A lot of times I have noticed there are a lot of myths and confusion when it comes to wine. It is quite understandable how the consumer can get confused when it comes to wine labeling and there is just so much of it.
This time I’ll try to explain
what is Champagne and where does it come from.
Champagne is a sparkling wine, but not all
sparkling wines can be called Champagne. So what is the difference?
Well, for a sparkling wine to be called and
labeled Champagne, it has to meet two main criteria, it has to be from the
Champagne region in France and it has to meet the rules of Comité
Interprofessionnel du vin de
Champagne, which regulates
what grapes are used, where they are grown and how the Champagne is produced.
The grapes used to produce Champagne are Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.
There are more than one hundred Champagne houses and 19,000 smaller vignerons (vine-growing producers) in Champagne. These
companies manage some 32,000 hectares of vineyards in the region.
If you think about it, 32,000 hectares is not a lot,
if you consider the amount of Champagne consumed in the world everyday. This
brings us to this - why Champagne can be so damn expensive? As a luxury
celebrative beverage Champagne is known and consumed worldwide, so the demand
is there, but the producers are limited only to the land of Champagne. So the
results is that a bottle of Champagne can cost anywhere from 30€ to a couple of thousand euros.
So how to know if you’re buying legitimate
Champagne? In most european countries the word Champagne is protected by law,
but if you are from a country like the US, I would think twice before buying
the 10$ bottle that says champagne on it.
Here are a few popular brands of Champagne that
you won't go wrong with
Veuve Clicqout Ponsardin Brut and Moet
& Chandon Nectar Imperial are both from
popular brands and both of these are considered in the mid range price. Veuve Clicqout Ponsardin Brut is 36.99 € at my local alko
outlet and the Moet & Chandon
Nectar Imperial is 38.99 €. As in taste the brut is going to be dryer (opposite
to sweet) and the nectar is a little fruitier and a little sweeter.
The other two bottles are a little pricier. Both
of them are single vintage and are not produced every year, but only when the
vine maker considers the yield to be premium quality. Dom Pérignon is Moet & Chandon’s front house
champagne and is going to take you back 160+€ depending on the
vintage. The Bollinger Grande Année rosé is going to match the Dom Pérignon in price or will be
a little pricier. As in taste they both should be superb.
I hope this will help you the next time you are at the supermarket and
looking at hundreds of different bottles and save the
confusion.
