the champagne shopper

The Champagne Shoppin’ List
by Charles M. Bear Dalton
I love Champagne. Well, I
love sparkling wine in general
but I particularly love
Champagne. And this is the
time of year EVERYONE is
thinking about Champagne.
As much as I love Champagne,
I can’t always afford to drink
what I’d like and can only
rarely afford to drink the very
best.
So I divide my bubbly pleasure into four groups: Basic Bubbles, Finer
Fizz, Special Sparklers and the Luxe. Basic Bubbles run under about $20
per bottle. Finer Fizz runs from around $20 to about $40. Special Sparklers
run from around $40 to about $90. Luxe starts at $90 and the sky is the
limit. No matter which price range you are in, all good sparkling wines
have at least one thing in common: they all are made using Methode
Champenoise (aka the Champagne Process – please see box “Bubbly
Basics”). Real Champagne from the Champagne region of France doesn’t
need to say Methode Champenoise because, if French Champagne says
“Champagne” on the label, it has to be made that way. Other ways of
indicating Champagne Process include Method Traditional, Naturally-
Fermented-in-This-Bottle, Cava, and more. And all of these wines are
finished “Brut.”
There is another important category to consider and that is Bubbles for
Blending. We’ll get that handled first.
The list below are all wines I have tasted and drunk - in some cases a bit
too much of – over the last few months. At their price points, they all come
very highly recommended. Do I have any particular favorites? Yes. These are
them. Variety is good. You may love a particular Champagne but you don’t
want to drink the same wine every day. Cheers.
BUBBLES for BLENDING
Sometimes your sparkling pleasure is found in a sparkling wine-based
cocktail. Here the bubbling requirements are a bit different. The
champagne process adds a lot of yeast flavor to bubbly which is great for
drinking wines but sometimes (maybe most times) gets in the way in
bubbly for blending. Sparkling wines to be used for cocktails need to be
cleaner tasting and so can be simpler and cheaper. What sort of cocktails?
While there is such a thing as a Champagne Cocktail (Champagne poured
over a bitters soaked sugar cube – no, it’s not my favorite either), what I am
suggesting here is more Champagne and … by which I mean sparkling
wine and another ingredient. The other ingredient can be any one of a
number of crèmes or liqueurs or it can be fruit juice. The most common of
these are Kir Royales (Bubbly and Cassis) and Mimosas (Fizz and Orange
Juice). Variations on the booze side include substituting Chambord
(Raspberry), Crème de Mure (Blackberry), or Crème Violette (violet
liqueur). Variations on the fruit juice side include peach nectar (a Bellini) or
passion fruit juice. Here are my Bubbles for Blending …
MUSCANTI Sparkling Brut, Penedes (Spain), NV (12x750ml $6.99
$79.08)
ALAN CHRISTOPHER Blanc de Blancs Sparkling, France, NV
(12x750ml $7.99 $89.52)
ZONIN Prosecco (Italy) NV (12x750ml $9.99 $112.88)
BASIC BUBBLES
It’s not that the Bubbles for Blending aren’t good enough to drink. They are.
But they are made using the Charmat Process. These are made using methode
champenoise and so have that extra dimension of yeast that comes from bottle
fermentation and some extra time aging in the bottle. While some of these are
cheap enough to blend, they all have the extra dimension and are more than
good enough to serve on their own. Just remember that you do get what you
pay for. Even though the Perelada Cava is fine, the Montsarra Cava - at
almost twice the price - is better.
CASTILLO PERELADA Brut Reserva, Cava (Spain), NV (12x750ml $7.99
$90.00)
VARICHON & CLERC Blanc de Blancs Sparkling, France, NV (12x750ml
$11.39 $128.25)
GRUET Brut, New Mexico, NV (12x750ml $12.99 $142.56)
GRUET Blanc de Noirs, New Mexico, NV (12x750ml $12.99 $142.56)
GLORIA FERRER Brut, Carneros, NV (12x750ml $12.99 $144.54)
MONTSARRA Brut, Cava (Spain), NV (12x750ml $14.99 $168.84)
ROEDERER ESTATE Brut, Anderson Valley, NV (12x750ml $19.29
$210.60)
FINER FIZZ
$20 is a hard line to cross. A lot of people come to Spec’s and say they want a
good fill-in-the-blank under $20 and they mean it. Under $20. And we know
this so we try to keep as much as we can priced under $20. That price point is
in fact the subject of a lot of the negotiating I do. But sometimes it can’t be
done. Nevertheless, there is a reward for stepping across the $20 line. Think
of the first three of these “Finer Fizz” picks as your reward for taking that
small step up. Looking at this list, I realize that I drink ALL of these on an all
too regular basis. The Jansz Rosé won the Houston Livestock Show and
Rodeo’s “Top Sparkling Wine Award” a couple of years back. Laetitia Rosé has
won it as well. The Gosset Brut Excellence won it this year. JP Marniquet
Brut Tradition (an estate bottled or RM - Recoltant Manipulant - Champagne)
may be the best value in a real Champagne we sell. Bonnaire,
Delamotte, Cazanove, and Demoiselle (sounds like a French law firm) grace
my glass on a regular basis. For me, this is the sweet spot.
