The Wine

THE RESTRAINED RICHNESS of champagne wines owes a lot to the cold climate of northern France. Over time the region's wine makers have created their own techniques to overcome the cold winters and short growing seasons. The fact that the grapes ripen very slowly has its benefit too, as the grapes have time to pick up important favouring components. But when the grapes are harvested, they are rarely ripe enough to make table wine without the addition of inordinate amounts of sugar. The producers have gotten around this by making a wine low in alcohol and then putting it through a second bottle fermentation to raise the alcohol and add the bubbles.

The bubbles in champagne are a natural phenomenon that is today a managed affair. The second fermentation in the bottle causes the bubbles. When the cork is removed, the result is upwardly mobile bubbles of carbon dioxide making their escape.

Three grape varieties are used in Champagne — Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Pinot Meunier dominates the vineyards, growing on about 40% of the total acreage It is easier to grow and is less prone to frost damage. This grape makes up the base wine for all but the very finest champagnes and is grown only in Champagne. Pinot Noir is second with about 35%. It is responsible for the depth of fruit and longevity of the wine. Chardonnay accounts for the remaining 25% and adds lightness, elegance and breeding to the blend. The lack color in most champagne is the result of a gentle pressing, so as to extract the juice but not the color of the black grape skins.

The chief difference between the various Champagne brands or houses, is in the making of the cuvéee, or the blend, as introduced by Dom Pérignon. A house builds a reputation based on the particular style of blend of its nonvintage wines. So each year the wine must be consistent. The large houses store millions of gallons of wine from various vineyards and grapes for blending purposes. It is reasonable to assume that once you find a house style you like, it will be available year after year as long as that house exists.

The theory of producing a great champagne is to blend together the best qualities from each of the best grapes grown in the region. The blending of the still wines before the second fermentation called the assemblage and the wine and sugar that is added after the second fermentation and aging called the dosage, are the two most important steps in the determination of the house style.

In especially good years, some vintage champagne is produced. Some feel that the extra depth in taste is well worth the extra cost of these wines. Eighty percent of the contents of vintage champagne must contain grapes from the declared year. Not all of the grapes from a declared year go into vintage champagne. Twenty percent are held back to be used for blending purposes.

The sugar content of the dosage added after the second fermentation will determine the wine's style and relative sweetness. Thus you will find champagnes labeled by their sugar content. They are as follows:

Extra Brut, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Brut Intégral or Brut Zéro — These wines are bone dry with less than .6% of residual sugar per liter. In this case the dosage is of the same wine and not the usual solution of cane sugar and still wine. This wine is rarely made.

Brut — This is the most popular style of champagne.

The best blends are always reserved for the brut and is the mainstay of the business. It has less than 1.5% residual sugar and is very dry.

Extra Dry, Extra Sec — Sweetened with 1.2 to 2% residual sugar per liter, it is dry. It goes well with desserts and wedding cakes.

Sec — Although it means "dry" in French, it means "moderately dry" or "slightly sweet" as it pertains to champagne. It has 1.7 to 3.5% residual sugar per liter.

Demi-Sec — This style is distinctly sweet or medium sweet and is rarely seen in the United States. It contains between 3.3 to 5% residual sugar per liter.

Doux — This is the sweetest style of champagne. It is very sweet and is more of a dessert-style wine. It has a minimum of 5% residual sugar per liter.

Occasionally you will find Blanc de Noirs. This style is made entirely from black grapes but is white. It offers a wine that is fuller than those with Chardonnay in the blend. More often you will encounter a Blanc de Blancs. This wine is made exclusively from the Chardonnay grape and is the most delicate of champagnes. As only 25% of Champagne is planted with Chardonnay, it is generally a more expensive option.

Champagne is bottled in 10 different sizes:

Quarter bottle

– 18.7cl / 6.3 fluid ozs

Half bottle

– 37.5cl / 12.7 fluid ozs

Bottle

– 75cl / 25.4 fluid ozs

Magnum (two bottles)

– 1.5 litres / 50.8 fluid ozs

Jeroboam (four bottles)

– 3 litres / 101.6 fluid ozs

Rehoboam (six bottles)

– 4.5 litres / 147 fluid ozs

Methuselah (eight bottles)

– 6 litres / 196 fluid ozs

Salmanazar (12 bottles)

– 9 litres / 304.8 fluid ozs

Balthazar (16 bottles)

– 12 litres / 406.4 fluid ozs

Nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles)

– 15 litres / 508 fluid ozs

 Only the half-bottle, bottle and magnum are always released in the bottle in which they underwent the second fermentation. For this reason and because it is the largest of the three, the magnum is the preferred size. The three largest sizes are rarely made today.

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