Pages 277-293

Overview

• Prosecco dominates U.S. sparkling sales; California sparkling wine also strong.

• Champagne, Cava, and Franciacorta all use the traditional method (méthode champenoise).

Champagne Region

• Northernmost French wine region; cool climate → high acidity, fresh style.

• Grapes: Pinot Noir 38%, Pinot Meunier 32%, Chardonnay 30%.

• Sub-regions: Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, Aube.

• 250 négociants (shippers) produce ~80% of Champagne; growers ~20%.

• 15,000+ growers, 80,000 acres of vineyards.

Méthode Champenoise (10 steps)

1. Harvest – late Sept/early Oct

2. Pressing – only 2 pressings allowed; prestige cuvées use first pressing (cuvée); second pressing = taille

3. First fermentation – Sugar + Yeast → Alcohol + CO₂; produces still wine (2–3 weeks)

4. Blending – decide grape blend %, vineyards, vintage(s)

5. Liqueur de tirage – sugar + yeast added, bottled with temporary cap → starts 2nd fermentation

6. Second fermentation – CO₂ trapped in bottle = bubbles; creates sediment

7. Aging on lees – NV: min 15 months; Vintage: min 3 years

8. Riddling – bottles in A-frame racks, neck down; remueur turns bottles to move sediment to neck

9. Disgorging (dégorgement) – neck frozen, temporary cap removed, pressure expels frozen sediment plug

10. Dosage – sugar/wine mixture added to set sweetness level, then corked

Vintage rules

• Vintage = 100% from one year's harvest

• Nonvintage (NV) = blend of 60–80% current harvest + 20–40% reserve wines (more typical/common style)

• Prestige cuvée = single vintage, best villages, first pressing only, more aging, small quantities

Sweetness Levels (driest → sweetest)

Brut Nature (no sugar) → Extra Brut → Brut → Extra Sec/Dry → Sec → Demi-Sec → Doux

Note: Prosecco sweetness scale is reversed/different — Brut is driest, then Extra Dry, then Dry (sweetest).

Styles by Body (light → full)

• Light/delicate: Billecart-Salmon, Jacquesson, Lanson

• Light-medium: Bollinger, Deutz, Perrier-Jouët, G.H. Mumm, Laurent-Perrier

• Medium: Moët & Chandon, Piper-Heidsieck, Pol Roger

• Medium-full: Drappier, Louis Roederer

• Full/rich: Krug, Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot (some ferment in wood)

Aging Champagne

• NV: drink within 2–3 years

• Vintage/prestige: within 10–15 years

• Best vintages: 1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019

Other Traditional-Method Sparkling Wines

• Crémant – other French regions (Alsace, Burgundy, Loire, Jura, Bordeaux) using méthode champenoise but can't call it that or "Champagne"

• Crémant d'Alsace: Pinot Gris/Blanc/Noir, Riesling — Lucien Albrecht, Gustave Lorentz, Pierre Sparr

• Crémant de Bourgogne: any Burgundy grape — Bailly-Lapierre, Louis Bouillot, Boisset

• Crémant du Jura: mostly Chardonnay/Pinot Noir — Domaine de Savagny, Tissot

• Crémant de Loire: mainly Chenin Blanc — Ackerman, Bouvet-Ladubay, Gratien & Meyer

• Cava – Penedès, Spain; grapes: Chardonnay, Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel-lo. Producers: Codorníu, Freixenet, Segura Viudas

• Franciacorta – Lombardy, Italy; grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco. NV ages 18 mo min, vintage 30 mo min. Producers: Ca' del Bosco, Bellavista, Berlucchi

Prosecco

• From Veneto (+ small part of Friuli-Venezia Giulia); grape = Glera

• Made by Charmat method (2nd fermentation in tanks, not bottle) → cheaper, less carbonation

• Sweetness scale reversed vs. Champagne: Brut = driest → Extra Dry → Dry = sweetest

• Meant to drink young, not age

• Base of the Bellini cocktail (2 parts Prosecco : 1 part white peach purée), invented at Harry's Bar, Venice

Champagne vs. Sparkling Wine (general terms)

• "Champagne" = only from Champagne, France

• "Sparkling wine" = broader term, any region/country

• California, New York (Finger Lakes), Oregon also make traditional-method sparkling wines (e.g., Domaine Carneros, Domaine Chandon, Iron Horse, Schramsberg, Gruet)

Opening & Serving

• Chill bottle fully before opening; keep hand on top while removing foil/cage

• Point bottle away from people at 45°, twist bottle (not cork), ease cork out slowly to avoid pop/waste

• Glassware: flute or tulip glass preferred (concentrates aromas, retains bubbles) — never a coupe

Food Pairing Notes (from experts)

• Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs → seafood, caviar, pheasant pâté (not sweets or cheese — bubbles clash)

• Brut NV → light hors d'oeuvres (e.g., mousse of pike)

• Vintage Champagne → pheasant, lobster, seafood

• Rosé Champagne → strawberry desserts

• General: serve Brut/Extra Dry as aperitif or throughout meal; Sec/Demi-Sec with dessert or wedding cake