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What makes champagne so enjoyable, a favourite of so many? What makes champagne so special, why do we want to experience the delightful feel of the fizz, experience the subtle aromas that champagne gives out? where did it start and how is it made.
Champagne is sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France
Grapes used : Chardonnay (white) and Pinot Noir (black) & the lesser known Meunier (black)
Blanc de Blancs is a wine made exclusively from white grapes
Pink Champagen is obtained by adding to the cuvee (blend) a small proportion of wine of champagne vinified as a red wine
How to tell if its genuine Champagne
The name Champagne as well as the words "produce of France" and the vintage (if applicable) must be printed on the label or the neck lable. It also appears in full on the part of the cork inserted in the neck of the bottle.
Champagne is made by a secondary fermentation in in-bottle to effect carbonation. After the primary fermentation and bottling a second alcoholic fermentation takes place in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding yeast and rock sugar. A minimum of 1.5 years is needed to develop the flavour.
The amount of sugar added after the second fermentation and aging will dictate the sweetness level of the Champagne
Most champagne is a blend of several years harvest,(non vintage) but when there is good year then a millesime is declared and some of the champagne will be labelled as a single vintage, this will mean that the champagne will be matured for at least 3 years and sold as a vintage.
During this stage the champagne will be bottle with a cap similar to a beer cap.
After aging the bottle is then turned so that the lees settle in the neck of the bottle. After chilling the bottles the neck is frozen and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the ice containing the lees and the bottle is then quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution. Some syrup is added to maintain the level within the bottle.
Dom Perignon did not invent champagne but he did develop many of the advances in the production of the drink. Dom Perignon was a Benedictine monk. He invented the cork with a wire collar (muselet) that is used in Champagne to withstand the fermentation process.
Champagne used to be much sweeter than it is today. Perrier-Jouet began the change in the trend for drier Champagne when he decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage.
Other countries do product sparkling wines using the second fermentation process but only those from Champagne are allowed to use the word. Up until 2005 'champagne method' was used but EU regulations have banned this and the usual term is now 'methode traditionnelle'.
Sparkling wines labelled champagne can be seized and destroyed by the authorities.
Regions producing sparkling wines use other terms :
Spain - Cava
Italy - Spumante
South Africa - Cap Classique
Italian sparkle made with the muscat grape - asti
Germany - Sekt
Burgundy & Alsace - Cremant
Prestige Cuvee is a blended win (usually champagne) that is considered to be the top of a producer's range. Famous names are Louis Roederer's Crystal, Moet & Chandon's Dom Perignon.
Louis Roederer has been producint Crystal since 1876 and was strictly for the use of the Russian tsar. It was made available to the public in 1945.
Veuve Cliquot's La Grande Dame was the nickname of the widow of the house's founder's son
Pol Roger's Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill was named for the Prime Minister.
Champagne should be served in a flute - a glass with a long stem with tall, narrow, thin sides, designed to retain the bubbles and allows the drinker to hold the glass without affecting the coolness of the drink.
Champagnes should always be served cold.
To open a Champagne bottle safely and without losing all that lovely bubble hold the cork and rotate the bottle (rather than the cork). The cork will ease out with a sigh or a gentle pop rather than a big bang
We offer a great selection of Champagne and sparkling wines at Delmonicos incl:
Louis Roederer's Crystal
Dom Perignon
Krug
Veuve Cliquot (Vintage & non vintage)
Cava
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