JANSZ Brut Rosé, Tasmania, NV (6x750ml $20.79 $115.83)
JANSZ Brut, Tasmania, NV (6x750ml $20.89 $117.71)
Domaine CARNEROS Brut, Carneros, 2008 (12x750ml $20.89 $250.68)
LAETITIA Brut Rosé, Arroyo Grande (California), 2007 (12x750ml
$25.49 $286.94)
PANNIER Brut Tradition, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $26.99 $304.32)
JP MARNIQUET Brut Tradition, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $29.44
$331.32)
BONNAIRE Brut, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $34.99 $393.96)
GOSSET Brut Excellence, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $37.79 $424.56)
DELAMOTTE Brut de Mesnil, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $37.99
$209.79)
Charles de CAZANOVE Brut 1er cru, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $37.99
$213.89)
DEMOISELLE Tete de Cuvee Brut, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $39.89
$449.16)
Continues on Page 2

PAGE 2
SPECIAL SPARKLERS
There was a reward for crossing the $20 threshold and so there also is a
reward for crossing the $40 threshold. Lancelot Royer is a single village
(Cramant) estate bottled Champagne from a top grower. Andre Clouet and
Forget Brimont are both smaller negociants who work like estate bottlers
except they buy in some grapes (not juice and certainly not wine but grapes –
it makes a difference). The Jean Laurent is an all Pinot grower Champagne.
And so on … At the other end of the list, Taittinger Brut Millesime (vintage)
is like that old jacket that you’ve owned for years that feels so good every time
you slip it on. In the middle, Bollinger Special Cuvee really is. Special, that is.
LANCELOT ROYER “Cuvee RR” Brut Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, NV
(12x750ml $40.84 $459.55)
ANDRE CLOUET Brut Champagne NV (12x750ml) $41.79 $472.92)
FORGET BRIMONT Brut 1er cru, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $42.74
$484.58)
JEAN LAURENT Blanc de Noirs, Champagne, NV (12x750ml) $44.64
$503.16)
LANCELOT ROYER “Cuvee des Chevaliers” Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand
Cru Cramant, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $47.99 $540.36)
CHARLES HEIDSIECK Brut Reserve, Champagne, NV (6x750ml)
$48.79 $274.44)
GEOFFROY Cuvee Expression, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $52.79
$594.38)
PASCAL DOQUET Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, NV
(12x750ml $52.99 $596.87)
BOLLINGER Special Cuvee Brut, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $55.59
$304.50)
PIERRE PETERS Cuvee de Reserve Brut, Champagne, NV (12x750ml
$57.39 $638.82)
GODME Brut Rose Grand Cru, Champagne, NV (12x750ml $60.79
$688.08)
LOUIS de SACY “Grand Soir” Champagne, NV (6x750ml $64.59
$361.20)
TAITTINGER Brut Millesime, Champagne, 2005 (6x750ml $80.74
$455.96)
LUXE
I wrote about Luxe Champagnes a couple of weeks back. You could look it
up (http://www.specsonline.com/pdf/LuxeChampagne_1.pdf). I don’t have a
lot more to add other than that I LOVE drinking these wines. Here the
Delamotte Blanc de Blancs vintage and the Barons Rothschild Brut are the
reward for passing $90. For me, Krug Grand Cuvee is the reference standard.
And that 1996 Dom Perignon “Oenotheque” is as good as anything I have
EVER put in my mouth.
