Champagne

Champagne is a place in France. Sparkling wine, even great sparkling wine, is made in the USA and in most every other wine producing part of the world. However these wines, great as they may be, are not Champagne. CHAMPAGNE IS A PLACE IN FRANCE. We are often too casual in our use of other people’s highly protected place names. Note our damaging use of the village name “Chablis” as if it meant any old white wine. Note how often we buy American cheese and call it Swiss. We do the same thing with the coveted place name “Champagne”. It is not any old sparkling wine, no matter how many US producers and consumers use the name that way. Less than 10% of the world’s sparkling wine is genuine Champagne. Champagne is a place in France and the wine that rightly takes the name Champagne is a product of that place, its wine culture, traditional practice, and strict law governing the essentials of making great sparkling wine.

The Champagne region is just 90 miles or so northeast of Paris (convenient to one of the world’s largest markets for bubbly). The vineyards are so far north as to be marginal for ripening grapes of any kind. Therefore, the early ripening varieties Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay are the only grapes used in Champagne. In the US, Chardonnay is the best known of these, but it is a minority among plantings for Champagne. About 75% of the fruit of the region is of the two black Pinot varieties. The character of the fruit of all three varietals is greatly affected by the conditions of the region. The weather is moderated in spring and fall by proximity to the sea. Summer is often quite warm. Therefore, the fruit rather reliably reaches moderate ripeness, but always retains relatively high acidity. Another element contributing to Champagne’s uniqueness is the chalky mineral content of much of the soil. Deep seams of solid chalk provide a fine growing medium for the vines and contribute a noticeable mineral content to the wines.

Winemaking in Champagne has several unique facets. First, grapes are harvested at lower sugar and higher acid than fruit for making table wine. Second, the grapes are lightly crushed in small batches so that only the lightest juice is collected. This “free run juice” has none of the bitter compounds from the skins or seeds of the grapes. The amount of juice collected from each batch of fruit is strictly regulated. This juice is allowed to ferment until dry and allowed to age and settle in tanks over the winter.

The resulting batches of base wine are blended according to the house style of the various producers. Varying amounts of dry wine from the various grape types and vineyards are mixed (often including some wines from previous years) in an attempt to yield a perfect balance. These blends are augmented by a small amount of sugar and a fresh infusion of yeast, and then bottled to ferment a second time. This bottle fermentation makes all the difference. Not only are the carbon dioxide bubbles from fermentation trapped and diffused throughout the wine but the yeast and its byproducts are also trapped in the liquid and contribute greatly to the wine’s character.

French law requires a minimum of 15 months aging in the bottle before removal of the sediment and final shipment. For premium producers, 2-4 years cellaring is more normal. At many firms this is done in incredible caves cut deep into the chalk. The resulting melding of the many elements provides the softening touch to the lively, fresh wines of Champagne. Lengthy aging also contributes to the diffusion of the bubbles. Great, aged Champagne has tiny persistent bubbles, rather than the riotous, quickly dissipating foam of other carbonated beverages. Great Champagne will form a creamy “mousse” when first poured into a glass.

Other regions may make fine sparkling wines too, but Champagne is a place and its product is unique to that place.

12/04

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