Champagne and local bubblies - 2007
The wine of Kings and King of Wines
By Juliet Cullinan.
When in Paris, Fauchon is one of my major attractions. I feel I have arrived,when entering this food emporium on Place de la Madeleine. The classic black word Fauchon teamed with shocking pink logo, the designer food displayed so that each little parcel shines - terrines under a glistening film of gelatine, fruits under a shimmer of glaze, patisseries, galontine of chicken breasts… and this is before cast your eye into the belly of the shop with its chocolates, coffee, wine, sweets… The shocking pink and black is echoed in the Krone Rosé Cuvee Brut 2000 packaging of House of Krone. This rosé has a salmon pink hue elegant concentration of flavours and a fine mousse.
Champagne can be, and is, copied around the world, but only in the Champagne region where terroir and climate pay a role and the blends are made according to a traditional and classic taste annually, can it be called Champagne. The rolling hills around Epernay, Az and Reims (where the French Kings were knighted) are home to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. The colour-bearing skins of the berry are removed to create the straw colour of the juice in whites. They remain for a short period to impart their blush to rosé, which can also be blended. The blanc de blanc style is made with Chardonnay and blanc de noir from black grapes. After the first fermentation, yeast and sugar are added to the bottles, which are closed with a crown cork (like beer), before lying on their sides for an obligatory three years while the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide which dissolves in the bottle until opening. The bottles undergo remuage to rid the wine of the spent yeast cells. They are placed upside down and turned 45 degrees and upwards over a period of time. The neck of the bottle is now plunged into a freezing brine solution and the crown removed to expel the yeast cells. The wine is adjusted with a sugar solution to please the palates of an international audience.
The pop of a Champagne cork is an enticement of pleasure, symbolizing the perfect world. Sipping this singing wine is memory-making whether in New York, London, Florence, Monte Carlo or Cape Town. There are different Champagnes for each mood and moment - ranging in sweetness from Brut
(Dry) to Doux (sweet). Moët et Chandon Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame and Roederer Cristal are all Prestige Cuvées withVintage Champagnes are only produced in excellent years. The yeasty bubbles engulf your whole body more so than any wine and the company and ambience determine the taste more than the quality, price and label.
Méthode Traditionnelle, Méthode Classique, Méthode Tradionnelle Classique, Méthode Champenoise, or Methode Cap Classique in the Cape denotes the French production method. Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel was the Capes first, Villiera is widely regarded as a leading label as are Pongracz, Nederburg, Steenberg, Bon Courage, Morgenhof or JC le Roux. Pieter Ferreira won the 2006 SAA Methode Cap Classique Trophy of the Year - Graham Beck Brut Chardonnay/Pinot Noir n/v and the 2004 Diners Club Award for the best producer. The soft, elegant aromas and complexity of his Blanc de Blanc Graham Beck make this the closest Cape flavour profile to Champagne.
For added sensation team it up with cassis to make a Kir Royale, orange juice for Bucks Fizz, stout for Black Velvet, peaches, vodka and mint or flavoured snapps and borage flowers. It is a fine marriage for soups mains or sticky puds and the best partner with chocolate. Yet I wonder why this luxurious product is solely reserved for special occasions? Our weather calls for a flute on the beach, in the bush, at sundowners or simply to reflect the refined bubble of life. South Africa has so much to celebrate that this good value fizzing wine should be served throughout the day. But be warned, this exclusive drink is off-limits to unfashionable people!
Silly facts about Champagne
One bottle of Champagne contains some 53 million bubbles.
The wire "coiffe" that holds the cork in has to withstand four times as much pressure as a London bus tyre.
The correct way to pour is to hold your thumb in the punt.
When opening the bottle, twist the bottle and not the cork. The cork should not pop as that wastes the bubbles (so much for the Grand Prix). It should also sigh like a contented Virgin!
Dish soap residue reduces Champagne's fizz and alters its flavour. Wash glasses in very hot water and wipe with a perfectly clean and dry tea towel.
Resist the urge to chill the glass as this diminishes the effervescence.
Chill to 6 - 8 degrees and allow the Champagne to open up in the glass to the ideal temperature of 8 - 10 degrees.
To chill - plunge the bottle into an ice bucket filed with half water and half ice in half an hour.
Champagne is extremely sensitive to light, so store it in the darkest part of your cellar at a constant temperature of 10 - 15 degrees C and a humidity of 70 - 80 percent. Like a still wine, champagne should be tasted as it can be corked.
Champagne prefers the soft sigh of a carefully coaxed cork to the swift slash of a sabre invented by Napoleon's Hussars, as it took time to remove the coating of wax which protected the cork and string muzzle from rotting.
Beheading the bottle satisfied his soldiers sooner.
Napoleon was a fan of Moët et Chandon and the Brut Impérial Champagne was named in his honour.
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