World of Wine | Champagne or Sparkling Wine

BY MIRA HONEYCUTT

WORLD OF WINE

Champagne or Sparkling Wine?

Asparkling wine can only be called champagne when it’s exclusively produced from grapes grown, harvested, and made into wine within the delimited region of Champagne in France’s northern region. All other bubbly is simply sparkling wine.

Covering some 84,000 acres, the Champagne region, the birthplace of the iconic sparkling wine, is recognized as UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Champagne is made primarily from three wine grape varieties — pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier. Other varieties, such as pinot blanc and pinot gris, can also be included in the blend.

Both Champagne and sparkling wines can be labeled NV (non-vintage), in which the base wine is a blend of multiple vintages. The vintage bottle will be marked with the year the grapes were harvested during that season. In champagne, the majority of its production is non-vintage.

Nearly all sparkling wines are made by using one of two methods: bottle fermentation, known as the traditional method, or tank fermentation. In both cases, the dissolved carbon dioxide that makes the wine fizzy is a by-product of second alcoholic fermentation.

Champagne is produced strictly by bottle fermentation or méthod champenoise, a term that can only be used on Champagne bottle labels. In champagne, the base wine which has gone through primary fermentation can be a blend of any of the grape varieties grown in that region from different vintages and vineyards. To start the second fermentation, a mixture of sugar and yeast is added before the wine is bottled and stored.

While in the bottle, the yeast feeds on the sugar and produces carbon dioxide bubbles which, without an outlet, get absorbed into the wine. After two months, sugar is absorbed, the yeast dies and begins to add the “toasty,” yeasty bread-like flavors that méthode champenosie is known for.

The bottles are laid down for about two years, after which time they are hand-riddled, a time-honored tradition of moving the dead yeast cells down to the crown cap. The sediment is then “disgorged” by freezing the bottle neck and popping the cap off. Dosage is added at this stage, a mixture of sugar and wine that determines whether the wine will be extra dry, brut (driest), or demi-sec (sweetest). The bottle is then corked with a wire hood, covered with foil, and allowed to rest for another two months before release. Aging practice requires two to three years for non-vintage and four to 10 years for vintage champagne. In the tank method, the base wine is transferred to a pressurized tank instead of a bottle. Sugar and yeast are added, and the tank sealed. Once the second fermentation is complete, the wine is filtered and bottled under pressure, which keeps the carbon dioxide to be retained within the wine.

The tank method is popular with the fresh fruity style of wine, such as the Italian Prosecco and the German Sekt. The Spanish Cava, Italian Franciacorta, and Crémant made in France’s Borgogne, and Loire regions are produced in the traditional method.

In California, winemakers have been making sparkling wine since 1860, using both traditional and tank methods. Along the Central Coast, winemakers are getting creative with various red and white wine grape varieties. Among them is Rava Wines using the traditional Burgundian varieties as well Spanish and Austrian varieties.

Co-founder Lauren Rava recently gave me a tour of the state-of-theart 17,000 square-foot winery set amid the scenic 500-acre estate in the El Pomar District.

Paso’s leading sparkling wine facility produces some 6,500 cases annually under their Rava label as well as for other local producers. The impressive lineup of French and Italian equipment, installed in 2017, is designed for the traditional method of production. “We are getting ready to do tirage,” Rava said, explaining the process when the base wine will be transferred into bottles for the second fermentation.

The yeast culture mixed with sugar and nutrients will be added for the second fermentation, bottles topped with a “bidule,” a polyethylene casing, and a crown cap. The wine will age in the bottles for 18 months lying in tirage bins.

While a handful of California sparkling wine producers practice the hand riddling tradition, Rava has installed the gyropallette riddling machine, which gives 72 jiggling movements per bottle for seven days. The bottles then go through a cold glycol bath which freezes the bottle’s neck before it’s disgorged. After the final touch of dosage, the bottles are corked and wire-hooded.

Back at the tasting room, I encounter an extensive selection of Rava bubbly: the traditional Blanc de Blancs (chardonnay) and Blanc de Noirs (pinot noir) plus sparkling albariño and Lunare, a delicious blend of riesling, chardonnay, and grüner veltliner.

Champagne or sparkling wine?

Try both and ring in the New Year with your favorite flute of bubbly.

Drink responsibly 