Photo by Sam Hanna
Dom Perignon was a monk at a French abbey in the 17th century. He was also the abbey’s winemaker and is often credited (albeit erroneously) with inventing Champagne. Legend has it that upon Perignon’s first taste of the sparkling wine he shouted, “Come quickly, brothers---I’m drinking stars!” Today there are typically three different methods that are used to make these stars…some are less magical than others. Let’s begin with the most magical.
Dom Perignon was a monk at a French abbey in the 17th century. He was also the abbey’s winemaker and is often credited (albeit erroneously) with inventing Champagne. Legend has it that upon Perignon’s first taste of the sparkling wine he shouted, “Come quickly, brothers---I’m drinking stars!” Today there are typically three different methods that are used to make these stars…some are less magical than others. Let’s begin with the most magical.
The method used by Dom Perignon is referred to as secondary fermentation in the bottle. Once the blend is made, the wine is place
in a bottle along with yeast and a very small amount of sugar to fuel the
yeast. Like in making bread, these
yeast give off carbon dioxide (bubbles).
Typically, this carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere during
regular fermentation, however, in this secondary fermentation method the
bubbles remain in the bottle as the cork prevents them from escaping. This method is the most expensive of all
methods.
By law, all Champagne must be made via a secondary
fermentation in the bottle. (And, by law
only sparkling wine made in the Champagne district of France can be called
Champagne.) French laws also have copyrighted
this process as the “methode Champenoise,” and only Champagne producers can use
this name. Secondary fermentation in a
bottle in other countries must be called something different even though the
process is the same. In Italy, for
example, high-end sparkling wine from Italy's Franciacorta region that sells for close to $100 a bottle, uses
the term “Metodo classico,” or classical method. Cava from Spain is produced using this same
process.
The second process to make a sparkling wine is
called “charmant.” With charmant the wine undergoes the
secondary fermentation in bulk tanks
and is then bottled under pressure. This
method is used, for example, in the production of Prosecco. It is less expensive than the classical
method Champenoise where fermentation
occurs in the bottle.
The third way that bubbles are added to a wine is the
least enchanting. Similar to the process
used in soft drinks, this last way involves simply the addition of carbon
dioxide gas. Inexpensive sparkling wines from
all over the world are made in this fashion.
Have a magical autumn, hopefully filled with stars and lots of
bubbles.
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