DELAMOTTE Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, 2002 (6x750ml $90.79
$499.50)
BARONS ROTHSCHILD Brut, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $94.99
$534.36)
PIERRE PETERS “Les Chetillions” Brut, Champagne, 2005 (12x750ml
$104.49 $1178.52)
BARONS ROTHSCHILD Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, NV (6x750ml
$118.74 $668.68)
BARONS ROTHSCHILD Rosé, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $118.74
$668.68)
BOLLINGER Grande Annee Champagne, 2002 (6x750ml $120.64
$680.69)
PIERRE PETERS “Les Chetillons” Brut, Champagne, 2004 (12x750ml
$124.99 $1409.10)
KRUG Grand Cuvee, Champagne, NV (6x750ml $141.89 $777.60)
DOM PERIGNON Rosé, Champagne, 2000 (3x750ml $316.79
$867.51)
SALON “Le Mesnil” Champagne, 1999 (3x750ml $324.39 $913.17)
DOM PERIGNON “Oenotheque” Brut, Champagne, 1996 (6x750ml
$347.69 $1905.12)
Bubbly Basics
The Simple Hows, Whats and Whys of Sparkling Wine
My wife told me that last week’s Champagne Primer was too technical and
used too much jargon. Here are the basics on bubbly with the tech stuff
toned-down and/or more explained and a minimum of jargon …
What is Sparkling Wine?
Whether it is called Champagne, Cava, or Cremant, whether “bubbles”,
“foam”, “sparkles” or “fizz”, sparkling wine is just wine with carbonation
(CO2 or carbon-dioxide gas). There are several ways to get carbon dioxide
into a wine. It could be as simple as injecting CO2 into a tank full of wine
(as is done with soda pop) or as complex as the Champagne process
(Méthode Champenoise). Though it is possible, I don’t know of any
currently available sparklers that were just carbonated like soda pop;
everything currently in the market became carbonated via a second
fermentation in a sealed vessel.
The very first sparkling wines were products of circumstance. The weather
would get cold enough to stop the yeast from working before the fermentation
was complete. Once the winemaker had seen that the yeast stopped
working for a period of time, he would go ahead and bottle the wine. Once
the bottled wine warmed up in the spring, the fermentation would restart
as the formerly dormant yeast reactivated and finished converting some or
all of the remaining sugar to alcohol, carbon-dioxide, and heat. Since the
CO2 is trapped in the bottle, it “dissolves” into the wine and the wine
becomes sparkling.
As appreciation for the results of these “accidental bubblies” grew (people
liked bubbles in their wine), winemakers tried to initiate and control the
circumstances that caused them. This lead to the first intentional sparkling
wines made using what is now called méthode ancestrale. The key to this
and all quality sparkling wines is a second fermentation (or the second stage
of an arrested fermentation) happening in a closed vessel with enough
structural integrity to withstand the pressure of the CO2 generated.
Méthode ancestrale gradually evolved in the Champagne area into the
Champagne process which we now call Méthode Champenoise. Well, at
least we can call it that in reference to Champagne. The Champenoise (the
Champagne producers) are picky about others using their name so the same
process is called méthode traditionelle in other parts of France and may be
called other things in many other countries.
As producers sought to improve or simplify the Méthode Champenoise,
other formal processes based on a closed second fermentation evolved. The
most common is the Charmat process. The Transfer Method used to have
some followers but it seems to be going away. In any case, how the gas gets
into the wine and how the wine is treated once it is there both have more
than a little bit to do with the quality and flavor of the wine. Here are
outlines of the four main techniques in order of their evolution.
Méthode Ancestrale
Méthode ancestrale, also known as méthode rurale, méthode artisnale, or
méthode Gaillacois, replicates what happens when sparkling wine is made
naturally by circumstance. To create effervescence using the Méthode
ancestrale, fermentation is temporarily stopped by chilling the fermenting
juice - called “must” - to a temperature cold enough to make the yeasts
inactive. The chilled, partially fermented must is then bottled cold and the
fermentation process allowed to resume as the bottled wine warms up. The
by-products of this fermentation (and all sugar-to-alcohol fermentations)
are heat - which transfers out of the wine and bottle - and carbon dioxide -
which cannot escape the sealed bottle and so creates bubbles in the bottled
wine. Méthode ancestrale sparkling wines are often cloudy unless they are
processed further to remove the sediments left by the fermentation and
dead yeasts.
Very few wines, mainly those from Limoux and Gaillac, are still made
using méthode ancestrale. In general, it has been replaced by Méthode
Champenoise for higher-quality bubbly or by the Charmat process for
cheaper fizz.
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PAGE 3
Méthode Champenoise
As the name indicates, the Champagne process or Méthode Champenoise
evolved in France’s Champagne region. Champagne started off as still wine -
sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes pink - that nature occasionally
made fizzy by circumstance. The original attempts to control that circumstance
closely approximate the méthode ancestrale described before.
