Debate a Bubble - Champagne News and Reviews

40 Million Bubbles In My Glass!

Many people say that one champagne is more fizzy, or has more bubbles/less bubbles, than another, but is this really true?

Well, the answer is both Yes and No. Confused? Don't worry,by the time you've read this article, it will all be clear.

Champagne starts off as grape juice. It's fermented to produce still wine, in much the same way as any other wine is made. Then, in order to get the bubbles in champagne, the still wine is fermented a second time. This time though, the fermentation takes place in a sealed bottle and the CO2 gas that is produced dissolves into the wine so that when you open the bottle, it's all bubbly.

Making the still wine ferment a second time isn't difficult - it's just a question of adding yeast to the still wine plus some sugar and hey presto the second fermentation gets under way. The amount of gas produced, which determines the pressure in the bottle which in turn plays a big role in the amount of bubbles, depends on the amount of sugar added.

Since champagne makers almost always put in 24 grams of sugar per litre of liquid it follows that  all bottles of champagne will end up with the same pressure inside the bottle and the same amount of bubbles.

In fact  for those of  you who enter pub quizzes or just like trivia, the pressure inside a bottle of champagne just after it's finished the second fermentation is about 6 atmospheres, that's the same as you'd experience if you dived down 50 meters under water, or, I'm reliably informed, the same as in a London double-decker bus tyre.

So exactly how many bubbles will this amount of pressure produce?

I've come across three possible answers:

One study  came up with an answer of 49 million bubbles per bottle, another study said 56 million and yet another said the number of bubbles in a bottle is as high as 250 million.

So what can you say to that?

Not a lot except that layman's logic suggests that you should have between about 8 million and 40 million bubbles in each glass of champagne you drink - enough to give you hiccoughs / hiccups ? ( never did know how to spell that word).

So now we can say that, in theory at least, all bottles of champagne start off with about the same number of bubbles and the same amount of fizz.

What is it then that may change this?

To some extent temperature will affect the number of bubbles, but the main factor is ageing.

As champagne ages some of the gas inside the bottle escapes which reduces the pressure inside. The longer the ageing, the lower the pressure and the fewer the bubbles. For the same reason you'll also get slightly smaller bubbles in an older champagne.

What does this mean for those of you who prefer a champagne that is ' less fizzy'?

Well, you need to look out for a champagne that has been aged longer than average. An obvious choice would be to go for vintage champagne, but in fact there can be quite a difference between the length of ageing even amongst non-vintage champagnes. It all depends on the individual champagne maker.

That's why I always say that the length of ageing is one of the key questions you need to ask before you buy any bottle of champagne. Longer ageing alters the champagne, and not just the amount of bubbles either.

More's the pity then that relatively few champagne makers make this information available and that so few retailers can tell you either.

Well, that's about it on the subject of bubbles, unless you want to really get into the subject by reading UNCORKED. The Science of Champagne by Gérard Liger-Belair, but I suspect that will do for now.

If you have any questions then drop me a line at

jiles@madaboutbubbly.com

How Dry is Dry?

Lot's of you have told me recently that you are often unsure how sweet or dry a bottle of champagne will be and so you don't know whether or not it will suit your taste.

In fact this is one of the things about champagne that you should be able to find out with complete accuracy, but... surprise, surprise... it's not always quite as simple as that.

When champagne comes out of the cellars at the end of the ageing process, it is absolutely bone dry; too dry in fact for most people’s liking.

So, in most cases,  a small amount of liquid sugar is added to adjust the final taste before the bottle is sold.

This process is called dosage in French. The dryness/sweetness of the champagne depends on the amount of sugar added and there are several possible categories of sweetness which are measured in terms of grams of sugar per litre ( gr/l)

The various categories are
Brut Zero (sometimes called brut sauvage, ultra brut)         No sugar added
Brut Nature                                                                                  < 3gr/l  
Extra Brut                                                                                 0 – 6 gr/l
Brut (by far the most common)                                                  6 -14 gr/l
Extra Dry                                                                                 12 – 20 gr/l
Sec                                                                                          17 – 35 gr/l
Demi-sec                                                                                  33 – 50 gr/l
Doux                                                                                            >50 gr/l

One of these categories must, by law,  be shown on the label so that gives you a clue as to the level of sweetness, but the problem is that some of the categories are quite broad. A champagne with 6gr/l of sugar is a brut, but so too is a champagne with 12 gr/l – twice as much – and you can’t tell this by looking at the label.

Also, you'll see that some categories overlap which seems to me just another source of potential confusion. 

