2020 is now behind us, and I like many welcomed the new year with a glass of sparkling wine. I say sparkling wine, as champagne can only be used to describe a wine from certain regions of France according. This shouldn’t deter you from drinking champagne, as there are more budget-friendly options. There are also a host of sparkling wines that are just as good or better than champagne, such as cava, prosecco, and locally produced bubbly.
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between them? Also, why is it that champagne and sparkling wine have become synonymous with celebrations and luxury?
Let’s start with how bubbles get into the wine. Sparkling wines unlike regular wines are fermented twice and during the second fermentation extra carbon dioxide results in bubbles. Due to the cooler weather in Champagne, wine formation stopped as temperatures dropped and a second fermentation would naturally take place in the spring. Originally the resulting bubbles were seen as a flaw and a danger as bottles were known to explode due to the pressure. Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk, and namesake for one of the best-known champagne houses helped resolve the exploding bottle problem by using thicker glass bottles and a rope snare to keep corks in place. The bottles likely came from England as the English upper class were the first to embrace the bubbly wine in the 17th century and their coal-fired factories produced stronger products than French wood-fired furnaces.
Champagne became the drink of choice by the French aristocracy in the early 18th century thanks to the Duke of Orléans. Many of the most popular French Champagne houses were created during the rule of Louis XV. Napoleon's march on Moscow secured its popularity among the upper classes. The brand Cristal was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II. Champagne cemented its status as a luxury drink a few years later as it was weaved into the works of artists and writers. Think of all the French cafe paintings with champagne or stories of the rich drinking it like water.
The French widow (veuve) Clicquot in the 19th century further revolutionized the champagne industry by devising a way to expel the dead yeast from the bottles, increasing production efficiency. The method for creating champagne, known as the traditional method, requires aging of the wine in the bottle for at least 15 months. Known as aging on the lees (i.e dead yeast), this gives champagne and traditional method sparkling wines such as cava a bread aroma. The bottles are slowly rotated until the lees concentrate at the neck of the bottle, which is frozen and the dead yeast expelled. Producers add sugar after the second fermentation to create sweetness ranging from very dry (brut) to incredibly sweet (doux). The sweetest wines have the almost the same sugar levels as syrup.
Spanish cava is made in the traditional method, but prosecco and other sparkling wines are usually made in a steel tank. Both fermentations happen in the tank and then the dead yeast is filtered out. Additional sugar can then be added before bottling. The whole process takes a matter of days versus months. The lower cost of production means cheaper prices in the store. This may be why prosecco is the most popular sparkling wine. So next time you are looking for sparkling wine, check out cava, prosecco, and locally produced varieties. Trader Joe’s has a great German sparkling wine and their own label California wine made in the traditional method.
So pour a glass and let’s toast for a better year!
