Champagne is the first choice for celebrations. It’s used to toast newlyweds, launch ships, acknowledge achievements and rites of passage, and as a symbol of upward mobility. Why? Partly, it’s the bubbles bursting forth when the bottle is uncorked that put everyone in a happy mood. But mostly, it’s the hugely successful marketing campaign that champagne producers have conducted since the 17th century associating them and their product with nobility, luxury, and sophistication.
WHY BUBBLES?
Champagne bubbles are tiny spheres of carbon dioxide. The initial burst occurs when champagne contacts the dry glass upon pouring and bubbles continue to be released through the pouring turbulence. When champagne comes to rest, bubbles form on imperfections in the glass that disturb the liquid and enable carbon dioxide release. Such imperfections are not sufficient for continued effervescence so champagne glasses are often etched inside by manufacturers to provide rough surfaces to produce a continuing rise of bubbles.
WHERE DO BUBBLES COME FROM?
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced according to a strict set of rules using grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. This is one of the northernmost wine-producing regions stretching from Burgundy in the south to Flanders in the north, Ile de France in the west to Lorraine in the east.
Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, or Chardonnay grapes are harvested and pressed and the juice flows into vats. Juice may be allowed to ferment naturally over several months or yeast may be added to speed the process. Wines resulting from several pressings are blended to achieve a desired taste.
Blended wine is bottled, a small amount of yeast and sugar is added to each bottle, and bottles are sealed. Yeast uses up the sugar and dies in three weeks. Carbon dioxide from this second fermenting can’t escape so bubbles form and build pressure equal to a bus tire inside the bottle. Bottles age in a temperature-controlled cellar for two years or more allowing sediment from the yeast, called the lees, to give the wine its characteristically creamy champagne flavor.
The lees must be removed without releasing the bubbles. Bottles are stored horizontally at the start, then gradually tipped to an increasingly downward angle over a three-week period. Each is delicately given a 1/8 turn by hand every day forcing the lees to move slowly to the bottle’s neck. When bottles have reached a vertical position and the lees have settled on the cap, bottle necks are plunged into a -17°F brine bath. This flash-freezes the neck and traps the lees in place. The bottle cap is removed, pressure from carbon dioxide forces out the lees, a bit of sweetener is added, and the bottle is corked and wired shut. It is then ready for packaging and distribution.
WHAT DID DOM HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
Dom Pierre Perignon (1638-1715) was a French Benedictine monk erroneously credited with creating champagne. In his day, champagne bottles frequently exploded due to internal pressure. This often caused surrounding bottles to do the same resulting in loss of 20% to 90% of the supply. Perignon was charged with reducing bubbles in wine so bottles would be less likely to burst. Though he didn’t accomplish this because the practice of fermenting in the bottle continued, he did create a set of rigorous guidelines for growing and harvesting grapes to produce the best possible champagne. Standards imposed 20 years after his death governing the shape, size, and weight of champagne bottles and requiring a longer cork to be secured to the bottle, plus the practice of aging champagne in deep cellars with constant temperatures brought the danger of explosion under control.