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Finding the “right” bottle of sparkling wine starts with knowing your goal in buying the champagne. Do you love champagne above all other wines? Are you hosting an important event where image matters? Are you and your guests oenophiles in search of that great unfound champagne? Is it an important occasion and the champagne will toast the event? Or maybe you are planning to serve Bellinis at a brunch occasion? Depending on the purpose, the selection could be very different. At the wine outlet, we have “a champagne for that”, whatever that is. With the help of your friendly Wine Outlet pro, it’s much easier to select the right bottle for your occasion.
We use “sparkling wine” because not all sparkling wine is champagne. Only select wines, produced in a specific region of France, are truly champagne. But that does not mean that only champagne will always do. Many events are perfect for sparkling wines other than champagne.
Sparkling wine, at its simplest, is really just carbonated wine. While many bulk sparkling wines are made by injecting them with sodastream, we do not suggest you try that at home! The results will definitely vary. In fact, most “sparklers” as they are called in the industry, are carbonated through secondary fermentation engineered to produce the bubbles. It’s an interesting process, with an interesting history--read on if you are fascinated by that history or if you're looking for the secret to selecting the perfect bottle, scroll past the history to the next section!
The history of sparkling wine
The earliest known sparkling wine came from Limoux in the south of France. The story is that frustrated winemakers in Champagne took action due to the French prohibition against calling anything champagne not made from specific grapes in a specific area, using a specific method. Despite similar soil to their neighbours to the south in Chablis, the temperature in Champagne is colder, causing fermentation to halt in the winter. When that wine was bottled (while in a “stuck” status) would create havoc in the bottle when fermentation resumed. That chemical process released carbon dioxide in the bottles, leading to randomly exploding bottles (and very sad wine makers). Winemakers in Champagne originally tried to eliminate the bubbles from their wines (Imagine a world without champagne if they had succeeded!).
The efforts to eliminate the bubbly effects of fermentation resulted in what is now champagne today--failure actually yielded better wine! This is now known as the Traditional Method, in which secondary fermentation occurs in bottles. This time- and labor-intensive Traditional Method produces wines with great complexity and depth as well as distinct notes from extended aging in the bottle. All true Champagne is made this way and it is used worldwide in efforts (sometimes successful) to emulate Champagne. If you’re looking to find a potentially quality substitute, look for wines with variations of the words “Traditional Method” on the label, or ones labeled Cava or Cremant.
In addition to the Traditional Method, sparkling wines (not champagne) are made using the Charmat Method. This way of making sparkling wines entails having the secondary fermentation occur in large, pressurized tanks (as opposed to the bottles). Once fermentation occurs in the tanks, the wines are filtered and bottled. This process is much quicker than the Traditional Method and tends to produce wines that are lighter and fruitier. As such, it excels and is common in the production of Prosecco and Lambrusco and similar wines from around the world.
Make Your Selection Based on Sweetness
When all is said and done, when selecting sparkling wines, rather than fretting over whether a bottle is labeled “traditional” or not, we recommend you focus on the sweetness scale when selecting a bottle of sparkling wines.
Starting from the driest (in grams per liter of sugar) the scale runs:
Brut Zero 0-3g/l
Extra Brut 0-6g/l
Brut 6-12 g/l
Extra Dry 12-17 g/l
Sec (Dry) 17-32g/l
Demi-Sec (Semi Dry) 32-50 g/l
Doux (Sweet) 50+ g/l
Strangely enough, Extra Dry is actually less dry than the most common style, Brut. The reason for this oddity is that Champagne was historically extremely sweet with the driest being sweeter than nearly any bottle you will find now. Over time, the sweetness levels began to come down, necessitating new designations to denote the changes.
Wines labeled Extra Brut or Brut Zero are increasingly common with smaller producers (especially the family-owned operations referred to as “Grower Champagne”). These wines are the driest in style and when young, their strong acidity can be overwhelming without food. But the absence of sugar reveals more of the terroir, giving the wines great individuality and character.
Opportunities to Taste Sparkling Wine this Winter
We have 3 opportunities to sample an incredible selection of Champagnes at each of our stores, but space is limited! So if this event intrigues you, be sure to reserve your spot(s) quickly so that we don't sell out! Click on the Champagne tasting from this list that you would like to attend and you will be taken to the event page to reserve your spot.
Vienna's Champagne Tasting will be Saturday Dec 11th
McLean's Champagne Tasting will be Friday Dec 17th
Great Falls' Champagne Tasting will be Saturday Dec 18th
