"Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!"
~ Dom Perignon, at the moment he discovered champagne.
{a guide to:}
Champagne. A light sparkling wine made only in the champagne region of north-eastern France, is different from all other sparkling wines in the world for three major reasons:
* a wine can only be labelled as champagne if it is made in the champagne region of france
* a wine can only be labelled as champagne if it is made in the champagne region of france
* to be called champagne, it must be made only from the pinot noir, pinot meunier, or chardonnay grapes which grow in that region
* true champagne, as opposed to other sparkling wines, gets its bubbles by undergoing the fermentation process twice: once in barrels and again in bottles.
* true champagne, as opposed to other sparkling wines, gets its bubbles by undergoing the fermentation process twice: once in barrels and again in bottles.
{chilling}
* temperature determines the rate at which bubbles in champagne are released -- a bottle should not be opened at room temperature, as it will quickly froth up and go flat
* chill ideally to 4.5-7°c, the lower temperature for parties and receptions where the room temperature is likely to rise quickly
* chill champagne in a refrigerator for a couple of hours, but try not to leave it longer than a day, as the cork may stick or shrink
* emergency chilling in the coldest part of a freezer for 15 minutes is fine
* a bucket of ice and water (never just ice, as the water is essential for transferring temperatures) is still one of the best and quickest ways to chill a bottle of champagne, but faster still are the gel-filled jackets that are kept in the freezer and slip over the bottle give you the ideal champagne temperature in a mere six minutes.
* temperature determines the rate at which bubbles in champagne are released -- a bottle should not be opened at room temperature, as it will quickly froth up and go flat
* chill ideally to 4.5-7°c, the lower temperature for parties and receptions where the room temperature is likely to rise quickly
* chill champagne in a refrigerator for a couple of hours, but try not to leave it longer than a day, as the cork may stick or shrink
* emergency chilling in the coldest part of a freezer for 15 minutes is fine
* a bucket of ice and water (never just ice, as the water is essential for transferring temperatures) is still one of the best and quickest ways to chill a bottle of champagne, but faster still are the gel-filled jackets that are kept in the freezer and slip over the bottle give you the ideal champagne temperature in a mere six minutes.
{opening}
* remove the foil to begin, or simply score around the base of the wire cage, then gently untwist the wire and loosen the bottom of the cage, but do not remove it
* holding the base of the bottle with your other hand, twist both ends slowly in opposite directions, backwards and forwards
* as soon as you feel pressure forcing the cork out, try to push it back in while continuing the twisting operation ever more gently until the cork is released from the bottle with a sigh, not a bang
* do not tilt the glass and pour gently down the inside, but top up each glass to between two-thirds and three-quarters full, and no more
* do not chill the glasses ahead of time, either by filling them with ice cubes or crushed ice, as it will have a negative effect on the release of the bubbles and the bouquet of the champagne
{glasses}
* a flute or a tulip-shaped glass is ideal, but nearly any vessel other than a coupe will do -- the wide, shallow coupe is the worst possible choice for champagne, as the mousse goes flat far too quickly and the wine's aroma can not be appreciated
* whatever glass shape used, the finer the rim the better
* if you have fine crystal, be sure to use it -- the irregularities in this elegant glass keep the bubbles alive longer
{differences in champagne}
01 | Prestige Cuvée : created from grapes of a single vintage, and requires a longer aging process
02 | Vintage : created from a single vintage
03 | Non-Vintage : created from a blend of two or more harvest years
01 | Ultra Brut/Brut Natural/Brut Zéro : containing less than 3 grams/litre of sugar
02 | Brut : containing less than 12 grams/litre of sugar
03 | Extra Dry/Extra Sec : slightly sweeter, containing 12-20 grams/litre of sugar [more unusual]
04 | Dry/Sec : containing 17 to 35 grams/litre of sugar
05 | Demi-Sec : containing 35 to 50 grams/litre of sugar [popular with desserts and foie gras]
06 | Doux : containing over 50 gram/litre of sugar [making the champagne very sweet]
01 | Prestige Cuvée : created from grapes of a single vintage, and requires a longer aging process
02 | Vintage : created from a single vintage
03 | Non-Vintage : created from a blend of two or more harvest years
01 | Ultra Brut/Brut Natural/Brut Zéro : containing less than 3 grams/litre of sugar
02 | Brut : containing less than 12 grams/litre of sugar
03 | Extra Dry/Extra Sec : slightly sweeter, containing 12-20 grams/litre of sugar [more unusual]
04 | Dry/Sec : containing 17 to 35 grams/litre of sugar
05 | Demi-Sec : containing 35 to 50 grams/litre of sugar [popular with desserts and foie gras]
06 | Doux : containing over 50 gram/litre of sugar [making the champagne very sweet]
{additional notes:}
. . . and of course, if one is in the predicament where champagne is not readily on hand, a few sparkling wine alternatives . . .
rachel xo
No comments:
Post a Comment