The Origin of Champagne
A Celebration of French Bubbly
by Alain Gayot
Whether
natural or engineered by people, there will always be bubbles
in Champagne. La
Méthode Champenoise, the traditional way of making
Champagne, is more than 260 years old. With a little bit
of help from ingenious monks like Dom Pérignon and
Dom Thierry Ruinart and the accidental discovery of the
second fermentation (or possibly a direct pipeline to God?),
Champagne has become internationally known as the wine that
sparkles. Kings, emperors, czars and rock
stars have always been intrigued by earth's second "soft"
drink (the first being water).
If you want to find out all the secrets of Champagne making,
the best way is just go straight to the source, Reims and Epernay in Champagne, France, and witness it for yourself.
The process is so involved that despite the latest technologies
for manufacturing and storing, bottles should sell at twice their current market price. Just witnessing the storage
in itself makes the trip worthwhile. Les Crayères
(chalk pits), more than 250 of them excavated by the Romans
some 1,800 years ago, host millions of bottles of slowly
maturing wine. Among the more authentic and striking caves
to visit are those of Ruinart and Pommery. Champagne styles
vary from house to house and within a house; from the Rosés to the Grandes
Cuvées via the Millésimes you will establish
your preference.
The
invasion of sparkling wines from California has revolutionized
the market. Several Champagne houses have established outposts
not only in America, but also in Australia and South America,
which are now producing very
decent wines. Moët & Chandon started it all in Napa Valley in
1973 with the development of Domaine Chandon. Previously,
Jack (now deceased) and Jamie Davis at Schramsberg established
their glorious product in the Valley, but today they produce
a fraction of Chandon’s output. Mumm Cuvée
Napa, Piper Sonoma, Domaine Carneros and Roederer Estates
are now fixtures in the American-produced sparkling wine
panorama.
Remember,
if it comes from California, it is not Champagne. The phrase
“California Champagne” is often misused. In
the United States and some South American countries, it
is legal to use the term “champagne” for sparkling
wine. However, many American sparkling wine producers instead
indicate that their product was made by the French Méthode
Champenoise. For something to be a true Champagne, it must
come from a certain area of France, the mere 70,000 acres
called Champagne. Everything else is just sparkling wine.
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