| Champagne 101
Champagne is a word that is both descriptive and used as
a legal 'trademark.' When generally referencing wines that
have been created through a secondary fermentation process,
it is best to use the term 'sparkling wine.' Unless the wine
has been produced, and the grapes have been cultivated, in
the Champagne region of France, the wine cannot be called
Champagne.
Other names have been created by wine producing regions and
sparkling wine producers in order to distinguish their wines
from Champagne. For example,
Cava is sparkling wine produced in Spain.
Asti is a sparkling wine produced from Muscat
grapes in Italy.
Cap Classique is sparkling wine produced in South
Africa.
Sekt is German sparkling wine.
Crémant is sparkling wine produced in Burgundy
and Alsace, France.
The secondary fermentation process takes place in the individual
bottles of sparkling wine by adding yeast and sugar to wine
usually created from a variety of grapes and vintages. When
a single vintage, that is deemed an especially good year of
harvest, is used to create a sparkling wine, the term Millésimé
is used; however, this term is more common with Champagne.
Champagne uses a variety of grapes that are approved by the
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, which include the grapes
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. If a Champagne
uses only Chardonnay grapes, it is called blanc de blancs,
and if it uses only Pinot Noir grapes, the Champagne is called
blanc de noirs.
The secondary fermentation process is created through the addition of yeast, but the addition of sugar is what distinguishes the sparkling wine's palate. Sparkling wines range from dry to sweet according to the amount of sugar added during the secondary fermentation process. A sparkling wine that has not had any sugar added is called brut natural. The first Champagne to do this was the brand Perrier-Jouët, named after the creator. Other varieties of sparkling wine exist: brut, extra-dry, dry, sec, demi-sec, and doux, where the former is of a drier palate ranging to the latter, which is of the sweetest palate. Traditionally, sparkling wine and Champagne has been sweet rather than dry; however, popular taste for sparkling wine and Champagne is currently for the drier varieties. An interesting note, in the former Russia, the Champagne variety preferred was of the sweetest variety.
Over the past decade, the popularity of Champagne has increased
dramatically where the demand for Champagne has exceeded the
supply to the market; and therefore, the retail price of Champagne
has increased considerably over the years. Publicly traded
companies such as LVMH, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, have
had large success and increases in their stock price. Today,
these luxury brand makers comprise the largest luxury brand
conglomerate of high-end fashion, Champagne, and Cognac.
From Vineyards of the Northwest
- October 2006
|
