Chicago joins New York and San Francisco among the top five U.S. markets for Champagne. But we pay for the ranking, since good Champagne costs an arm and a leg. Ever wonder why?
BABIED BOTTLES I: Some vintages are hand-turned 6000 times while reclining in chalky caves.
BABIED BOTTLES II: Champagne must be aged at least 18 months and as long as seven or more years.
FRUIT OF THE LOAM: The grapes have to be hand-picked.
LOCATION: The French call it terroir, the land that gives wines their character. Here, it’s the precisely defined, pricey chunk of real estate in northeast France where, for the product to be called Champagne, the grapes must be grown and the bubbly produced.
GLASSY CHASSIS: Champagne bottles are thicker than normal, with an indent at the bottom–called a punt– which helps them withstand the six atmospheres of pressure created by all those bubbles.
CACHET: “It’s like selling perfume,” says the Chicago Wine School’s Patrick Fegan. “Especially at the top end: It’s image.”
DOUBLE BUBBLE: Ordinary wine is Fermented only once. But Methode champenoise mandates a second fermentation, inside the bottle, which adds CO2 and creates bubbles.
