The
wine press is abuzz with letters, feature articles, and editorials
about the ongoing efforts of European producers (notably French
producers) to "protect" their regional and local place names from
unregulated use in the United States. Even public radio has aired
an aggressive "anti-protectionist" essay against the current claims
of European producers and their governments. French "Champagne"
is a great example of a regulated regional place name whose producers
are seeking to bar the use of the name on any but their own bottlings.
It is hard to argue against them.
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. 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.
The Champagne region is just 90 miles or so northeast of Paris,
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 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.
Champagne grapes are harvested at lower sugar and higher acid
than fruit for making table wine and gently 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. This juice is allowed to ferment until dry and allowed
to age and settle in tanks over the winter. Batches of these base
wine are blended according to the house style of the various producers.
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.
For premium producers, 2-4 years cellaring "on the yeast" is normal,
often 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.
Here in the United States, we are still free to use the word Champagne
on virtually any sparkling wine. To be fair, many U.S. producers
meet virtually every standard of French Champagne, except of course,
that the grapes be grown in the Champagne region. Ironically,
the U.S. sparkling wines that meet the highest standards, invariably
avoid using the French place name. So, in fact, it is always the
least of the U.S. sparklers that bears the false I.D. "Champagne".
It may be true that this ill use is a long-standing tradition,
dating back to long before the French had their present laws.
Still, U.S. made "Champagne" is as if the French were to make
"Tennessee Whiskey".
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