Dom Perignon famously said “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars” when he discovered champagne.

 A local wine producer helps to answer some questions about this revered drink.

Why is it called sparkling wine and not Champagne?

“Champagne (the bubbly) is named after the region of Champagne in France, which is 160km north-east of Paris. Only the traditionally bottle fermented “Méthode Champenoise” sparkling wine, made within the area of Champagne, is allowed to be called Champagne. Everything else in the world is classified as sparkling wine.

Each country has its own name for bottle fermented sparkling wine – for example, Spain calls theirs Cava and in Germany it is Sekt. In South Africa, we’ve named ours Method Cap Classique (M.C.C.), which simply means Cape Classical Method.

Why is Champagne (oops, we mean M.C.C. or sparkling wine) served in a flute and not a regular wine glass?

“The Champagne flute has a tall, narrow bowl, which is designed to retain the bubbles by reducing the surface area at the opening of the bowl.

The long, thick stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without affecting the temperature of the drink and quite conveniently the smaller diameter of the Champagne flute allows more flutes to be carried on a tray, thereby giving pleasure to more people.

Another Champagne glass sometimes used is the saucer-shaped stem glass, but this is now more commonly used for certain cocktails such as daiquiris. Legend has it that the shape of the glass was modelled on the breast of Marie Antoinette; however it is my personal belief that Louis XVI of France probably just drank lots of Champagne off her ample bosoms…:)

How long does sparkling wine keep for?

“As long as your will-power holds and you can resist opening the bottle…

Actually, for drinking purposes, sparkling wine can be considered a ‘white wine’, meaning it is ready to drink within months of release and you need not mature/age the wine like a red wine.

Some vintage sparkling wines and most luxury cuvées [denoting a specific blend] can benefit from two to four years of further aging, but it isn’t necessary and definitely don’t over do it. However, if stored well, the best sparkling wines will quite easily hold for up to 10 years after release, but since it is a natural product, you are taking a risk.

Best way to store your sparkling wine is to keep it in a cool, dark room away from direct sunlight. Lay the bottle flat, to keep the cork moist, and make sure there aren’t any major temperature fluctuations in the room.

How is sparkling wine made?

“Eish… How am I supposed to answer that in only a couple of lines?! Can’t I just say we use “magic” & leave it at that?

OK, there are three main different methods of producing sparkling wine:

1) Carbonation: This is a simple injection of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the wine – kind of like the process used in soft drinks / Soda-Stream, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass, and the quality is not very good. These are mostly your sweet ‘el-cheapo’ sparkling wines that tend to give you a hang-over from hell.

2) Charmat: For this process the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bulk tanks, which builds up natural CO2 gas, and the wine is then bottled under pressure. This produces smaller, longer-lasting bubbles for lighter ‘drink now’ sparkling wines.

3) Method Cap Classique / Méthode Champenoise: This is the original and most important method of sparkling wine production, and it began in the Champagne region 300 years ago. Only three varietals are commonly used in Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

The juice undergoes alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks; then the wine is stabilised and filtered. Up to this point the process is the same as normal still wine production, but then the real magic begins…

The winemaker blends the various tanks together into a cuvée to maintain the house style. Then a measured amount of sugar along with very specific yeast is added to the still wine. This wine is stored horizontally in a cellar where the second fermentation begins. The yeast converts the sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol and this carbon dioxide is dissolved in the wine, which gives the wine its sparkle.

It requires a minimum of 12 – 18 months of bottle fermentation to completely develop all the flavour. After bottle fermentation, the pressure inside the bottle is 6 bars / atmosphere, which is three times more pressure than a standard car tyre!

The bottles are shaken and riddled at an upside-down angle to slide the sediment (spent yeast) to the neck of the bottle and then the tip of the bottle is flash-frozen so that when the metal crown-cap is removed, the frozen yeast plug shoots out of the bottle. The small amount lost during this process is replaced, the bottle is then corked, and the muselet (wire cage) is placed on top.

Does the spoon in the open sparkling wine bottle trick really work?

“The theory behind the ‘silver teaspoon in the bottle’ trick is that the silver is supposed to react with the wine and CO₂ gas in such a way as to prevent the gas from escaping. After many, many bottles and serious drinking… um, testing… I can confidently say this theory is a load of rubbish.

The CO₂ gas produced in PROPER bottle fermented sparkling wine is so inherent in the wine and has developed naturally over many months, that it gives it a fine, long-lasting bubble – so that once you open a bottle of PROPER bottle fermented sparkling wine, the bubbles will keep going for a long time.

What is the right way to open sparkling wine? Does trying to hit someone with the cork affect the wine?

“Ha, ha – only if it results in you having to sleep alone on the couch that night!:)

It’s actually very easy to open a bottle of sparkling wine without injuring your date or killing your grandma’s pet budgie – the secret is to chill the bubbly and to turn the bottle instead of pulling the cork.

Of course, if you are a F1 driver, then shake-and-bake baby!

Alternatively, why not try Sabrage? Sabrage is the technique of opening a sparkling wine bottle with a sword / saber by sliding the sword along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip of the bottle breaks off the top from the neck and the natural pressure in the bottle (6 bar) shoots off this tip, while the cork and collar remain together after separating from the neck. You can easily use a heavy kitchen knife instead of a sword. Once you get the hang of it, it really is lots of fun, but just be careful that you don’t accidentally hit your dog Fido, or your aunt Petunia in the process!

Does sparkling wine gather value over the years?

“Most definitely. In certain years, the conditions are such that a specific vintage produces truly excellent sparkling wines, and while there are many factors involved in the aging potential of these wines, some of these Champagnes (especially specific vintages) are very sought after and sold for exorbitant prices.

Plastic or cork?

“For sparkling wine – always cork.

Source: gotravel24.com