Know your champagne ... or sparkling wine
It's almost time to pop the bubbly, but perhaps you need a little more information before that holiday brunch or dinner. There are a wide variety of options, and, of course, the most important item to learn is … that might not be champagne you're drinking.
By now, most of us know that champagne comes from Champagne, France. It's a town about 90 miles northeast of Paris. If it's not from that city, you're using the wrong name. People in the U.S. often mistake sparkling wine, prosecco, spumante or cava for the real thing.
"History, soil and climate," says W. Craig Cooper, the wine director at Pops for Champagne, "and a love for what they do are the reasons that champagne is the best."
Pops, at its downtown Chicago location, has more than 150 different varieties of champagne/sparkling wine with a little more than half coming from Champagne.
Beyond the location of the grapes, there are also varieties in sweetness. Ultra brut or brut natural is the driest level. Next is brut, which is the most common, with over 90 percent of champagne/sparkling wines fitting into this category. After brut is extra dry, which contains more sugar, thus being sweeter. And the final category is demi sec, which is very sweet and a huge hit in Asia. If you're drinking a rose, the reason for that pink color is because red grapes were also used.
Years ago, Cristal became a sign of luxury, and the champagne flute serves the same purpose. "It's about appearance," says Cooper. Flutes are "mainly used so you can see the bubbles." The shallow coupe glass used to be de rigueur, but now it's relegated to champagne fountains and films from the '50s.
One of the biggest price points is how the champagne/sparkling wine is prepared. "The majority use a process called methode champenoise, which means the fermentation process happens in the bottle," says Binny's wine manager, Don Sheil.
Companies such as Barefoot, Andre and Cooks use a large tank for fermentation, hence, they cost less.
It is possible for bottles to range from $7.99 to over a thousand dollars. Dom Perignon is well over $100, and Cristal can reach over $1,000.
"The value customer is going after the prosecco and Spanish cava more," Cooper says. This is because sparkling wines are beginning to compare in price with champagnes. Also, prosecco and cava have a lighter body and more of a citrus flavor.
Binny's best seller is Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label at $36.99 a bottle. Sheil says the brand has been able to capitalize in the United States just like Absolut Vodka. Binny's typically will sell 40 cases of 12 bottles a month at its downtown store, and in December that can increase to 200 cases. Close behind that is White Star by Moet & Chandon at $32.99.
Cooper suggests serving the champagne/sparkling wine at about 40 to 50 degrees, just slightly colder than white wines. "People tend to serve it too cold, which can lock up the flavors," he says.
And if you ever want to learn more and graduate your taste buds to an expert level, Pops for Champagne offers champagne/sparkling wine tastings from 5 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday. Cooper warns that this might lead that bottle of Korbel to be forgotten, and you'll start to discover all the varieties that are out there -- not just when auld acquaintance be forgot.