removed and the plug of ice is ejected under pressure, sediment and all!
A small amount of wine is lost during disgorgement and therefore the bottle is topped up with liqueur d'expedition, a mixture of wine and cane sugar solution. This process is called dosage and it is up to the producer to decide on the amount of sugar in the liqueur d'expedition. This will determine whether the champagne is Brut, Sec or Demi-Sec:
Brut Nature/Brut Zero/Ultra Brut = bone dry 0-2 g/l
Extra Brut = very dry 0-6 g/l
Brut = very dry to dry 0-15 g/l
Extra-Sec/Extra Dry = off-dry to medium-dry 12-20 g/l
Sec/Dry/Seco/Trocken = medium-dry 17-35 g/l
Demi-Sec/Riche/Halbtrocken/Semi-Dulce/Abbocato = sweet 33-50g/l
Doux/Sweet/Doce/Dulce = luscious 50+ g/l
Champagne corks and foil
In its original shape, the cork is a cylinder shape with an area about 3 times that of the neck of the bottle. The familiar mushroom shape is acquired after corking. The wire muzzle is then added for extra security. The wine is usually left to age in bottle for a few months to allow the liqueur d'expedition to integrate with the wine, and for the wine to recover from the violent disgorgement process. The very deep foil found on the bottles is used because, in former times, when producers did not top up their wines after the disgorgement process, the foil would hide the gap between the wine and the cork!
And another thing...
Legend would have us believe that Champagne was invented by the monk Dom Pérignon in 1668 after he became cellar master at Hautvillers. However, it is in fact an Englishman who first came up with the revolutionary idea! Dr. Christopher Merret was the first person ever, in 1662, to document the addition of sugar to still wines to make them fizz.
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