Everyone knows that Champagne
fizzes. It one of the reasons people across the world love it so much. But have
you ever stopped to ask why? That’s the question the Ideal Wine Company is
about to tackle by asking; how does Champagne get its bubbles?
The Champagne stereotype
There’s one stereotype that has characterised
the public’s perception of Champagne for decades, if not centuries. Blame
Hollywood. Most people think that when you open a bottle of Krug or Bollinger you
need to be careful or you’ll be hit in the face by a pounding column of
Champagne as it shoots up out of its glass prison.
Let us clear something up right
now. Good Champagne shouldn’t flow up and out of the bottle when you pop open its
cork. That’s a myth. The Louis
Roederer Cristal 2002 from the Ideal Wine Company, for example, won’t fizz
all over your hands the minute you crack it open.
However Champagne is a bubbly drink; that much is true.
Most people like the fact that their expensive bottle of Dom Perignon will jump
and dive in the glass as they lift it to their mouth and take a glorious sip.
It’s makes people feel sophisticated; like a glitzy A-lister at the OSCARS.
The Champagne carbonation process
What gives the world’s most
decadent drink its characteristic pizzazz? Champagne is carbonated during its
production process. Champagne houses must adhere to a particular set of rules
and regulations, set down by the Le Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de
Champagne, the organisation responsible for overseeing the Champagne industry, if
they want to lend their products the vaunted label of “Champagne.”
Champagne houses do two things to
carbonate their products. First, the grapes that are used for the base wine for
Champagne (most are blends) are picked earlier than grapes for standard still
wines. This makes the base wine more tart than its traditional counterpart.
This facilitates carbonation at
the point where the producer adds sugar and yeast to the wine. They add more
sugar and yeast to the base wine than they would normally, and leave it to
complete Champagne’s famous double fermentation process. The yeast absorbs the
sugar and creates carbon dioxide. However the excess carbon dioxide created by
adding more yeast and sugar than normal has nowhere to go, so it pressurises
the container and carbonates the wine.
Now you know why your Ideal Wine Company Champagne has bubbles!
There you are. It turns out that
the Champagne making process is specifically designed to make it fizzy. Think
about that the next time you pop open a bottle of luxury Champagne from
the Ideal Wine Company!
