All about the Bubbly - a Technicolor dining primer

As we approach New Year's Eve and National Champagne Day the number  of emails , social media posts  and other commentary concerning having the "right" champagne on hand  to bring in the New Year and what to pair with the champagne is growing. A panicked friend called me over the weekend worried about which champagne for New Year's Eve.  I'll share with you what I shared with him.

First, the idea of having champagne on New Year's Eve is  meant to be  fun and celebratory, not stressful. For  many buying champagne is overwhelming. There are labels that are very well known (e.g. Louis Roderer, Dom Perginon, Perrier Jouet, Moet et Chandon, and Veuve Cliquot) and their price tag often reflects their notoriety.  Buy what will satisfy your tastes and won't go over your budget.  Some things to consider:

• Do you prefer a sweet or dry taste?
• If you're entertaining, are your guests tastes similar to yours?
• Do you want minimal bubbles or lots of bubbles (pearlage)?
• How much are you comfortable spending?

Unless the grapes are from the Champagne region of France it is not Champagne.  There are three primary grapes used most widely  to produce champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier (there are seven grapes approved - but these are most widely used).

The sparkling wines produced  outside of the Champagne region are viable alternatives depending on the answers to the questions previously posed.

Sparkling wines from Italy are called Prosecco and Asti
Sparkling wines from Spain are called Cava
Sparkling wines from Germany are called Sekt
Sparkling wines are also produced in, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, as well as in California and Virginia. I'm sure there are other locations that I didn't mention.

If someone says  or the label states the  sparkling wine/ Champagne is a blanc de blancs,  it means the beverage was made with white grapes only. If someone says or the label states blanc de noirs, the sparkling wine/Champagne is made with black grapes. Rose Champagne and rose sparkling wine is another option and is growing in popularity.

Ask questions. No, ask lots of questions. Wine shops stay in business because of repeat business and word of mouth referrals about their helpfulness, price, and inventory. If the wine shop is offering free tastings, taste  what is being offered. There is no obligation to buy and it could help narrow down options or  preferences in styles.

Our talk could've gone on into fermentation methods, sweet dry classifications,  or the characteristics of a grape or growing region (thanks to my WSET class), but I thought it was more important to encourage him to explore the sparkling wine world,  discover what  he likes and most importantly, enjoy the journey.

Do you drink Champagne? If yes, which do you like? Do you drink sparkling wines? Which do you like?  Share you  answers in the comments below.

Be well,

Technicolor girl

image created by Ink+ LLC

Back to School - week 4

I admit, I was looking forward to this class because the world of sparkling wines and champagnes was a bit of an unknown to me. Molly, the instructor made it fun and easy for me to navigate  this rarely explored territory.

Only the Champagne region of France may refer to its sparkling wines as champagne.  All other areas refer to their  sparkling wine with terms such  Asti, prosescco, cava, sekt  sparkling wine and cremant.

Fun facts:

• A monk developed the wire cage that is often placed over the top of a bottle of champagne. The monk's name was Dom Perignon
• Sparkling wine (especially champagne) while fermenting are moved slightly over a period of time to an downward position to ensure the  fermentation yeast  gradually moved to the top of the bottle.  This manual adjustment process is called riddling.
• A woman developed the riddling the riddling rack. Her name was Veuve Clicquot .
• The term "pearlage" means bubbles (in a beverage such as sparking wine or Champagne).

After discussing sparkling wines the class focus turned to other reds including Beaujolais, tempranillo, and garnacha. The timing was auspicious because it was National New Beaujolais day.

 
Molly shared with the class the story behind the iconic black rooter that appears on the bottle of Chianti produced by members of the Consorzio del Chianti Classico. Read the story here.

Due to technical difficulties, much of the class was lecture and tasting. The instructor promised to send slides to the class for review at home- she kept her word.  Class started a bit later than usual (the weather that evening was horrible and delayed everyone's commute). I order to wrap up at a decent hour the instructor promised to cover the remainder of the evening's syllabus in the next class.

Tonight is the last class before the exam. The instructor will cover the balance of last week's class, sweet and fortified wines, spirits and do a review in preparation for next week's exam. 

Yes, exam. Where did the time go?  I've already received an email from Capital Wine School requesting confirmation of the spelling of my name for my certificate - that's what I call a vote of confidence!


Be well,

Technicolor girl