Wine Judging Part V - "Special Occasion Wines"

MSU HRT333 Wine Judging / November 4, 2002 / W.C. Paetz

What is the world standard of special occasion wines? I think most people might agree that truly momentous events are celebrated with the magic of Champagne including the sound of poping corks and bursting bubbles. Some of these bubbles come from Champagne and some from sparkling wines. The focus of this paper is to explore and contrast the differences between these two wine styles, specifically from France and California.

"That word 'Champagne'. It doesn't mean a style of wine. It doesn't mean something fizzy and fun. It can only legitimately apply to a wine coming from a very distinct, carefully delimited, part of France." (1.)

All other wines following the methode champagneoise regardless of where they are vinified must not be called Champagne. In California these wines are traditionally called; Sparkling Wines, a visual description of their reliable effervescence.

Discussion:

"In France a small number of Champagnes are made from just one of the three permitted grapes. That grape is Chardonnay, and that type of Champagne is called blanc de blancs (literally white from white)." (2.)
A blanc de noirs is a Champagne made from 100% black grapes often just Pinot Noir.

The methode champenoise, also called the traditional method, is a labor intensive process which brings out the rich flavors and elegant tiny bubbles to this special type of wine. The process includes the following elements: cuvee, triage, fermentation, aging , storing, riddling, disgorging and corking.

The cuvee is the still wine from which the Champagne or Sparkling Wine is made. It is harvested when the brix or sugar content is 18 - 22 degrees. At this point it is high in acid and low in ph. The grapes are brought in and pressed systematically collecting only the free run juice for the best wines. The must is stored in cool tanks to avoid oxidation. The enologist may select the ideal cuvee from several samples, using his or her palate and memory to maintain the highest standard for this special wine. After these wines have been fermented and aged they are assembled into the cuvee. These wines will have been clarified, racked and all sediment removed until it has been judged as a fine still wine. The cuvee is the base wine selected to make the champagne. Cuvees may be from one grape variety or a mixture.

After the cuvee is selected, sugar, yeast and yeast nutrients are added. The entire concoction is called the triage. It is placed into thick walled glass bottles and sealed with a cap. The secondary fermentation proceeds. This results in yeast cells being in the wine as it ages. They impart a complex yeasty flavor to the Champagne. After fermentation is complete, and the wine has aged , the dead yeast cells are removed through a process known as riddling. The Champagne bottle is placed in a holder at an angle. "Antoine Mueller, chef de caves (Celler - Master) for the widow Clicquot in 1818, devised pupitres which were inverted v shaped desks with holes in them." (3) Each day the riddler comes through and turns the bottle 1/8th of a turn, while keeping it upside down. This forces the dead yeast cells into the neck of the bottle.

The Champagne is chilled and the neck is suspended into an ice-salt bath, which results in a frozen plug of dead yeast cells. The bottle cap is removed and the pressure disgorges the plug out of the wine. At this point a dosage is added. This dosage is comprised of a mixture of wine and sometimes sugar to adjust the sweetness and to top up the bottle. The bottle is then corked and wired down to secure the high pressure of the carbon dioxide. As you can tell this is a very labor intensive process. Sparkling Wine made in the United States by this method can be labeled; "Fermented in This Bottle" or "Methode Champenoise"

The French own all rights to Champagne. The French laws regarding the appellation of Champagne allows the use of only three grape varieties. These include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The restrained richness of real Champagne has a lot to do with the cold climate of northern France. "The Pinot Noir accounts for 30% of the Champagne vineyard. It is planted mainly on the chalky- sandy hillsides of Montane de Reims and gives wines of richness and finesse." (4.)
"The hardier Pinot Meunier is best suited to the cooler soils of the Vallee de la Marne, where it is grown for its high yield and spicy flavor." (4.)
"The Chardonnay's natural home is the deep chalk of the Cote des Blancs. Refined, elegant, incisive it is an indispensable component in a Champagne blend to balance the richness of Pinot Noir." (4.)

In France the length of time that a Champagne must be allowed to age is considered a very important quality factor. Prior to disgorgement, a non vintage Champagne must be aged for at least one year and a vintage at least three years. "Most good houses age their non vintage Champagne for three years and their vintage for five years." (4.)

Champagne styles vary depending upon the sweetness level. From extra brut- no liqueur is added. Topping up is done with the equivalent quantity of the same wine as in the bottle. This results in a bone dry Champagne. A brut has 1 % liqueur added. The best cuvees are always reserved for brut in France. Extra-sec has from 1% to 3 % liqueur added. This results in a medium dry Champagne. Demi-sec has from 3% to 5% liqueur added and results in a medium sweet Champagne. Doux is the sweetest classification. From 5% to 8% liqueur is added and results in a dessert style wine.

The French label tells it all, including the following information: Date of Vintage, Name of the Wine ie. Champagne, Style ie. Brut etc. ,The Alcohol content, Date of Disgorging,Degorgement and the Professional Registration code. (4.)

Sparkling Wine from California comes from regions with cool climates chilled by the incoming Pacific fog.

"The grapes grown for Sparkling Wine are usually Chardonnay and Pinot Noir" (1.)
When Roederer Estate decided to set up a U.S. operation it hunted high and low for somewhere as chilly as Champagne France. It found it here in Anderson Valley in the North Coast Region of California. (1.)
Korbel is established in Sonoma in the Russian River Valley. It is the maker of one of California's first Sparkling Wines.

"There is no place on earth like Napa Valley for growing wine grapes. The nutrient dense soil was created by marine life dating back millions of years when California was just a piece of the ocean floor." (5.)
In judging California Sparkling Wines, many of the top scorers come from similarly cool regions such as Carneros, Green Valley and the Russian River Valley.

"Sparkling Wine is the one time that you can turn a harvest of apparently unripe grapes into something very special. Indeed you actually need tart, thin flavored still wine to make a fine Sparkling Wine. This is why new world countries with their bigger riper flavors find it very difficult to achieve the finesse and subtlety of Champagne without going to their coolest vineyards growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and very rarely Pinot Meunier the third Champagne grape and producing much smaller crops then usual." (6.)

The many offerings of Sparkling Wine from California run the gamut from dry to sweet. The makers, many of whom originally came from France and have established Champagne Houses here in California have done so because climatic conditions and grape varieties can produce superior Sparkling Wines. Some of these Sparkling Wines from the State of California surpass the highest world standards for this unique beverage

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