WHINE # 50

BUBBLY:   North Americans were introduced to “bubbly” wine in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s by Hollywood movies.  The major movie makers knew a lot about entertainment but almost nothing about wine.  The first mistake made by Cary Grant, Clark Gable and even Jimmy Stewart was to “pop” the cork and then watch the wine foam down the sides of the bottle.  We now know that a sparkling wine cork should be removed only with a “whisper.”  Not only does this avoid injury from a flying cork, it prevents loss of effervescence.

Secondly, whatever wine was left in the bottle by one of these leading men was then poured into a sherbet dish rather than a proper Champagne flute.  This, of course, leads to quick dissipation of the remaining fizz.  A “flat” Champagne is about as tasty as “flat” Coca-Cola.

Finally, the movie makers convinced us that Champagne, or whatever sparkling wine they pretended to be Champagne, was a drink that was reserved for special occasions, and they showed it being drunk by itself.

Sparkling wine is too good to have only when one has got a promotion, or when one has scored or is hoping to score in some other fashion.  Sparkling wine is tremendously versatile and can be drunk almost anytime.  In addition, it goes very well with a wide variety of food; my favorite accompaniment is  boiled Nova Scotia lobster.

CHAMPAGNE VERSUS OTHER SPARKLING WINE:  While we sometimes refer to any sparkling wine as “Champagne” it should be noted that the French have been quite successful in protecting the word itself.  To be called Champagne the wine must come from an AOC demarcated area in the far north of Burgundy.  In fact Champagne is the most northerly wine-growing area in France.

Other parts of France also produce excellent sparkling wines but they can’t be called “Champagne.”  The Limoux area of Languedoc Roussilion in the south of France claims to have made sparkling wine well before Champagne.   My personal preference for a French sparkler is a Brut de Blanc from Saumur in the Loire Valley west of Paris.   These wines cost a third the price of Champagne and are almost as good.

Spain produces wonderful sparkling wine, most of which comes from Penedes, where it is called Cava.  Italy is another producer of sparkling wine, the most famous being Asti.  Finally, very good bubbly can also come from California or from Argentina.

METHOD OF PRODUCTION:  Sparkling wine can be made in at least three ways.  Methode Champenoise is the most expensive.  In this technique a still white blended wine has added, after its final racking, a mixture of sugar, yeast and yeast nutrients.  The bottles are then corked and a second fermentation occurs leading to a high level of carbon dioxide in the wine (the bubbles).  The bottles must then be rotated daily to prevent the buildup of sediment.  Traditionally this was done by hand but now there are machines to do the work.  This method is usually called Methode Traditionelle outside of Champagne itself.  Sometimes a sparkling wine from California will say “individually fermented in this bottle.”

The second method is to have the second fermentation occur in barrels, rather than in the bottles themselves.  This method, frequently used in Italy, is less expensive and leads to wines that do not age as long, but which can be quite high in fruit flavour.  Sparkling wines from Argentina can be either barrel or bottle fermented.

Finally, sparkling wine can be produced by simply infusing carbon dioxide into a still white wine.  This method, most often used in Germany, leads to inferior sparkling wine.

VARIETALS:  Sparkling wines can be made from a number of different grape varieties, depending on the climate of the area.  In Champagne itself, the wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  In Asti, an area of Piedmont, Italy sparkling wines are made entirely of the Muscat grape.  The second area in Italy that produces much sparkling wine is eastern Veneto where the Prosecco grape is used.  Prosecco is also the name of a town.  In Spain the climate is generally too warm for the growth of Chardonnay so the Spanish producers, after much experimentation, settled on a blend of three grapes for their Cavas:  Xarello, Parellada and Macabeo.   Because different grapes are used the taste of Champagne will not be quite the same as the taste of Prosecco, which will not be the same as the taste of Cava.  It is a matter of one’s taste that should dictate which sparkling you buy.

SOME IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY:  As noted above sparkling wines vary in method of production as well as in the varietals used.  Sparkling wines also vary on two other important dimensions.  First, sparkling wines will be “fully sparkling” when made with bottle fermentation.  Also, wines may be less than “fully sparkling.”  In Italy the term “frizzante” refers to a partial sparkle and “spumante” refers to full sparkle.  In Portugal Vinho Verde has a very slight sparkle, which comes from the first fermentation—there being no second fermentation.  This wine is called a “crackling” wine rather than a “sparkling” wine.

Secondly, sparkling wines are made along a dimension that goes from quite sweet to bone dry.  Of course, how much residual sugar you want in your glass is a matter of taste.  However, the terminology that indicates the sugar level is very odd indeed, despite the fact that the same terminology is used throughout Europe as well as much of the rest of the world.  If you are only going to remember one thing from this Whine pay careful attention to what comes next.  The term “Demi-sec” indicates that the wine will be very sweet (I know “sec” is French for “dry” but don’t believe it when it comes to sparkling wine.)  “Demi-Sec” means that the wine contains 33-50 grams of sugar per litre. “Sec” means that the wine contains 17-35 grams of sugar per litre and is still quite sweet.  “Extra-sec” has 12-20 grams per litre and is still not dry enough for my taste.  “Brut” may contain up to 15 grams of sugar whereas “Extra Brut cannot contain more than 6.  Finally “Brut Nature” refers to a wine that has no more than 3 grams per litre.  I only have ever found the term “Brut Nature” on wine coming from Argentina, and even that is hard to find.  Experimentation will lead you to discover what level of sugar matches your taste.  After that you will always know what to buy.

SOME FINAL COMMENTS:   Although not absolutely necessary I think a bottle of sparkling wine is best chilled in an ice bucket for a couple of hours before serving.  Also, being able to return the partially emptied bottle to a mixture of water and ice keeps the wine well chilled for your second glass.

When you are ready to open be careful.  First, remove the foil but do not remove the wire cage.  Loosen the wire but leave it over the cork as this provides an extra grip.  If you are right-handed place your left hand over the wire and cork and then very slowly twist the bottle with your right hand.  This way the cork will finally be removed with a “whisper” rather than a “pop.”

Once the cork has been removed pour the wine into a proper Flute that is held at an angle so the wine can be poured down the inside of the glass.  This will prevent the wine from bubbling up and overflowing the glass.  A proper “Flute” is a tall, narrow glass with a long stem.  The narrow vessel means that there will be a small surface area keeping the fizz in the wine from dissipating too quickly.  The long stem allows you to hold the glass so that your hot, sweaty fist will not cause the wine to lose its chill.

You should not pay more for a sparkling wine than you would pay for a still wine.  If you are willing to pay $ 15-$ 20 for a still to pair with the main course, then buy sparkling wine in the same price range.  If you are not averse to paying $ 75. for your Cabernet Sauvignon, then French Champagne could be your choice of sparkling wine.  

OPIMIAN CELLAR OFFERING 224:  I am not very excited by this offering.  However, if you cellar is empty here are a couple of choices.  For everyday drinking try:

7545 Negroamaro or 7592 Montepulciano

If money is not an object these two wines are about as good as Italian wine gets:

7588 Brunello di Montalcino or 7581 Amarone

 

 

Sparkling wine makes a great “reception” wine to serve your guest before they sit down to dinner.  But don’t forget sparkling wine also goes well with many different foods and unlike Cary Grant you can actually sit at the table with a plate of your favorite food in front of you and a flute of sparkling wine next to the plate.