In fact the champagne maker can tell you precisely how much sugar had been adding during the dosage and it wouldn't be difficult to put this on the label.

I don't believe that there's anything confidential about this either so all in all I can't see any reason why the consumer should not get chapter and verse on this important detail instead of the broad categories that currently appear on the label.

Like I said at the beginning, finding out the exact sweetness of a champagne should be easy but the only way to find out exactly how much sugar has been added (short of contacting the maker) is to ask your retailer and as I've said many times before - he/she should know.

Next time you're buying a bottle of champagne why not ask the retailer what the dosage is and see what they have to say?

How To Choose Champagne

If you missed out on my recent Win A Weekend In Champagne competition, don't despair; all is not lost. There will probably be one more competition before the year is out so you'll have another chance.

All you had to do to enter the competition was to share with me the No. 1 question you wanted to ask about champagne or the No. 1 challenge you face when it comes to champagne.

There were stacks of entries and stacks of great questions but although they were all put in slightly different words the theme was the same:

"How to I know which champagne to choose when there are so many to choose from?"

 "I know that there are lots of different champagnes to try, but I just don't know where to look or what to ask for, so I end up sticking to the names I know or the ones I've tasted before"

I reckon that there are lots of you who feel the same way so I've put together a few tips that I hope will be help. Here goes:

There are  4 things you need to know to  give you a clue about what the style and quality of a champagne will be like:

•    The quality of the grapes  ( there are 3 classifications of quality and these can affect the quality of the champagne: Grand Cru, Premier Cru and then the third category which is simply Cru)

•    The proportion of the different grape varieties used in the blend ( more a question of taste than quality. Do you prefer a champagne with more Chardonnay, more Pinot Noir or more Pinot Meunier in it?)

•    The length of ageing ( In general the longer the ageing, the ‘better’ the quality, so knowing how long a champagne has been aged is crucial)

•    The degree of sweetness which in French is called Le Dosage ( again, this is a question of taste rather than quality, but very important to know so that you get exactly the level of dryness or sweetness you want)

If you know these things you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the champagne will taste like and you’ll know if it’s what you’re looking for.

If it is, then you can decide how much you want to pay to get what you want.

That may sound a bit technical, but it’s not really. Some of this information is shown on the label ( although sadly not all), but if you go to a good wine merchant he/she should know these things and should be able to tell you. If they don’t, then try another shop.

How do you know which type or style of champagne you prefer?

Well there no short cut other than to try several different champagnes and in this process you’ll no doubt get a few bottles that you like less than others. Try not to view this as a disaster, though. As long as you didn’t spend a fortune, and there’s no need to do that to find good quality, then with every champagne you taste you’ll be  narrowing down the field and learning as you go along. Then the time will soon come when 9 times out of 10 you’ll be able to try an unknown brand and you’ll get a pleasant surprise rather than the other way around.

Stay Bubbly

Where to Eat in Champagne

You're really spoiled for choice when it comes to good restaurants in Champagne and the problem can sometimes be making a selection amongst all the possibilities.

The other thing is that some of the best restaurants can be a bit pricey to say the least, so here's a suggestion that combines the best of quality and price.

If you're into good food you may well have heard of Les Crayères: the best restaurant in Champagne and one of the most impressive too.

Set in it's own private park and surrounded by a high wall to keep out prying eyes, Les Crayères was brought to fame and 3 Michelin stars, a few years back by chef and owner Gérard Boyer.

M. Boyer passed on the reins some years back but the hotel ( yes you can stay there as well ) and restaurant are as sumptuous as ever, but there is a cost and the price tag at Les Crayères is enough to put off all but the most dedicated foodies.

In addition the atmosphere can be a bit formal too. Fine dining is a serious business in France and a proper respect for the food and wine seems de rigueur at Les Crayères.

Perhaps that's why a more relaxed and far more accessibly priced offshoot of the main restaurant was launched not so long ago.

It's called Le Jardin and not surprisingly, you can find it in a corner of the 'garden'  at Les Crayères

 The decor is clean and modern as you can tell from the outside.

There's a whole band of waiters waiting to welcome you as you go in ( wonder what the correct collective noun for waiters is) many of whom seem be to fluent in several languages. the standard of the service doesn't falter after you've taken your seat either.

All is all a very slick operation and the staff seem to be kept on their toes at all times by the manager who I saw  give a real ticking off to one poor waitress for what seemed like a very minor slip up.

 Anyway, on to the food.

 There's a reasonably priced menu for 28 euros giving you a choice of two dishes out of three: starter and main, or main and dessert. Plus of course an extensive à la carte selection.

