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Champagne-the newcomer - 2007/05/09 13:18
If you consider that Champagne was discovered only a few hundred years ago, you'll realize it is a relative newcomer in the realm of wine. For the first hundred years monks strived to remove the carbonation. Finally, they decided to embrace their unusual product and went about marketing it to the world.
One Champagne producer supplied Napoleon's army with bottles of their cuvée, knowing that it would travel all over Europe. Later, even though his moniker is a shaken martini, two different Champagne labels, Dom Perignon and Bollinger, earned the privilege of being in 007's glass. Over the years, Champagne has found itself on the A-list of the most exclusive parties.
Champagne has been so successful that producers from areas that are not inside the geographic region of Champagne have mimicked its recipe and its name. True Champagne comes from Champagne, France and all other carbonated wine is called sparkling wine. Champagne is considered sparkling wine too.
Processes in Champagne are followed by many sparkling wine producers. Sparkling wine can be made from many different grapes, but Champagne's chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier are considered authentic. The steps involved in 'Method Champenoise' create a bottle of sparkling wine of supreme quality. If it doesn't say Method Champenoise, it may be made in the Charmat method, where carbonation is pumped into the wine under pressure and then bottled. Vintaged Champagne is made from the grapes of one exceptional year. A cuvée is blend of several years and batches, often containing wine from vintaged years. A Champagne producer's cuvée is blended to taste the same year after year, earning it a devoted following.
Sparkling wine has been around for a short time, but has become the icon of celebration and milestones. And, if you open it for no reason, you'll soon find that it creates its own cause to rejoice.
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