In time immemorial, French champagne was present at our tables only on special holidays. However, now in any supermarket you can safely, without any difficulty find several bottles of such champagne, and various brands: from little-known to powerful trading companies that provide their services in the liquor market for more than a decade.
In general, today any champagne has ceased to be a luxury item. Now it is often purchased for Sunday family feasts or for the premiere of a concert. In a word, the use of French champagne ceased to be something solemn and turned rather into a kind of "festive" routine.
But in any case, it would be useful for all lovers of this noble drink to get acquainted with the types of French champagne, its brands, as well as other equally important criteria for its evaluation and choice.
Bit of theory
The main feature of champagne that distinguishes it from other wines (that is, wines that are not called sparkling) is the process of releasing bubbles of carbon dioxide present in the drink. Therefore, the wine seems to "hiss." In general, carbon dioxide that occurs during fermentation does not pose any danger, since it is formed naturally.
Probably, many wondered why it was “French champagne”. The names of these drinks are a direct reference to the place of production. Everyone has ever heard of the very famous Champagne province, located in France and famous for its sparkling wine, called champagne.
Champagne production: how and from what?
The method of champagne is the dominant process in obtaining champagne of any grade and type. A distinctive feature of this method is the passage of the fermentation process directly in the bottle. The remaining sparkling wines go through this stage by the classical method - in barrels. And only then does the process of bottling such wines occur.
Nowadays, the main product for obtaining French champagne is the following mixture of grape varieties: Chardonnay (white) and Pinot noir (black).
In view of all of the above, we can draw the following conclusion: only sparkling wine obtained in the province of Champagne should be called champagne, during the production of which the method of champagne was applied.
However, if gas bubbles form in the barrel, then the wine obtained in this way can be called sparkling. But if carbon dioxide was added, then this wine is usually called carbonated.
Classification of French sparkling wines
“Types of French champagne” is not the most unequivocal statement that could be used, since it would be problematic to divide such a large group of drinks of various types and taste properties using only one criterion.
Based on this, you can conduct the main sorting by the following qualities:
- by the amount of sugar in the drink;
- by year of grape harvest;
- grape variety;
- by type of manufacturing company;
- by type of bottles used.
Separation of French champagne by sugar content
Brut nature - natural brut, is one of the most expensive varieties of sparkling French wines, since the highest quality grape varieties are used to create such a drink. The amount of sugar in this wine is incredibly small and is only 6 grams / liter.
Brut - Brut. French champagne brut is considered one of the most popular. This wine contains about 15 grams of sugar per liter of drink.
Extra sec - Very dry, is a sparkling French wine, the sugar content of which does not exceed 20 grams per liter. However, the production of wines of this variety is limited due to the lack of demand from buyers.
Sec - dry champagne. Semi-sweet French sparkling wine is the second name of this drink. And the amount of sugar in it is from 17 to 35 grams per liter.
Demi sec - semisweet. A sweet enough kind of champagne that only lovers like. In this wine from 33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter.
Doux - sweet champagne. This sparkling wine is a dessert category, that is, containing a large amount of sugar wines (at least 50 grams per liter).
Separation of French champagne by year of grape harvest
Non-vintage ( non-vintage ) - champagne that does not have a specific year of manufacture. For example, upon receipt of cuvée, wines from different years are used. And a prerequisite for the release of such champagne is its mandatory aging after replication, for at least 12 months. This type of French champagne is the best way to characterize the style and level of Champagne House.
Vintage (vintage) champagne. It is also called millezime. This is a French sparkling wine with a specific harvest year and released only in a favorable year for wine production. The addition of extraneous “reserves” is permissible, however, the percentage of such impurities should not exceed 20%. The minimum exposure of such champagne is 3 years.
Cuvee de prestige - the prestige of cuvée. It is characterized by the use of only those grape harvests that were lucky enough to be born in the best "grape" years. In addition, such champagne is produced from a grape harvest of one year and is aged for at least five years. Prestige cuvée usually gets its own name, as this champagne is the best in all Champagne House.
Division of French champagne by grape variety used
Blanc de blancs - "from white to white." Such an inscription on the bottle indicates that the champagne sold in this bottle is made only from Chardonnay (white grape variety).
Blanc de noirs - "from black to white." This marking refers to wine made from grapes whose varieties have dark skin and light flesh.
Rose - French pink champagne. It acquired such a color due to the short amount of time spent in the must of the skin of classic red grapes. Less commonly, this color is obtained by mixing white and red sparkling wines.
Collection - collection champagne. A characteristic feature of such a sparkling wine was the quantity of its release. The batch of this champagne is limited to several tens of thousands of bottles.
Cuvee - Cuvée. This is champagne from grape juice obtained after the first, weakest pressing of the press on the berries.
Taille - taye. This is champagne, the production of which took the next 500 liters of grape juice after its outflow for the cuvée variety.
Grand Crus - Grand Cru - champagne from a grape crop grown in the best Champagne vineyards.
Premiere Crus - Premier Cru - Champagne from the grape harvest obtained in the second highest quality vineyards after Grand Cru.
French champagne storage
All sparkling wine bottles should be stored indoors at a temperature of 8-16 degrees Celsius. Exposure to direct sunlight is unacceptable.
Champagne bottles are best stored horizontally, regardless of whether they were open or not.
The best French champagne and its brands
- "House of Perignon." It is one of the most prestigious brands of French champagne. Nowadays, control over the production of this champagne took the company "Moet" and "Chandon".
- The Prince of Champagne, presented by Tatinger, has brought people to a new level of exquisite drink such as French champagne. The brands also represented by this company are valued by customers around the world. However, true connoisseurs with a certain amount of finance prefer the “Prince of Champagne".
- "Widow Clicquot" ("Madame Clicquot") - the world famous French champagne. The brands represented by this company have no analogues in the world market due to the patented features of production.