Lots of imaginative food combinations including a dish of poached egg, butternut squash, tomatoes, cheese and ham - sort of rustic but it tasted very good indeed. The portions are quite generous too.

 As you can imagine the champagne list was extensive and it was good to see plenty of smaller growers' champagne included, notably Frank Bonville and Domaines Leclaire.

The only possible shortcoming is that there were not many champagnes available by the glass - only two that I could see: Bruno Paillard and Paul Goerg

Still for a good meal at a price that won't spoil your appetite and in an atmosphere where  you don't feel out of place having a jolly good laugh out loud, then Le Jardin is worth a visit

Back in The Swing In Champagne

Well here I am back in Champagne and this is what the vineyards look like at the moment.

I've been back here for about 2 weeks now and I'm lucky to be here for all sorts of reasons. First the vineyards are about 100 yards from where I live and I popped out to take this picture one lunchtime when I had a few minutes spare.

Then of course the weather is wonderful. Not that warm yet, but beautiful blue skies and crisp air.

I've also been lucky enough to taste quite  a few interesting champagnes already and to have a private visit to Krug - not bad for just 2 weeks.

To catch up with my full newsletter follow this link 

http://bit.ly/MABNewsletterMarch2010

and to read about Krug you'll need this link

http://halling.typepad.com/ChampagneLibrary/Krug.pdf

I've also been re-acquainting myself with some of the local champagne makers in Verzy where I live.

I started with Etienne Lefèvre, a maker that I already know well, but since I was last here they've launched a new champagne which I wanted to try.

I've always enjoyed Etienne Lefèvre's champagnes. As you'd expect from a Grand Cru village in the Montagne de Reims, they're big on flavour and big on Pinot Noir. My favourite has always been the Réserve a classic Brut non-vintage which has the kind of rich, biscuity aromas that you'd expect from a much more expensive champagne. 

The new arrival is a Blanc de Noirs, and I opened it to drink as an aperitif before dinner with  2 Bed & Breakfast guests. I wouldn't normally have chosen a Blanc de Noirs as an aperitif, but since  I'd only been back in Champagne 24 hours, this was the only bottle I had in the house (a mistake that has subsequently been put right).

Anyway, it was very good. Fruity, with a touch of acidity and a fairly long finish to round it off. Perhaps not a champagne to shout about from the rooftops, but a great example of the solid quality the smaller champagne makers can produce.

With dinner we opened a bottle of Louis de Sacy Grand Soir Vintage 2001 

Louis de Sacy is the largest producer in Verzy and the huge sign on the side of their premises can be seen from the main Châlons-Reims road a couple of miles away. The bottle my guests has kindly and unexpectedly provided promised to be a treat.

In fact I was a little disappointed. There was something a little too much on the sharp side for my taste and I felt it didn't really deliver the flavour and body I had hoped for from a vintage.

Having said this, 2001 wasn't a good year in Champagne and perhaps it wasn't the right choice with Fillet of Pork, Prunes and Parsnip Purée, so I'll reserve judgement and try another bottle soon - we should have had the Blanc de Noirs with dinner and the Grand Soir as aperitif, but I hadn't planned on my guests suddenly producing the Louis de Sacy,  so all in all I'll put this one down to my poor organisation and to my having only just arrived back in Champagne.

On the other hand I did enjoy a bottle of Lanson  Ivory Label with dessert.

I'd never tried Lanson's demi-sec before but it was a nice surprise. It didn't seem as sweet as many demi-sec champagnes I've tasted and I put this down to the fact that there is no malolactic fermentation done at Lanson.

Still there was enough richness in taste and texture to go well with a dessert of Meringue, Mascarpone Ice Cream and Raspberries.

For anyone who thinks they don't like sweet wines and couldn't possibly contemplate drinking demi-sec champagne, Ivory Label could be just the right introduction to the demi-sec style.

In the weeks to come I'll be going round visiting several local producers for a very exciting project I'm working on, so they'll be plenty more to tell you about.

Meanwhile

Stay Bubbly

Win a weekend in Champagne this Spring

We've just launched our competition to give away a free weekend at our luxury B&B in Champagne.  Imagine this - waking up to the smell of fresh croissants and bread from the local boulangerie, meeting some of the local champagne producers, taking a stroll around the fashionable shops in Reims, or a leisurely woodland walk.  It could be you! And all you need to do is enter the competition now.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/yb4wy6m now.  We'll be announcing the winner on Friday 12th March, so spread the word, tell your friends.  Hope you win!

 

Jiles & Yvonne