Making of Champagnewine column for Country Wisdom News and Hudson Valley Art Association,Hudson,New York(may 2011 issue) Champagne was developed about 300 years ago in France. The process involves lots of chemistry and many tedious physical manipulations. The sparkling wine we call champagne comes from the Champagne region of France a 3 hour drive east of Paris. In the USA most Champagne like wines are called sparkling wines in deference to the French,who prefer that other countries not refer to their sparkling wines as” Champagne”. The history of Champagne dates to about 1700 AD and a monk cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers near the city of Reims.Reims is the “capital” of Champagne region. As a well known story goes,a monk named Dom Perignon,was making wine for his colleagues when, he failed to complete the fermentation before bottling and corking the wine. During the cold winter months the fermentation remained inactive,but when the spring arrived the contents of the sealed bottles begun to warm and fermentation resumed producing carbon dioxide that was trapped in the bottle. Later that spring Dom noticed that bottles of wine in the cellar were exploding. He opened one that was intact and drank, declaring “Come quickly!I am drinking stars!”.Thus Champagne was born and named after the region where it was discovered. Today Moet&Chandon make a Champagne named in honor of Dom Perignon.A bronze statue of the famous monk stands outside Moet&Chandon in Eperny,France. In US,the legal definition of sparkling wine is one which contains 0.392 f of carbon dioxide per 100 mL of wine.This is the equivalent of about one atmosphere of gas.Most Champagnes contain about four atmospheres of carbon dioxide. The legal distinction is important because sparkling wine is taxed at about $3.70 per gallon while “still” wine is taxed at about $.37 per gallon! All sparkling wines that produced outside of France, but made by the “French Method”, is usually labeled “Methode Champenoise”.This method involves several distinct steps.The key reaction of winemaking is alcoholic fermentation, the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast.The maximum amount of alcohol attained through alcoholic fermentation is about 15% because the yeast cells are killed by high alcoholic concentration. The maximum alcohol content can be determined by multiplying 0.55 time percent sugar initially present in the grape juice before fermentation. For example, if 24% sugar is initially present, about 13 %( 0.55 x 24) alcohol will be realized. Most still wines (table wines) contain 12-14% alcohol. A few words about the key process known as a second fermentation that occurs in a sealed bottle: when you read on a bottle “cuvee” you now will know that cuvee is the base wine selected to make the Champagne. The most expensive Champagnes are made from cuvee from selected vineyards in the Champagne region. Cuvees can be from a pure grape variety, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir,or can be a mixture of several grape varieties. Chardonnay is a white grape variety with white juice,Pinot Noir a red grape variety with white juice(only skin of the grape is red).Pinot Meunier also used quite often. The slight rust color imparted to some Champagne results from using Pinot Noir cuvee that acquire some red color from contact with the skins. The longer the juice remains in contact with the skins, the darker red it becomes. If Champagne is made exclusively from Chardonnay, it is called” blanc de blanc”, basically meaning white wine from white grape. Most Champagne made from mixed cuvees. The usual alcohol content of the cuvee is around 10%. After the cuvee selected, sugar, yeast and yeast nutrients are added and the entire mixture, called the “triage” is put in a thick walled glass bottle and sealed with a bottle cap. Approximately four grams of sugar per liter of wine will produce one atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Since Champagne contains approximately six atmospheres of gas,24 g of sugar are added per liter of base wine. After fermentation and subsequent manipulations, the final product ends up with about four atmospheres of carbon dioxide. The triage is place in a cool cellar (50-60 F) and allowed to slowly ferment, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. Since the bottle is sealed, the carbon dioxide cannot escape and thereby producing the sparkle of Champagne. The very best and most expensive champagnes is aged for five or more years. When the aging process is complete, the dead yeast cells are removed through a process known as riddling. The Champagne bottle is place upside down in a holder at 75 degree angle. Each day the fiddler comes through the cellar and turns the bottle 1/8th of a turn while keeping it upside down. This procedure forces the dead yeast cells into the neck of the bottle where they are subsequently removed. A fiddler typically handles 20,000 to 30,000 bottles per day. The Champagne bottle is kept upside down while the neck is frozen in an ice-salt bath. Basically it results in the formation of a plug of frozen wine containing the dead yeast cells.The bottle cap then removed and the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas in the bottle forces the plug of frozen wine out leaving behind clear Champagne. At this point the “Dosage”,a mixture of white wine, brandy ,and sugar is added to adjust the sweetness level of the wine and to top up the bottle. After that the bottle is corked and the cork wired down to secure the high internal pressure of the carbon dioxide. The sweetness levels of Champagne range very dry(ultra brut) to very sweet(doux) with brut being the most common. There are many Champagne Houses producing “luxury cuvees”, such as Dom Perignon is the luxury cuvee of Moet&Chandon;Crystal is pride of Roderer.Bollinger and Krug are another phenomenal producers of fine Champagnes. As you can see produing of the Champagne is a labor intensive process. Sparkling wine made in the U.S.by thie method can be labeled” fermented-in-this-bottle” or “Methode Champenoise”,but of course the method of shortcuts creates also such term as bulk process. Now it is up to you to compare the difference in taste between the bulk process and the sparkling wines theat classified as Champagne or the one that labeled ”Methode Champenoise”. Remember,life is a matter of taste! © Copyright: Бэлла 2, 2011.
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