Méthode Champenoise as it is today is the evolved process by which the
Champagne producers artificially and consistently generate a predictable
frothy outcome. What follows is a description of the Champagne process or
méthode traditionelle as it is used in Champagne and around the world.
Méthode Champenoise starts in the vineyard. The process requires high acid,
physiologically mature grapes with low sugar contents. Champagne
producers use Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay but the process
will work with most any grape varieties. Alsace producers use Pinot Blanc
and Loire producers use Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. In Spain, Cava
producers use mostly Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel-lo, sometimes with some
Chardonnay.
Picking begins when the grapes reach 18 to 20% sugar and still have very
high acid levels. After picking, the better producers practice a hand sorting,
or triage, of the clusters to remove any rotten or damaged grapes.
Once in the winery, the grapes are pressed in either the traditional basket
press or the more modern bladder press. In either case, the object is to
remove the juice from the skins as quickly as possible so as to eliminate
extraction of color (anthocyans) and tannin. The juice is then allowed to
settle and clarify in preparation for the primary fermentation. The initial
fermentation is usually carried out in temperature-controlled tanks to insure
a fresh, non-oxidized result. A very few producers still barrel-ferment a
portion or even all of their wines. After the newly fermented wine falls bright
(drops its deposit of cloudy sediments), it is kept in large tanks until needed
for a particular blend. Most, but certainly not all of these base wines go
through a full malo-lactic fermentation while in tanks or barrels. The result
of this first fermentation is a thin, acidic, bone dry, low alcohol, usually white
wine. It is the raw material from which sparkling wine is made.
Blending the wine that will undergo the second fermentation to make it
bubbly requires a special skill. The blender has to predict what a blend of
these virtually undrinkable base wines will taste like after another fermentation,
aging in the bottle, and the addition of a sweetening dose of sugar.
Once the blender decides on the blend, or cuvee, it is assembled in large
quantities and bottled.
As the cuvee is bottled, a carefully proportioned mixture of sugar and
yeast known as the liqueur de tirage is added to it. The yeast ferments the
sugar and, as in all fermentations, produces alcohol, carbon-dioxide, and
heat. The alcohol brings the alcohol content of the Champagne to the desired
level. The heat passes through the glass and out of the bottle without any
effect. The carbon dioxide is trapped in the bottle and dissolves into the
wine.
When this second fermentation is completed, the spent yeast falls to the
side of the bottle where it breaks down in a process called autolysis and gives
the distinctive yeasty-toasty-bready-doughy character to the wine. In
Champagne, this en tirage (on the yeast) aging process must continue for a
minimum of one-and-one-half years for the wine to be called Champagne.
Some producers will shake the aging bottles to stir-up the yeast sediment and
aid extraction. Some producers will continue this aging process for ten or
more years to draw out the most yeast character possible. Some will age the
wine six months or less. It all depends on the producing area’s regulations –
or lack of them.
Riddling and disgorgement are the processes by which the yeast and
sediments are removed from the bottle to yield a bright, clear wine. Riddling
may now be done by hand or machine. Either way the process uses sharp
twists and gravity to slide all the sediments into the neck of the bottle.
Disgorgement is the way the neck is then cleared of the sediment. The neck
of the bottle is dipped into freezing brine which causes the wine in the neck
to freeze into a plug of ice containing the sediment. The bottle is then
opened and the pressure of the dissolved carbon-dioxide gas causes the
sediment-filled ice plug to shoot out.
Once the sediment is gone, the liqueur d’expedition containing the
dosage is added, the wine is topped up, and the bottle is corked with its
final closure. The dosage is a small amount of sugar that is added to the
bone dry product of the second fermentation to bring out a little more fruit
flavor and balance the crisp acidity. The sugar for the dosage is dissolved in
a liquid called the liqueur d’expedition which may consist of a number of
different things. Different producers use varying blends of old or young
wines sparkling or still (some in oak), unfermented grape must, and even
brandy. As this medium for the dosage has an enormous influence on the
character of the finished product, the exact mixture of the liqueur
d’expedition used by each producer is a closely guarded trade secret.
After the dosage is added, the wine is ready to be corked and to have its
wire harness, labels, and top dressing applied. The sealed bottle is then
shaken to better mix the liqueur d’expedition and dosage with the new
Champagne and left to rest for a time to allow the disparate elements to
merge. Wines that undergo this full process in the bottle in which they are
ultimately sold may be labeled “Naturally Fermented in This Bottle.”
