Champagne Facts

With New Year's Eve just around the corner, restaurants are preparing to pop the cork on the bubbly as Americans toast to 2002. Champagne's sparkle and its reputation as the "king of wines" make it the beverage of choice for toasting. Here's how you can turn tiny bubbles into big business for your operation.

Bubbly Basics
Serving Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Champagne Varieties

Bubbly Basics

Although there are many types of sparkling wine, champagne usually refers to a specific type developed in France's Champagne region in the late 17th century. The delightful bubbles in champagne naturally arise from Champagne's cold climate and short growing season. Out of necessity, the grapes are picked late in the year. Fermentation begins in the fall but is slowed down by the onset of the first frost. Come spring, a second fermentation process occurs, but this time in the bottle. This second fermentation creates carbon dioxide, which is trapped in the bottle and released when the bottle is uncorked-unleashing tiny bubbles.

Seventeenth-century winemakers such as Benedictine monk Dom Perignon considered the bubbles an imperfection and are believed to have spent much time trying to eradicate them. But eventually, unable to avoid the bubbles, Dom Perignon instead enhanced the process for creating the bubbly beverage, developing the methode champenoise for making champagne. Among Perignon's contributions were the blending of grapes from different villages, and the use of corks and stronger bottles to prevent the contents from bursting under the pressure of the trapped carbon dioxide.

Champagne often refers only to wines produced in the Champagne region of France using the methode champenoise. Sparkling wines made in other areas are usually given different names, such as spumante in Italy or sekt in Germany. The exceptions are some wines produced in the United States, which also are labeled as champagne.

Restaurateurs also may wish to offer their guests a nonalcoholic option for toasting. For example, St. Helena, Calif.-based Sutter Home Winery's Fre sparkling wines are made using a de-alcoholization process that safeguards the wine's aroma and flavors while removing all but .3 percent of the alcohol.

Serving Tips

Champagne-and-wine consultant Jean-Louis Carbonnier, based in New York City, recommends the following guidelines for storing and serving champagne.

• How to store
  Champagne wines should be kept in a cool, dark place away from heat, light, vibrations and severe temperature variations.
  
• How to chill
  Before serving, chill the wine well, but do not freeze it. Champagne is best chilled by placing the bottle in a bucket filled with ice and water for 30 to 40 minutes.
  
• How to open
  Slant the bottle at a 45-degree angle away from guests. Put a thumb on the cork, twist the cork and loosen the wire muzzle. Grasp the cork firmly; twist the bottle slowly and let the pressure help push out the cork. Allow a light and merry pop.
  
• How to serve
  Champagne is best served in tall flutes or tulip glasses, at a temperature of 42 to 47 degrees Fahrenheit. If serving champagne — especially a vintage or prestige cuvee — with food, the temperature should be closer to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Tiny bubbles will rise in a continuous stream. When serving, pour a small quantity of wine into each glass and allow it to settle. Then fill each glass two-thirds full.
  
• How much
  For a champagne aperitif at cocktail hour, allow one bottle for every three to four guests. When serving champagne at a meal, count on one bottle for every two to three people. For the traditional champagne toast at a wedding, one bottle can serve six to 10 people.
  

Frequently Asked Questions
Here's the lowdown on bubbly, according to champagne-and-wine consultant Jean-Louis Carbonnier.

• I have an older bottle of champagne. Is it still drinkable?
  Because of strict aging requirements, champagnes are ready to drink when they are released to the market. (Classic nonvintage champagnes are generally aged in the cellar for 2 to 3 years, and vintage champagnes for 4 to 5 years.) However, most champagnes will age well if properly stored. Typically, classic champagnes can be kept for about 5 years, and vintage champagnes for about 10 years after their release. Keep in mind that, like other wines, champagnes change as they age. These changes will become more pronounced after 5 years. As champagnes evolve, the fruit aromas of a younger wine will evolve into dried fruit, honey, nutty and toasty flavors. Champagnes also take on a deeper-golden color as they age and tend to lose some of their effervescence. Although many consumers prefer fresher, younger champagnes, some people appreciate the characteristics of older champagnes as well, especially with a meal.
  
• How do I store champagne?
  Like all wines, champagnes are particularly sensitive to abrupt changes in temperature and exposure to light. Keep champagnes at a cool, steady temperature in a slightly damp environment.
  
• Can I store champagne in my refrigerator?
  It's not recommended to store champagne in the refrigerator for more than a few months. The air in a refrigerator is too dry, and the bottle will be exposed to vibrations as well as the internal light at frequent intervals. However, keeping a bottle in the fridge for a few days or even weeks will not affect the quality of the wine.
  
• How do I determine the value of an older bottle of champagne?
  Determining value for an older bottle of champagne is often difficult. Because champagnes are often consumed soon after their release, few of them have an auction record. However, interest in older champagnes is growing, and several champagne auctions have been held in New York City and London by leading auction houses. A bottle of older champagne with good provenance is about 10 percent to 20 percent more valuable than the current vintage of the same wine, unless it is exceptionally rare and hence worth more.
  

Champagne Varieties
Every champagne house or grower offers a range of different wines. Varieties include:

• Blanc de Blancs. Wines made primarily from chardonnay, the exclusive white grape variety of the Champagne region. Literally translated, the phrase means "white of whites."


• Blanc de Noirs. A white or slightly tinted wine made from black grapes, usually pinot noir. The tint comes from the pigments in the grape skins. Literally translated, the phrase means "white of blacks."
  
• Brut. A champagne style that is very dry, meaning it has little or no residual sugar, usually between 0 percent and 1.5 percent.
  
• Cuvee. A blend of many still (nonsparkling) wines designed to become a well-balanced champagne. Prestige cuvees are the finest champagnes that a producer makes and are made from the most subtle and distinctive wines.
  
• Demi-Sec. A sweet champagne that contains between 3.3 percent and 5 percent residual sugar.
  
• Rose. A champagne with a slightly pink tint that may come from the addition of a small portion of red wine to the cuvee or from contact with grape skins.
  Vintage. Champagnes produced exclusively from the wines of a single harvest. Producers "declare a vintage" only in exceptional years.