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Spotlight

Tiny Bubbles

It seems that within the last ten years or so, the drinking public has finally begun to turn the corner in making substantive and un-snobby distinctions amongst the various types of sparkling wines. There are certainly however those that still think that any white wine with bubbles is “Champagne”, and then there are those who do indeed know what makes “Champagne “ Champagne, and consciously turn up their noses at anything that isn’t made in Riems or Ay. Both camps are missing out.

Though this may be a review for many, let’s quickly revisit exactly what Champagne is as well as what it isn’t. Champagne is a sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of northern France potentially made from three grape varieties ONLY: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Those Champagnes made exclusively from Chardonnay are called “Blanc de Blancs” (literally “white from white”) to indicate that the wine is produced only from a white grape variety. Champagnes labeled as “Blanc de Noirs” (“white from black”) are made entirely from Pinot Noir or a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, both of which are black-berried, though the wine, as the nomenclature implies, is white because there is no skin contact with the juice after pressing the grapes. The third major type of Champagne is called Rose`. Rose` Champagnes, which are almost never sweet, despite what their colors might suggest, derive their pinkish to reddish hues from allowing the pressed juice to remain in contact with the red skins from the Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier.

Champagnes can be produced as either non-vintage or vintage wines. Non-vintage Champagnes are essentially the products of a “compilation” of vintages that are blended to achieve and maintain a “house style”. Vintage Champagnes, which obviously carry the year in which they were made, can only be produced when the consortium of Champagnes growers deem a harvest to be of superior quality, and then “declare” a vintage. Vintage Champagnes are universally considered to be superior to non-vintage Champagnes, but non-vintage Champagnes can be very fine drinks indeed.

The production of Champagne is quite a complex operation involving many separate steps which may be too many to enumerate here, but suffice it to say that Champagnes are fermented and matured in bottle, often over a passage of years. This method is time consuming and labor intensive, which is one of the major reasons why Champagnes are the most expensive sparkling wines, but to many palates, also the most sophisticated and satisfying.

The second major type of sparkling wine is called Cava. Cava, which means “cave” in the Catalan language, originates in Catalonia in eastern Spain. Cava, like Champagne, must be made via the Champagne method (“methode champenoise” – also called “methode traditionnelle”), but is produced from three completely different grapes – Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo in a completely different terroir than what Champagne proffers. These three grape varieties are all naturally more prolific producers than any of the three Chamapagne varieties, and when combined with the radically different climate of the Cava production zone which is MUCH hotter and drier than Champagne, Cava producers are able to turn out much greater quantities of high quality Champagne-method wines at a far lower cost than their neighbors to the north. And like their Gallic competitors, Cava producers can bottle their bubblies as either vintage or non-vintage wines, with the non-vintage incarnations being priced lower than their more ambitious vintage counterparts.

A third major type of sparkling wine is the Italian Prosecco. Prosecco is both the name of the wine as well as the name of the grape from which it is made. Prosecco makes its home in northern Veneto between the towns of Conegliano on the west, and Valdobbiadene on the east. Prosecco makes a fairly marked departure from the world of Champagne and Cava, both in terms of production as well as flavor. Prosecco is rarely if ever made using the Champagne method and is also rarely if ever vintage dated. Fundamentally, the Prosecco grape doesn’t have sufficient structure to fully capitalize on the benefits that the Champagne method brings to the table, and doesn’t age well enough to warrant vintage dating production. Proseccos are best consumed within a year of their production.

The Prosecco grape is a softer and more delicate variety than any of the others used to produce either Champagne or Cava, so a very different production method is employed – The Charmat method. The Charmat method, invented by a Frenchman and perfected by an Italian, is essentially a faster and simpler way to make sparkling wine. To make a Charmat sparkler, one begins by making a “normal” still white wine, like any Orvieto or Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Once the base wine has completed its fermentation and rested for a few weeks, the wine is pumped into vessels called “autoclaves” which are large stainless steel tanks that can be hermetically sealed. Once the wine is in the autoclave, selected yeasts and sugars are added to induce a second fermentation, and the autoclave is sealed. As the second fermentation gets underway, the usual by-product carbon dioxide is produced, but because the autoclave is sealed, the CO2 produced, rather than escaping into the air, is forced into solution making the wine bubbly. And because the method is more easily controlled, the final levels of sweetness and carbonation can be directly dialed in to the winemaker’s goals.

There are at least four distinctive style variances in Prosecco – two involving bubbles, and two pertaining to sweetness. The most traditional Proseccos are “frizzante” (literally “fizzy”), meaning that there is something less than half the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide compared with the “spumante” (meaning “frothing”) style which most closely resembles the larger, more powerful bubbles found in Champagne and Cava. The variations in sweetness can range from a true “Brut” (very dry) to something roughly corresponding to a semi-sweet wine. The final wines also tend to top out at roughly 11% alcohol, a full point below most Cavas and Champagnes.

As a rule Proseccos are softer, easier, and more directly charming sparklers than their French and Catalan cousins, which tend to be a bit more austere and complex.

The last and smallest class of European sparklers are called “cremants”. These slightly less bubbly, always French Champagne-method wines are named by the regions from which they come, and are made according to the locals wine laws with local grapes. The most common types of Cremants are Cremants de Alsace, Cremants de Bourgogne, and Cremants de Loire.

And yes there are certainly lakes of sparkling wines made in the New World, but 99% of these wines are clearly made with Champagne as the model, employing the Champagne method as well as the three Champagne varieties in their production. Most New world sparkling wines are made in the United States, and can range from the nearly undrinkable to wines that some consider second only to Champagne itself. But the slightly nagging fact remains that nearly all American-made sparklers are simply aping Champagne, rather than finding a signature grape blend and/or style.

I began this piece by stating that the public has begun to shed its disdain for anything that is not Champagne, and none too soon. Yes, taking into account complexity, ageability, etc. Champagne is probably the finest sparkling wine made in the world, but it is also the most expensive as well as the least “friendly” - Cava and especially Prosecco are much easier on the stomach and the head, and cost a small fraction of what nearly any Champagne does. In the end what I’m trying to get across is that these four major classes of sparkling wines are best viewed as different expressions of certain grapes in certain terroirs that have different uses at the table or the patio…take all four of these styles out for test drive, and see which one(s) suit you best – just be sure to leave the snobbery at the cellar door.

Tom Ciocco