Know your bubbles

Since my first bottle of Champagne I have been a true believer. I not only believe that wine with bubbles makes everything better, but that Champagne is the only wine I could not live without. As we approach the New Year, I know many of you are going to go out and buy some sparkling wine to bring in the New Year and that is great!

But don't let special occasions be the only reason you pop a bottle of sparkling wine. I keep a minimum of two bottles of sparkling wine in my fridge at all times (at the moment I have six). I don't only keep Champagne but I rotate between various types of sparkling wine: Prosecco, Cava, Franciacorta, Cremant d' Alscace, Burgunday and Jura. I open sparkling wine like one might open a can of Coke...anytime and all the time.

I want to make this 100% clear....Champagne is sparkling wine but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Why is this important? Well, Champagne is a place and that place gives its wines character, soul and life. Champagne is a small wine region 90 miles north east of Paris. It is near the furthest reaches, in terms of location, for growing grapes for wine and its terroir is very special full of chalk and limestone that gives the wines a distinct flavor profile. Now this might just seem like semantics but you don't call a person who was born in Connecticut but moved to Texas a Texan (at least I don't), the same is true with wines. Champagne is a place that helped to perfect a method to make sparkling wine. The "Champagne Method" is a specific way to produce a sparkling wine where the second fermentation happens in the bottle itself prior to it being sold. Many places in the world employ this method to make sparkling wine but they are not Champagne. There are a variety of production methods for making bubbles in wine with each method being a primary contributor to the flavor of the wine. If you are interested in learning more about these methods please see this post on Wikipedia: Sparkling Wine.

As you go out and search for the appropriate bubbles for you New Year's Day party here is a list of some of my favorites Champagnes.

Champagne:

When buying Champagne I really try to seek out "grower-producers". These Champagne houses grow their own grapes and make their own wines. I prefer these wines as they provide great value to quality than the big houses you see all over the place and all the producers I know of are family owned and operated. So, go ask your trusted wine retailer to show you some of the "grower-producers" they carry.

Grower-Producers (Recoltant-Manipulant)

Chartogne-Taillet - Creamy and rich with a great crisp finish. I love the Cuvee Sainte Anne.

Gaston-Chiquet - Bright and fruity wines with great creamy texture! Non-vintage Brut is lovely.

Rene Geoffroy - Elegant and balanced wines. I believe this is the best Rose Champagne.

Pierre Gimonnet - Chardonnay predominates creating classy, seductive and long lived wines. All wines!

Larmandier-Bernier - Lush, rich, and well balanced! Entire range!

Jacques Selosse - This is for the wine geek family member or friend. Unique, complex, developed wines that are very limited, hard to find and expensive but worth it.

Vilmart & Cie - Some call this the poor man's Krug...but I think it is better than Krug, a hell of a lot cheaper with more personality and less pomp. This is AMAZING wine!

"Big Houses" (Negociant-Manipulant - houses that purchase grapes)

Bollinger - rich and full wines with a Pinot Noir base. I enjoy the entire range of wines.

Gardet - Bright, crisp and fresh wines. Entire range is recomended.

Gosset - The Brut Excellece is a great introduction to Champagne as it is bright, fresh and fruity.

Alfred Gratien - Full, rich, complex wines...look to the vintage Champagnes

Laurent-Perrier - The non-vintage Brut is light, crisp and citrusy. Vintage and rose are awesome.

Philipponnat - Pinot dominated blends that produce forward, rich and dense wines. If you want to splurge the Clos des Goisses is a life changing wine.

Comments

[Ryan Reichert]

Bravo - love to see fellow sparkling wine advocates talking about and clarifying the differences between Champagne and other bubbles. There are so many great values. Just for the sake of Mme. Cliquot, I pray no one opens a bottle like in that image! Cheers and happy new year!

[Jennifer C.]

It's like admitting one prefers wonder-bread to homemade, but the opportunity to confess is too tempting; I prefer Cava to Champagne. There is something about the chalkiness of champagne that puts me off - and I have had champagne that others referred to as exceptional, but Cava Brut is my knee-weakener.