Champagne Encyclopedia, Part I

As we approach the New Year or other holidays and celebrations, we turn to Champagne or other sparkling wines.  But why?  What is it about little bubbles in our wine that enthralls?  We’re in good company.  Winston Churchill loved the stuff and famously said in 1918 to his men during World War I:  “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne.”

This month’s column is devoted to everyone’s favorite celebratory wine.
  This week, we’ll cover a little of the history of sparkling wines in general and Champagne specifically.  Next week, we’ll learn a little bit about how to choose and serve it.

Though many use the terms “Champagne” and “sparkling wine” interchangeably, they are not the same.
 To the French and to those who are serious about their wine, “Champagne” refers only to the sparkling wines that come from the French province of Champagne, which is approximately 100 miles east of Paris in the northeast quadrant of France.  Sparkling wine refers to all wines with bubbles.  Thus, all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne.  Sparkling wine can be made in the same general way that Champagne is made (you will notice the words “méthode champenoise” on the label; it literally means “champagne method”), but it does not have to be.  On the other hand, all Champagne must be made using the méthode champenoise.

Most credit the invention of sparkling wine to two French monks from the late 1600s whose abbeys owned competing wineries.  One of the world’s most expensive wines still bears the name of one of the monks today – Dom Pérignon.  The trick for both of these monks was that they learned how to control the previously poorly understood process of fermentation to produce a really superior wine.

You see, the essence of winemaking is fermentation, which involves yeast (traditionally wild yeast that is found on the grapes in the vineyard) converting sugar in the grapes into alcohol.  The process creates carbon dioxide as a byproduct. When fermentation occurs in barrels or tanks, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, and the resulting wine has no bubbles.  The speed of fermentation can be controlled with temperature: higher temperatures mean faster fermentation; lower temperatures produce slower fermentation.  Just like in bread-making, though, yeast will become inactive at too low a temperature and will die at too high a temperature. 

The secret to sparkling wine is that the product gets fermented not once, but twice—the second time around in the bottle in which it will eventually be served.  This process, known as the "méthode champenoise,” involves adding yeast and sugar to the wine when it is bottled. 

In the 1600s, this second fermentation was accidental.  The primary fermentation stopped too soon because the region and the cellars were too cold.  The grapes would go through primary fermentation in the fall after they were picked.  As winter set in and the days got colder, the yeast would become inactive before all the sugar was converted to alcohol.  The wine would then be bottled with yeast and sugar hiding.  When spring came and the region and cellars warmed up, the yeast would start feeding on the sugar again.  This was especially annoying to the wine makers not only because they did not intend the wine to have bubbles, but also because some bottles would actually accumulate so much pressure from the carbon dioxide that was produced that either the bottle would shatter or the bottle top (cork was not yet used) would pop off.  In either case, one bottle could often set off a chain reaction with adjacent bottles.  It was not unusual for the winemaker to lose more than 25% of his wine.  Putting aside the fact that that could be costly (and tragic to the winemaker who had invested his heart and soul in the wine), there were some very nasty messes to be cleaned.

What Dom Pérignon learned was that by carefully controlling the fermentation process in the bottle (by controlling the amount of yeast, the amount of sugar and the temperature), the winemaker can facilitate an amazingly delicate and tasty wine.

Making sparkling wine is a very labor-intensive endeavor, particularly if the winemaker employs the méthode champenoise.  She must closely monitor the wine during every stage of the process.  During the secondary fermentation, the bottles must be inverted slightly (mouth down) and riddled, or turned, regularly.  This is because after it turns the sugar to alcohol, the spent yeast becomes solid debris (called the “lees”) that the winemaker wants to collect in the neck of the bottle.  After the lees are gathered in the neck of the bottle, the winemaker freezes the neck and removes the cap.  The accumulated pressure of the carbon dioxide in the bottle forces the frozen lees out of the bottle.  The winemaker then quickly corks the bottle to keep the majority of the carbon dioxide in, just waiting to greet you when you open the bottle to celebrate a wedding, anniversary, graduation or New Year.  With all this personal attention, it’s no wonder good champagne is so expensive.

To be continued next week:  How to choose and serve the perfect sparkling wine for your tastes and budget.