The Transfer Process
The transfer process follows Methode Champanoise up to the point of
riddling and disgorgement. Instead of using those techniques, the transfer
process wines are deeply chilled (but not frozen), opened, and filtered
under pressure to remove the sediments. After filtering, the wine is bottled,
and the dosage is added. The process removes the most labor-intensive part
of the Champagne process. Transfer wines are good for shorter term
drinking but do not have the longevity of comparable base wines put
through the Champagne process. Due to the bottle fermentation and the
potential for en triage aging in the bottle, transfer process bubblies can have
much of the toasty yeasty-character of Champagne process sparkling wines.
The transfer process was widely used in the 1960s and 1970s but is little
seen today. From years past, Paul Masson and Taylor New York State have
used the transfer process. The wines may be labeled “Naturally Fermented
in The Bottle”; note the “the” used instead of “this” used in Methode
Champenoise.
The Charmat Process
The Charmat process (also called cuvee close) mimics the Champagne
process in that the base wines undergo a second fermentation in a
pressurized sealed container. In this case, that container typically holds
hundreds or even thousands of gallons of wine instead of the 750ml or 1.5L
in a typical bottle used in the Champagne or transfer processes. Once the
second fermentation is over, the now sparkling wine is filtered and bottled
with the addition of the dosage. Because of the speed with which Charmat
process sparklers are made, there is rarely any yeast character that makes it
into the finished wine.
The Charmat process is used for the lowest priced US Sparkling wines
(Andre, Cook’s, Cribari, Franzia, etc.) as well as for all Italian Prosecco and
Asti Spumante. For these Italian specialities, the transfer process can offer
an advantage, as the toasty-yeasty flavors of Méthode Champenoise might
interfere with the fruit flavors of the wine.
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How Dry is Your Champagne?
For a complete historical explanation, please see “How dry is Extra Dry?”
in the Bear’s Champagne Primer in the 12-3-07 edition of SPEC’s
UPDATE.
Sec or “Dry” is the original style of Champagne. These wines run in the
2-4% residual sugar range. While today we don’t consider them dry, they
were what was available and were very popular in the late 18th and early
19th centuries. Sec is now defined in the Champagne regulations as a
range of from 1.7% to 3.4% RS. Sec tastes from off dry to pleasantly
sweet but it is still in balance. Although hard to find, Sec is ideal with
spicier foods and can be super with ham and melon. The fashion is now
for much drier wine but good quality Sec Champagne remains useful at
the table.
Extra Dry was originally made for a British market that wanted a
Champagne drier than Sec. (The producers obliged, reducing the sugar of
the dosage to about 1.8% with a range from 1.2% to 2%). They thought
the wine wouldn’t sell anywhere but England so they used the English
words “Extra Dry” rather than the French “ultra sec” to describe the new
style in the official regulations. Within a few years, the new Extra Dry had
surpassed Sec to became the best selling style of Champagne. Although it
doesn’t say “Extra Dry” on the label, Moet & Chandon’s Extra Dry
“White Star” is the world’s best selling Champagne.
Brut was created in the 1890s when the Paris restaurants requested a style
of Champagne drier than Extra Dry. Again the Champagne producers
obliged (this time reducing the sugar dose to a mere 1% or so for a dry but
still balanced taste) but, again, they thought this new, very dry style was
going to be a passing fad. Within a few years, Brut had supplanted Extra
Dry as the best selling style of Champagne. The Champagne regulations
now define Brut in a range of from .6% to 1.5% RS.
Natural, Cuvee sans Dosage, Ultra Brut, Brut Nature, Extra Brut, and
Brut Sauvage are all names for Champagne made drier than Brut. The
style evolved as Champagne with little or no dosage. These bone-dry
cuvees were given different names by different producers. Most properly,
Extra Brut indicates a very low dosage and Brut Nature or Natural
indicates no dosage. In the Champagne regulations, they all indicate a
dosage of .5% or below – very dry indeed as the recognition threshold for
most people is around .7% for sugar. This driest of all styles did not take
off as had its predecessors and now enjoys only a limited but higher end
(and by some highly regarded) market niche.
Demi-Sec and Doux, the two sweetest styles of sparkling wine, were
developed for other markets including Switzerland and Russia. Demi-Sec
(or “semi-dry”) builds on the sweetness of Sec with an in-the-regulations
dosage level ranging from 3.5% to 5% RS. Demi-Sec, if purpose-made
and in balance, can be delightful when served with spicier or mildly sweet
dishes. This is becoming more common as more houses are purposemaking
wines for Demi-Sec rather than merely adding more sugar to their
Extra Dry or Brut cuvees. Doux (pronounced “dew”) is the sweetest style
of Champagne with a dosage that is required to exceed 5% RS. While I
have tasted a couple of Doux Champagnes in France (they weren’t very
good), I have never seen a bottle for sale in the US. Doux fails because
there is too much sugar for the amount of acidity in the wine.
