`I am drinking stars.’ — Dom Perignon, a blind Benedictine monk who was there the night they invented Champagne
Where are those who testify that sparkling wine existed long before the early 18th Century, when the French monk and winemaker made his pronouncement. They even question whether the good Dom uttered the remark cited here.
Clearly these naysayers possess the romantic instincts of someone drinking flat Champagne and lack the imagination to appreciate a great sound bite. Despite them, Champagne prospered and has become the beverage of celebration, a symbol of class and style, a wine so bright and lively that it is considered the ultimate enhancer.
Now Champagne’s greatest challenge is at hand. In nine days, it is expected to bring us into the new century with smiles on our faces and stars on our tongues. Furthermore, Champagne will be the first taste sensation many of us experience in the new millennium.
For many celebrants, truth be told, New Year’s Eve also may be the first time they have purchased or even drunk Champagne. Well, rookies, this bubbly’s for you. What follows is a primer on the wine of the moment, the week and the ages.
But first a news bulletin: Despite gloomy warnings to the contrary, Champagne is available still, in shops, stores and restaurants around the city and across the land. Special sparklers made in limited quantities, costly tete de cuvee (top of the line) with names such as Dom Perignon and La Grande Dame as well as older vintage bottlings, may have disappeared from the marketplace, but no one need be denied the pleasure of hearing a cork pop as the year ends (see listing). But for convenience, a broader choice and to limit anxiety, consider buying sooner rather than later.
WHERE AND HOW
To begin at the French version of the beginning, Champagne is both a place (le Champagne) and a wine (la Champagne). The Champagne region, 90 miles northeast of Paris, has a cool climate and 75,000 acres of grapes planted on mostly chalky, limestone soil. The soil and the climate combine to produce grapes that are small and high in acidity.
These grapes are pinot meunier and pinot noir (both red) and chardonnay (white). They are made in the manner of still wines, then combined (along with some older “reserve” wine) to achieve a blend that is consistent year to year. The wine is then put into strong glass bottles, given a dose of sugar and yeast and capped to undergo a second fermentation of several months that produces carbon dioxide. Prolonged aging in the bottle also produces aromas and flavors that suggest yeast, toast and nuts. Once opened and poured, it is the rush of carbon dioxide toward the surface that creates that delightful fountain of bubbles.
After aging from two to six or more years, the dead yeast and other solids are coaxed into the neck of the bottle and removed. The wine then receives a dose (dosage) of liquid sugar to offset the acidity. The strength of the dosage determines whether the finished wine will taste dry or sweet.
What sets wine made by this methode champenoise apart from other sparkling wines is the long and expensive process of producing it in the bottle. A far less costly method is responsible for much of the sparkling wine priced at $10 or less. It is the charmat or bulk process and involves doing the secondary fermentation quickly in large pressurized tanks. Methode champenoise wines are made in other nations, but most experts agree that no one does it better than the spiritual heirs of Dom Perignon. Elsewhere in France and in most other wine-producing nations, the term “sparkling wine” is used to describe the local bubbly. In the United States, however, “champagne” is used freely by many producers. Good sparklers are imported from the Loire Valley and Alsace in France (vin mousseau), Spain (cava), Italy (spumante), Germany (Sekt) and Australia. Excellent sparkling wines are produced in quantity in California and Washington State and in smaller quantity in states as different in climate as New Mexico and New York.
HOW SWEET IT ISN’T
Place of origin is not the consumer’s prime concern, though. The first question usually asked: “Is it sweet?”
The conventional response is, “No, it’s quite dry,” although many of us would prefer something that didn’t pucker our lips. But there is label nomenclature that describes sparkling wines by degree of sweetness or dryness.
Extra brut (or ultra brut) Champagne has no dosage at all. It is quite tart and rarely found here. Brut, finished with a light dosage, is crisp to taste and has no apparent sweetness. It is the most popular category. Curiously, extra-sec (extra dry) is sweeter than brut, while demi-sec (half-dry) and the seldom-seen doux are progressively sweeter. Moet’s White Star, the best-selling imported Champagne in this country, has no classification on the label, but it is sweeter than most brut bubbly.
You also may see the terms “blanc de blancs,” “blanc de noirs” or “ros.” The first is made from only white grapes, the second only from red and the third can be made from either but will have a distinctive red or pink color.
