Tiny Bubbles:  Celebrate Every Day With Champagne

By Lesley Jacobs

Who hasn’t raised a glass of Champagne on New Year’s or toasted a happy couple on their wedding day?  With its giddy parade of bubbles, this most delicate of wines has a unique allure.  But reserving champagne for special occasions alone cheats you of a glorious treat, a wine that pairs with almost any food and tickles the palate in anticipation of flavors to come.  With the variety of sparkling wines available today, from true French champagnes to California bottlings to more esoteric sparklers, it’s time to make bubbly an everyday treat both at home and out on the town.

Champagne was made as early as the 3rd century A.D., but it took an enterprising 17th century monk named Dom Perignon to bring it to the forefront with his classic méthode champenoise.  And, you can thank a fellow by the name of Charles Camille Heidsieck, or “Champagne Charlie” to his friends, for popularizing champagne in America.  Once America took her first sip, she never looked back.
So, what makes champagne so special?  “The bubbles, of course”, says chef-owner David Myers of Sona restaurant in Los Angeles.  At Sona, which is at the forefront of the fine dining revolution in L.A., special guests are always greeted with a glass of bubbly – perhaps Dampierre or Billecart-Salmon.  And sommelier Mark Mendoza always encourages guests to opt for champagne – rosés, he says, are ideal through the whole meal and Blanc de Blancs are wonderful aperitifs.  

While the term “champagne” is propriety in most of the world (it can only be called champagne if it is from the champagne region of France), American vintners found a loophole thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed by President Wilson, but never ratified by the U.S. Senate.  Thus, some California sparklers are actually called champagne.  In Italy, it’s known as spumante.  Spain calls it cava.  South Africa dubs it cap classique and the other regions of France use the term crémant.

When it comes to the real thing, though, it’s helpful to have a sense of the basic terminology in order to navigate the myriad of choices.   The grapes used are almost exclusively Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier.  If you look on the label, you will always see descriptive words, denoting the wine’s relative dryness.  Brut, whose levels can vary from champagne house to champagne house, is on the drier side. Demi-Sec has a sweeter taste.  Blanc de Blancs are blended from only Chardonnay, producing a flavor that highlights chard’s nutty, toasty character; Blanc de Noirs captures the red fruits of solely Pinot Noir.  Rosés are produced by macerating the black grapes, but removing the skins after the wine is just tinted pink. And non-vintage (NV) champagne is blended from several years of grapes, while vintage champagne (utterly different from NV) is produced exclusively from wines of a single harvest.

But, please, don’t stop at champagne.  There are plenty of other surprises out there in the form of sparklers without the official Champagne stamp.  If the price tag of true champagne is a bit off-putting, French crémant is a perfect alternative, uniquely using the grapes of the region from which it’s sourced.  It might be Chenin Blanc from the Loire or Pinot Gris from Alsace, each hauntingly lovely. Italy offers numerous possibilities — the méthode champenoise Franciacorta, the sparkling and delicate Prosecco, the sweet dessert bubbly Moscato d’Asti and the eye-opening Brachetto D’Acqui, a rosé sparkler that makes chocolate come alive and is a surprise to anyone who thinks “sweet” and bubbles” don’t mix.  You might try a Cava from Spain, usually made from the fruity/spicy Garnacha grape or, for something truly different, a jammy, sparkling Shiraz out of Australia.  And, of course, California can’t be overlooked with its plethora of fine vintners, including Scharffen Berger, and Roederer Estate.  

Whether it’s Dom Perignon or Moscato D’Asti, champagne and its sparkling cousins offer a world of pleasure.  If you still aren’t convinced, listen to the advice of Madame Lilly Bollinger, who helped elevate the House of Bollinger to one of the greatest champagne houses in the world.  As she said, “I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”  Champagne may be special, but it is too wonderful to reserve only for “special” occasions. So, pop the cork, pour a glass and watch those tiny bubbles erupt with glee. Any day, every day, champagne makes life itself a celebration.
From Dampierre to Heidsick Monopole, Prosecco to Moscato D’Asti, sparkling Shiraz to French Cremant, you will find a superb selection of champagnes and sparkling wines at Valencia Wine Company.

Lesley Jacobs is the Wine Director at Valencia Wine Company and a freelance food/wine writer.  She is a frequent contributor to Wine Enthusiast magazine and her other articles have appeared in Gourmet, C, Santa Barbara, and Relish.