Bubbly for the holidays — and any old day
Sparkling wine could grace my table every day. It does not require a celebration; it creates a celebration. The bubbles streaming to the top of the glass sweeten my sourest of moods and brighten my darkest of days. They also clear my palate, making sparkling wine an excellent partner to food. Yet bubbles have become so identified with celebrations rather than daily drinking that in this country, the vast majority of sparkling wine is bought and drunk in December.
Champagne, of course, is the benchmark for fizz, so much so that we typically refer to any wine with bubbles as champagne. True champagne comes only from the region of that name in northern France, but most high-quality sparkling wine made in the world uses the champagne method of inducing the secondary (gas) fermentation in the bottle while the wine ages on its lees in the winery cellar. That method helps develop complexity in the wine, including the fine “bead” of bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. It is noted on the label as “methode champenoise,” “methode traditionelle,” or even “traditional method.” That’s the winery’s signal to you that it has invested the time and effort to make wine in the champagne style.
Most sparkling wines don’t have a vintage date. That’s because the base wines — the still wine before the secondary fermentation in the bottle — are typically blends of two or three years. That technique allows a winery to develop a “house style” that remains consistent from year to year despite vintage variations. In good years, most houses will bottle their best wines as a single-vintage cuvee. Those usually are aged longer before release and are more expensive.
The most confusing part of a sparkling wine label is the word “brut,” which means dry. “Extra brut” and “extra dry,” however, mean not so dry. It doesn’t make sense; just remember that extra brut and extra dry are slightly sweeter than dry. “Demi-sec” means the wine is overtly sweet, intended as dessert. “Brut nature” signals a bone-dry wine: drier than brut, without the “dosage” of sugar added when the lees are disgorged. Brut nature is a modern, cutting-edge trend that might or might not last. It can add focus to a wine, but its detractors argue that the dosage balances the acidity and creates a more harmonic wine.
Then there are other styles of sparkling wine. Cremant wines are made in France, but outside of Champagne, using the traditional method. They are usually made with regional grapes — chenin blanc in the Loire, riesling or pinot blanc in Alsace, chardonnay in Burgundy — giving them a regional character.
Cava is Spain’s claim to bubbly fame and is arguably the best value in fizz. You can get decent cava for under $10 (Jaume Serra Cristalino is a top value brand), and cavas closer to $20 can successfully imitate champagnes that cost twice as much.
Italy offers Franciacorta, a Champagne-method wine that is fairly hard to find in the United States and as pricey as champagne. Italy’s best bargain, though, is prosecco, a gentle fizz from the Veneto region around Venice that can be an ideal start to any meal (and yes, I would include breakfast, but that’s just me).
As you toast your family and friends these holidays, whether at home or at your favorite restaurants, remember to raise glasses of bubbly throughout the year to celebrate life’s triumphs or turn a minor defeat into a victory. Yeah, bubbles can do that.