The label also will tell you where the wine was produced and may cite a vintage year. American sparklers almost always cite a vintage year. In Champagne, not all years are declared vintage, and even in a vintage year only a small amount of Champagne will be sold as vintage. That’s because most of each year’s crop must go into the house blend, but a vintage bottling must be 100 percent wine of that year. (The best recent vintage years for Champagne are 1995 and 1996.)
CARE AND FEEDING OF FIZZ
Once home, a bottle of Champagne should be stored in a quiet, dimly lit place. Put it in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours before you plan to open it. The single most important factor in making Champagne enjoyable to drink is to serve it very well chilled (not on the rocks however).
Opening Champagne is serious business, but not difficult. Make sure the bottle is not pointed at anyone, or anything as breakable as a vase or light bulb. Remove the foil wrapper, then gently undo the wire cage over the cork. Hold the cork and turn the bottle slowly until the cork emerges with a gentle sigh. Popping corks loudly is considered bad form. If the cork, which is under considerable pressure, should explode and wine begin flowing out from within like a foaming waterfall, direct it into a large glass or pitcher.
Champagne corks do have minds of their own and fairly often will refuse to leave the bottle. Wrapping the cork in a towel to increase your grip may do the trick. Then turn to someone with strong hands. As a last resort you can employ pliers (made especially for Champagne corks) to grasp the cork firmly while you turn the bottle. Do not try to remove the cork with a corkscrew.
There are glasses designed for Champagne. The only rule, though, is that the glass be taller than it is wide so a pretty column of bubbles will form. (Pretend those shallow, cuplike glasses your grandmother passed along do not exist.) Pour to fill each glass about two-thirds full. Between pours, keep the Champagne chilled in an ice bucket or the refrigerator.
In tasting, as with any wine, follow the scan, sniff, sip, savor and swallow procedure. The wine should be clear and bright, often with a golden tint. The bubbles should be small and lively. The aroma should be agreeable, suggesting fresh-baked bread or flowers. Once sipped, the wine should stimulate the taste buds with its crisp acidity and taste of fresh fruit and perhaps nuts. The flavor should last after the wine is swallowed and you should be left wanting another sip.
CHAMPAGNE COMPANIONS
Champagne has some spectacular affinities with food, especially recipes that feature eggs, butter or cream. During a meal, it can be paired with poached or roasted fish or chicken, or seafood, especially oysters cooked or raw. A blanc de noir or rose sparkler will even match up well with roast veal or game birds served as the main course.
Champagne also holds its own with foods that are hard on still wines. Among these: olives, chili, ham and other salty meats and moderately spicy Asian fare. But proffering a brut Champagne with a sweet dessert will do the wine no favor.
For the cook, Champagne is used most often in making sauces. It might seem that the quality that Champagne, with its effervescent image, would bring to a sauce is lightness. Far more important, though, are the wine’s acidity and flavor. Few home cooks will want to open a bottle just to make a cup of sauce until they realize the classic ritual is to use the Champagne required, then drink the rest. Alternatively, recycle previously opened Champagne that is losing its carbonation.
Most often, Champagne shows up as an aperitif, where it lifts spirits and helps conversation before a meal, or as the accompaniment to celebratory toasts. But it is a treat sipped by itself in mid-afternoon or mid-evening as well; there is no wrong time for Champagne. You also may choose to adopt a point of view attributed to Napoleon: “In victory, you deserve Champagne; in defeat, you need it.”
BUBBLES ON TAP AT SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS
We surveyed wine shops in the Chicago area to uncover Champagnes and sparkling wines stocked in sufficient quantity for New Year’s Eve. We also asked two restaurants closely associated with Champagne to predict what their best sellers will be on that night.
WINE SHOPS SUBURBS
Armanetti’s, 1180 Main St., Antioch (847-395-3540). Larry Ellis suggests 1995 Argyle Oregon Brut ($18) or the off-dry Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial ($27).
Binny’s Beverage Depot, 790 Royal St. George Drive, Naperville (630-717-0100). Joe Bell promises to have in stock Perrier-Jouet non-vintage Grand Brut ($29) and non-vintage Korbel brut ($11). Both wines should be available at other Binny’s as well.
DiCarlo’s Armanetti, 6920 Illinois Highway 83, Willowbrook (630-654-0988). Bill McCutcheon will have 1992 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne ($170) and non-vintage Taittinger La Francaise brut ($30).
Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe, 824 Sunset Ridge Rd., Northbrook (847-498-9300). Johnson Ho will offer brut non-vintage Deutz Carte Classic ($28) and multi-vintage Krug Grande Cuvee ($120). He expects to have Champagne in large-format bottles.
Schaefer’s, 9965 Gross Point Rd., Skokie (847-673-5711). Sterling Pratt’s choices are brut non-vintage Lucas Carton produced by Vranken ($30) and 1990 Deutz Cuvee William Deutz ($100).
WINE SHOPS
CITY
Chalet, 40 E. Delaware Pl. (312-787-8555). Keith Janosik will provide you with non-vintage brut Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label ($37) or Moet & Chandon White Star ($27).
Howard’s Wine Cellar, 1244 W. Belmont Ave. (773-248-3766). Howard Silverman has stashes of 1995 Drappier Carte d’Or ($28) and Veuve Clicquot’s 1990 La Grande Dame ($118).
Leonard Solomon’s Wines & Spirits, 1456 N. Dayton St. (312-915-5911). Leonard Solomon expects to offer his beloved non-vintage brut Pol Roger ($28) and 1988 Dampierre Blanc de Blancs Cuvee Prestige ($125).
Sam’s Wines & Spirits, 1720 N. Marcy St. (312-664-4394). Todd Hess touts non-vintage brut Billecart-Salmon ($28) as well as Gruet New Mexico non-vintage brut ($14). Lots of large-format bottles here.
Wine Discount Center, 1826 1/2 N. Elston Ave. (773-489-3454). Jim Buckley plans to have Oudinot non-vintage brut ($20) and 1998 Seaview Australia brut ($6.49). They also may be found at other Wine Discount outlets.
RESTAURANTS
Narcisse, 710 N. Clark St. (312-787-2675). Kathryn and Stefano Alvera will spotlight Piper-Heidsieck multi-vintage brut, Jean Paul Gaultier signature bottle ($250) and Krug Collection 1979 brut ($700, or a magnum for $1,000).
Pop’s Highwood, 214 Green Bay Rd., Highwood (847-266-1313). Tom Verhey has a generous supply of Drappier Cuvee 2000 ($48 or $10 per glass) and Chandon Reserve Cuvee 2000 ($35 or $8.50 per glass). (Pops for Champagne in the city will be closed for a private party on New Year’s Eve.)
PAPILLOTE OF CHILEAN SEA BASS WITH CAVIAR BUTTER SAUCE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Sparkling wine, high in acid and full-flavored, is an asset in cooking. Use it for poaching, braising or sauces, as in this recipe from Gabriel Viti, chef/owner of Gabriel’s in Highwood.
Fish:
1 red potato, thinly sliced
1 tomato, diced
10 spinach leaves, stems removed
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons each: chopped parsley, chopped basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Champagne or other sparkling wine
2 fillets (6 ounces each) Chilean sea bass
Sauce:
1 teaspoon plus 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter cut in pieces
1 teaspoon minced shallot
2/3 cup Champagne or other sparkling wine
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon each: caviar, chopped chives
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread a 12-by-15-inch piece of parchment paper or foil wrap flat. On right half of paper, make a circle of half of the sliced potatoes. Top with half of the tomato, spinach and zucchini.
2. Mix shallot, garlic, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste in small bowl. Sprinkle half over zucchini. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the Champagne and a few drops olive oil. Place fish fillet on vegetables; season with salt and pepper. Fold left side of the paper over fish and vegetables; pleat edges and fold over to seal packet. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients and another sheet of parchment.
3. Place packets on baking sheet. Cook until fish is cooked through and vegetables have softened, about 15 minutes.
4. For sauce, melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in heavy, non-reactive saucepan. Add shallot; cook over medium heat until softened, 2 minutes. Add Champagne; raise heat. Boil until liquid is almost gone, about 8 minutes. Add cream; boil 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; add remaining stick of butter, a piece at a time, whisking, until it forms a thick sauce. Stir caviar and chives into sauce. Place packets on 2 warm plates; open at table. Pour sauce over fish.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 765 Fat ………… 59 g Saturated fat .. 35 g
% Calories from fat .. 70 Cholesterol .. 255 mg Sodium ……. 575 mg
Carbohydrates ……. 23 g Protein ……. 34 g Fiber ……… 3.8 g
