Chicago Fare

We are in the finals of the soccer world cup and Holland is playing Spain. I’m the only person dressed in our national colour, orange, surrounded by 60 Spanish Red Devils in a bar in San Sebastian, Spain. I am convinced our national team will win and take the bet on a Dutch victory. Two hours later… I walk disillusioned out the door into streets surrounding myself with a jumping, singing, Spanish crowd. The next day I pay off my lost bet by taking my Spanish girlfriend to a chic restaurant. The good thing is at least I am still in charge of choosing the wine. ‘Champagne por favour’, but its not because I had to celebrate something. It’s like Napoleon once said: “I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate…and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself.” That night in Spain… I needed a glass of Champagne.

Cork Image (photo-credit Jean-Paul)

We associate these magical bubbles with celebrations, romance and luxury, but have you ever questioned where the bubbles come from and why they taste so damn good?  It actually all happened by accident. The famous bubbles in Champagne were all but wanted and winemakers actually tried to find ways to get rid of them. Champagne is one of the coldest and most Northern wine regions in France. Initially, they tried to produce wine like the famous wine region of Burgundy. However, because of the low temperatures in wintertime the fermentation would stop, without having finished completely. When it was time to bottle the wine in spring, it would still contain sugar and dormant yeast and when the temperatures would rise again, the wine in the bottle would spontaneously start to ferment… again. The result was a ‘vin pétillant’ as the French call it. England was at that time the biggest market for French wine. The 17^th century British nobility enjoyed this ‘default’ bubble wine so much that the French started to focus on making bubbles instead of trying to get rid of them.

Champagne (photo credit: Jean-Paul)

You probably know that a Champagne bottle is much heavier and stronger than a normal wine bottle. This is necessary to resist the enormous pressure formed in the bottle by the second fermentation. In a champagne bottle the pressure can be as high as twice the pressure of a car tire. In the 17^th century the quality of glass was not as high as it is nowadays and it was very common to lose 20-90% of the harvest due to exploding bottles. Cellar workers at that time would wear iron masks, and often would be missing a couple of fingers due to previous explosions. However, with the industrial evolution came a solution; the glass produced by charcoal fired glass factories was of much better quality than those by wood fire. Furthermore, the technique of the second fermentation was improved.  Instead of leaving faith to nature, the sugar required for the second fermentation was precisely dosed.

Nowadays, grapes are pressed and the juice is fermented in large stainless steel tanks. When all the sugar is converted into alcohol, a precise dose of sugar and yeast is then added. This mixture of wine, sugar and yeast is put into bottles and sealed with a crown cap (the ones used on beer bottles). A second fermentation occurs in the bottle; happily, exploding bottles have become an exception. The yeast will die off when all sugar is converted into alcohol. The bottles with yeast deposit are aged for a minimum of 1.5 years. The aging on the yeast deposit is very important for the quality of the bubbles (size and persistence) and the aromas of the wine (butter, toast and cream). After the aging we get to the ´remuage´ in which the bottles are turned steadily into a horizontal top down position, all yeast deposits will now be near the crown cap.  The neck of the bottle is frozen after which the bottle is opened. The frozen yeast deposit flies out because of the high pressure in the bottle. The last step is to add the ‘liqueur d’expédition’ which contains wine, cane sugar syrup and some secret ingredients depending on the champagne house. This secret ingredient can be brandy or port, and I know of some adding an extract of tea. The bottle is filled up and the famous champagne cork is placed on top.

Champagne (photo-credit Jean-Paul)

There are bubbles and bubbles… Champagne is probably the most famous sparkling wine in the world, and also the most expensive. However, there are many alternatives. In Europe almost every country has its own bubbly: there is Spumante from Italy, Spain has its Cava, the Germans have their Sekt. In the US the production of Champagne style wines increased rapidly in the last decade. Even the famous Champagne houses like Roeder, Moet & Chandon and Taittinger opened wineries in the US. I think there are still many opportunities left in the US for the production of great bubbles. There are sufficient areas to grow good grapes and the US has a big group of enthusiastic sparkling wine fans to be supplied with some more bubbles.

I find it a pity that most Champagne is bought and consumed in the last two weeks of the year. I like bubbles too much to wait all year. I was infected by the bubble-bug thanks to a winemaker-friend that was producing the best bubbles in South Africa. We once drank 7 bottles of Champagne in a weeks time. Nowadays, I drink less champagne, although, you don’t have to give me much of a reason to open a bottle. As Madame Bollinger of the homonymous Champagne house once told a journalist. “I only 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 am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.” I can live with this description, cheers!