The tradition of celebrating the New Year with a Champagne toast has a long and storied history. As with most customs associated with cultural continuity, this tradition developed in starts and stops, bits and pieces, over many centuries. It evolution includes the gradual acquisition of knowledge by wine makers over the centuries concerning what made wines “fizzy” (simply put, the combination of yeasts fermenting grape juice and the creation of carbon dioxide when fermentation occurs in a closed container), the coronation of French Kings, continual progress and improvement in the craft of wine making, and the marketing expertise of the producers of sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, among many other factors. A subject requiring its own in depth discussion, we are today, nevertheless, the beneficiaries of the of hundreds of years of learning that is contained in each bottle of the bubbly elixir that we raise to toast the passing of the old year and the arrival of la nouvelle année.
Since there is a good chance that the New Year’s celebration you will be attending will feature both Champagne and Sparkling Wine, and that a significant percentage of the celebrants will not be acquainted with the precise difference between the two, the following elucidative information may just make you the connaisseur or connaisseuse of the evening’s festivities.
All Champagne is Sparkling Wine, but not all Sparkling Wine is Champagne. It is not uncommon for any wine that has bubbles to be referred to generically as Champagne. However, in point of actual fact, only Sparkling Wine that is made within the AOC designated (geographic) region of Champagne in France by the process known as méthode champenoise is legally allowed to be labeled Champagne. Everything else made no matter where or by what process is Sparkling Wine, but not Champagne.
Even if produced in the designated region of France, Sparkling wine still is not permitted to be called Champagne unless only the permitted grape varietals are used, the grapes are handpicked, and processed and bottled in compliance with the multitude of strictly enforced French government criteria. Quite clearly, all of this complexity results generally in both a superior product and an augmented price.
However, all you need to know to get your bonus points as an expert during the party chatter is a little geography (the Champagne region is about an hour and a half east of Paris), and that the wine must be grown in the Champagne region and be made in accordance with strict government regulations in order to be called Champagne. In this instance, it really is a case of a little knowledge goes a long way. If you know some, or all of the details, you risk being viewed as a boorish snob, so better to stick with just that little bit of uncommon knowledge that will set you apart from the other celebrants.
Effervescent, crisp, light, cheerful, and refreshing, Sparkling Wine in general, and Champagne in particular, is my hands down favorite for that celebratory midnight toast. Besides, watching those bubbles magically appear and ascend is simply fun, is it not? Did you know that, in general, the better the product, the smaller the bubbles?
Before we close with a brief mention of a couple of other worthy toasting considerations, the James Bond fans out there might be interested to learn that Bollinger has just released a limited edition 2009 “James Bond 007” Brut Champagne to “celebrate” the release of the new Spectre movie. It is available for around $200.00 for a 750ml bottle (with a fancy case), but likely won’t be around long. I have 3 bottles coming, which I plan to lay down for several years.
One final Champagne note (making the discussed distinction from Sparkling Wine), and having become a Champagne aficionado over the last few years, coupled with a 2013 visit to the Champagne region around Reims, Epernay, and Ay, is that although the big houses (Roderer, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Moet Chandon, etc.) make outstanding Champagne, it is très cher, due in large part to their respective reputations, general availability, and the familiarity of their names to US consumers. By contrast, the small Champagne houses are virtually unknown in the US, except to serious collectors, yet in the opinion of this writer many of them equal or exceed in taste the big house productions at a third to half the price. That said, they are difficult to find because they have a smaller bottling, are better known in Europe, and many of them have no need to ship to the US, as they are able to sell their entire inventory in the European market. Therefore it is necessary to look a little harder to find them here. There are importers, however, who have established relationships with some of these smaller producers, and are able to acquire allotments for their US customers.
The best bottle of Champagne I have had to date was Roy Soleil (Sun King) from Champagne Philippe Gonet in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, a small village in Côte des Blancs area of the Champagne region with Grand Cru terroir. It cost only 32€, purchased in person at the Tasting Room. I managed to get two bottles home in my checked luggage, and sadly, they are both long gone.
Other worthy considerations for your raised glass at midnight include Kir (originally Kir Aligoté), Kir Royale, and the Bellini, all served in a flute glass. Kir is a mixture of Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and white wine. Kir’s more sophisticated sibling, Kir Royale, substitutes Champagne or Sparkling Wine for the white wine. In either case, it is important to pour the Cassis first, topped by the wine or Champagne. Poured in reverse, the beverages do not mix properly or uniformly. Although the ratio of the mixture is flexible according to taste, generally it would be one measure of Cassis to 4 or 5 measures of the other beverage. Too much Cassis makes the drink too sweet, and ruins the light pink color that denotes the properly proportioned cocktail.
A Bellini is a first cousin to the Kir and Kir Royale. It consists of a mixture of Peach Purée (or nectar) and Prosecco. The Bellini is poured the same way as the Kir Royale (Prosecco topping the purée), and in roughly the same proportion, adjusted to taste.
It is difficult to go wrong with any of these choices. Of course when one is faced with a crisis of indecision, sampling a couple of the foregoing options is an effective way to resolve the dilemma. Happy New Year!!
Taste of Wine TV's newest travel/wine writer, San Diego (Poway) resident Don Nunn has traveled to many of the world’s most prominent wine producing regions, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Tuscany, Napa-Sonoma, Alsace, other areas known to wine enthusiasts, such as Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, the Willamette Valley, Oregon, the Rhone region of France, and the Piemonte region of northern Italy, as well as lesser known wine destinations, such as the Jura, Croatia, Slovenia, Guadalupe Valley in Baja, Mexico, and the Kocabag Winery in Cappadocia.
Don’s travels have taken him to France, where he has tasted and evaluated wines in virtually every wine producing region. Italy, western Germany, Spain, Portugal, all of the wine producing regions of the US West Coast, as well as all of the areas mentioned above have been on Don’s itinerary as he visits tasting rooms around the world. E-mail Don at: nunnd2@sbcglobal.net
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