Rosé Bubblies
Rosé sparkling wine is now more popular than ever before and its so far
mostly wine-geekish fans are serving it with lots of different foods. Rosé
Champagne has been around for centuries. Originally, it was made from
all or mostly all black grapes - Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in Champagne
- and it picked up its very variable color from the skins of those
grapes during the time the juice was in the press and perhaps for a few
hours together with the skins in a tank. From a flavor standpoint, this may
be the best way but this skin contact method of making rosé (called rapid
cuvaison) has fallen from favor. It is too hard to control the color and get a
consistent result in aromatics and flavor. Almost all Rosé sparkling wine is
now made by blending a bit of red wine into a white base wine before the
second (in the bottle) fermentation or - less commonly - as part of the
dosage. This gives the winemaker more control over the final flavor of the
fizz as well as a more consistent and predictable color result.
For a long time, Rosé sparklers were as out of favor as dry still rosé from the
south of France, Spain, or Portugal. At the same time that still Rosé has
become popular again, Rosé bubbly has made a huge comeback. Pink
Champagne now enjoys its largest market ever. While the initial attraction of
Rosé sparkling wine may be the festive color, the avid consumer quickly
realizes that the extra richness and earthiness (not to mention the vinosity or
wine-like character) imparted by the addition of red wine makes pink fizz
work better at the table with a wider range of foods. Many wine lovers feel that
Rosé bubbly is THE fizz for food.
Some Bubbly Buzz Words
Autolysis is the breakdown of yeast cells inside the sparkling wine bottle after
the second fermentation is completed. It contributes to the wine's complexity
and elegance as it layers in bread/yeast/toast/pie-crust/marzipan aromas and
flavors.
Blanc de Blancs are traditionally made wines made from 100% white grapes.
In the highest quality areas, this means Chardonnay. Some producers are now
calling wines with just a predominance of white grapes “Blanc de Blancs”.
Blanc de Noirs are traditionally made from 100% black grapes. In the highest
quality areas, this means Pinot Noir and maybe Pinot Meunier. Some
producers are now calling wines with just a predominance of black grapes
“Blanc de Noirs”.
Cava is Spanish Sparkling wine made using the Champagne process in the
delimited but not contiguous Cava Zone from grapes including Parellada,
Macabeo, and Xarel-lo along with some Chardonnay and others.
Cremant is traditionally a style of Champagne or sparkling wine with
two-thirds the effervescence of most Champagne (four as opposed to six
atmospheres of pressure). Cremant has become a term to describe French
Sparkling wines from areas other than Champagne. Cremant from Alsace and
Burgundy are commonly seen as Cremant d’Alsace (usually made from Pinot
Blanc) and Cremant de Bourgogne (usually made from Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay, often with some Aligoté). Most French Cremants are made using
the Champagne process.
Bottle Aging allows sparkling wine to acquire complexity, depth and fine
texture while in bottle; also known as aging "on the yeast," or en tirage.
The Cuvee is the blend of many parcels of still base wines into the base that
will be re-fermented into a well-balanced sparkling wine.
Dosage is the sugar added in the liqueur d’expedition that sweetens the
Champagne into balance after riddling and disgorgement.
The Mousse is the bubbles rising in the glass.
Non-Vintage (or NV) refers to sparkling wines with cuvees containing wine
from previous vintages.
Prosecco is a variety of white grape grown in the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene
wine-growing regions north of Venice, Italy, and also gives its name to the
Charmat Process sparkling wine made from the grape. Its late ripening has led
to its use in dry sparkling (spumante) and semi-sparkling (frizzante) wines,
with their characteristic bitter aftertaste. The name "Prosecco" is now protected
under European law and can be used only for the wine made from the
Prosecco grape in the Conegliano/Valdobbiadene region.
The Punt is the dome-shaped indentation in the bottom of wine bottle.
Reserve wines are wines from previous vintages added to the cuvee for
consistent quality and style or to make it richer.
Rosé sparkling wines usually are produced by adding red wine to the cuvee,
sometimes with the dosage as part of the liqueur d’expedition.
Still Wine is wine without bubbles.