Become a Bubbles Connoisseur in Champagne
Champagne, June 2008
How much do you know about champagne other than the fact you love it? A weekend in Champagne will not only transform you into a fizz expert but never again will you look at a glass or bottle without appreciating what goes into creating those wonderful golden bubbles.
....at any one time there can be over 1 billion bottles of champagne maturing 30 metres beneath your feet.
Just over an hour’s drive east of Paris lies the small region of Champagne and only sparkling wine produced from within its strict boundaries can be officially labelled “champagne”. Surprisingly, the famous champagne houses are not to be found in luxurious chateaux in the vine-covered hills of the Marne Valley. Instead their headquarters are located in the heart of Reims and Epernay and are primarily production plants with a visitor centre and merchandise shop attached.
If above ground the champagne houses are not what you were expecting, then what lies below is beyond imagination. In Reims, 250 kilometres of cellars lie under the city and in the town of Epernay 100 kilometres and at any one time there can be over 1 billion bottles of champagne maturing 30 metres beneath your feet.
Some of the cellars started out as chalk mines, or crayeres, dug out in Gallo-Roman times. In places, the almost endless corridors open up into high vaulted circular rooms created when the chalk was excavated through chimneys in the centre of the domed ceilings. The chalk caves keep the champagne at a naturally constant 10 degrees and, although the walls are damp to touch and you occasionally get dripped on, it’s not unbearably cold although you may be thankful of a sweater.
To plan a trip to Champagne you first need to do some research and discover where your favourite champagnes are made and the easiest way is to check the label on your next bottle. Conveniently most of the popular houses are grouped very close together - Veuve Clicquot, Pommery and Taittinger are only a short stroll from each other in Reims and Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger and Mercier, to name but a few, can be found along the grand 19th century Avenue de Champagne in Epernay.
There are exceptions, such as Bollinger, which is created on the outskirts of Epernay in Ay or if your tastes run to the more expensive end of the spectrum, such as Krug, you may be disappointed as not all cellars are open to the public. A couple of websites to help you with your planning are www.maisons-champagne.com and www.champagnemagic.com.
With the main houses being split between the two towns the perfect champagne weekend would be to stay a couple of days in both. However, should you wish to partake in other activities beyond drinking champagne, then the UNESCO World Heritage city of Reims with its famous cathedral, museums, lively squares and a good collection of shops and restaurants, probably deserves more of your time.
Whether you start in Reims or Epernay a full day to enjoy the countryside should definitely be part of your itinerary. There are four “Routes du Champagne” to follow but it is the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne trails that separate the two towns. Not only will you drive past picturesque vineyards and villages but also natural parks, beech tree forests, castles, museums and Benedictine abbeys. It is also possible to visit some of the smaller champagne houses and every junction has a top heavy signpost pointing the way.
Once you’ve planned your itinerary and decided which houses you wish to visit you need to check if the tours require advance booking. Some, such as Veuve Clicquot, Lanson and Louis Roederer, are by appointment only whereas Moët & Chandon, Mercier and Taittinger all run English speaking tours at specific times throughout the day. The tours cost approx 8 Euros and last about 45 minutes and include a glass of champagne at the end, so excellent value for money. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you may require to climb up and down several flights of stairs (some spiral) and to do a bit of walking once you’re in the caves although at Mercier they have a lift and electric Disney-style trains.
You may think that one tour will be enough for you to understand the Méthode Champenoise which is true, however each house has its own history and every cave has a different story to tell and something different to see. Some boast amazing wall carvings and statues and others the remains of ancient steps leading to monasteries from the days of Dom Perignon, who despite popular belief was not the inventor of champagne. Then of course there is the champagne.
If above ground the champagne houses are not what you were expecting, then what lies below is beyond imagination.
Although each house adopts the same process every brand has its own totally unique taste. The majority of champagnes are made from three distinct grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The two black Pinot grapes both provide a white juice but requires gentle pressing so the skins don’t discolour the wine - unless of course it’s for a rosé. Each house uses a different mix or blend to create their signature taste so one may have a higher percentage of Chardonnay, which will give it a slightly sharper taste whereas another will use more of the Pinot grapes, giving more body and fruitiness.
Which blend you prefer is down to a personal preference although interestingly that’s not the way the French drink their champagne. They drink it exactly the way they drink their wines and will choose a certain champagne for a specific occasion - perhaps one with more Chardonnay as an aperitif; one with more Pinot Noir with food and a rosé to accompany dessert.
It is vitally important for each champagne house to make sure that their unique taste is the same every time you buy a bottle of their non vintage (NV) brut champagne. So in addition to grapes from the current harvest they will also use reserve wines from previous years in the blending process to ensure that you are never disappointed.
Once the grapes have been blended and a regular flat wine created it goes through a second fermentation process which creates the bubbles. As the wine matures sediment gathers in the bottles which must be removed before drinking. To do this the bottles are placed neck down in special racks and “riddlers” manually turn each bottle just a fraction many times until the sediment eventually collects in the neck although, most champagne houses now do this part of the process mechanically.
The bottles are then taken to a mechanised production area where the necks are frozen encasing the sediment in an ice cube. The temporary metal caps are then removed causing the iced sediment to pop out with the force of the carbon dioxide. Reserve wine is then used to top up the bottle and it is corked and secured with a capsule and wire cage, cleaned, labelled and ready for shipment. So, the next time you hold a bottle of champagne it is worth bearing in mind where it has come from and how long it has been waiting for you to enjoy.
The minimum amount of time champagne must be left to mature is 1½ years for a NV although most of the main houses leave theirs between 3-5 years. For vintage wine the minimum time is 3 years although again the big labels will leave theirs for between 5–10 years which is why if you were to buy a vintage champagne today it will more than likely be from the year 2000.
Each year the champagne houses decide whether or not the harvest has been good enough to make a vintage wine. Vintage wines are made with 100% of that specific year’s grapes and as the weather and grapes differ every year so will the taste of the wine. So if you want the taste you love it may be best to stick to a NV or for a special treat try a vintage but appreciate that it will be different.
Not only will you drive past picturesque vineyards and villages but also natural parks, beech tree forests, castles, museums and Benedictine abbeys.
The best part of a champagne tasting weekend is discovering the mix and blend of grapes that you prefer and then trying champagnes with a similar blend from houses you’ve never heard off. As most of the producers use the same three grapes, grown in the same area and made using the same process, you could discover several champagnes that have a blend similar to your favourite label.
Although there are only about 100 actual champagne houses there are over 15,000 smaller vine-growing producers and co-operatives all making champagne. A producer can also brand their own champagne for your local supermarket or wine club so it’s worth remembering that it is what’s in the bottle that counts not the price, name or where you bought it.
The perfect outcome of a weekend in Champagne is to leave with a shortlist of your favourite “big brand labels” so that the next time you are faced with a selection on a wine list you will know exactly which one to order. But, perhaps more important is to have a list of champagnes that you did not previously know existed which you can track down when you get home.
The great news is that champagne tasting doesn’t have to stop after your trip. To help find other champagnes with your preferred blend visit the websites of the different champagne houses as many will give you this information. Also don’t forget to try a Blanc de Noir, made from only the two black Pinot grapes or a Blanc de Blanc which is 100% Chardonnay.
If you love champagne then you owe it to yourself to become better acquainted with your favourite tipple and visit the Champagne region. What better excuse is there to drink nothing but champagne all weekend but be warned you might end up craving a glass of flat wine! Thankfully that feeling doesn’t last for long and, by the time you get home, you will be ready for your next bottle of champagne and be extolling your expertise to anyone prepared to listen.