DITCH THE FLUTE: AND OTHER LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT SPARKLING WINE

Over the last few months of dining out, I decided it was finally time to learn more about my favorite beverage – sparkling wine. New York City is a superb place for formal wine education, so I signed up for several sparkling wine classes, and now I’d like to share some of what I learned with all of you.

Ditch the Flute

Never again will I drink sparkling wine out of a flute. Yes, I realize that may sound strange to some, but the reasoning is simple and was conveyed to me by Shari Schneider, the founder of the educational wine store Vino-Versity. 

Shari explained that much of what we taste comes from what we smell, which is why taking in the nose of your wine is so essential. Flutes came about in Gallo-Roman times, but in the 19^th century the coupe was popularized, as catering staff could serve the short glasses more easily. However, the coupe has a wide, shallow bowl that doesn’t retain aromas and bubbles particularly well, so the flute once again became the go-to glass for sparklers.

The flute is an elegant, tall, and narrow glass that better protects the bubbles, yet the lack of surface area, particularly at the opening, obstructs the wine’s nose. The flute, therefore, while superior to the coupe, still has its shortcomings. The solution: a standard (non-Chardonnay) white wine glass. The bowl is deeper and narrower than a coupe, helping to preserve the bubbles, but the bowl and opening are wider and shallower than a flute, allowing for greater aromatic expression. I may sound like a snob requesting that my sparkling wine be served in a white wine glass, but who cares? As long as I’m able to fully enjoy my bubbly!

Sparkling Wine ≠ Champagne

My Favorite Champagne
Pierre Peters Les Chétillons 2006

Just as all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, all Champagnes are sparkling wines, but not all sparkling wines are Champagnes. In fact, Champagne is a legally protected name for sparkling wines produced exclusively in the Champagne terroir of France. Any sparkling wine made outside of the region and touting the Champagne label is unlawful.

Sparklers from different regions of the world take on different names and use a variety of grapes and production methods unique to their terroirs. A sparkling wine produced in France outside of the Champagne region is a Crémant. Spanish sparklers are called Cava, Italy produces Prosecco, Asti Spumante, Franciacorta, and Lambrusco, and the rest of the bubbly bunch are simply referred to as sparkling wines.

All sparkling wines are produced under laws of appellation: strict laws determining which grapes are grown in the terroir and used in the wine, as well as the method of production. For example, many Italian sparklers are produced from grapes like Glera, Moscati, and Lambusco, among others, and by the Charmat Method, which entails a second fermentation of the wine in steel tanks. On the other hand, Champagne must be produced from any combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes and only by the Méthod Champenoise (a.k.a. Méthode Traditionnelle). 

More About Méthode Champenoise

Riddling Racks

In the Méthode Champenoise, which is legally how Champagne must be  produced, a second serving of “liqueur de triage” (yeast and sugar) is added to the wine, which is fermented again within a capped bottle. After the second fermentation, the wine is aged for a minimum of 15 months and up to eight years with the dead yeast cells (lees) still in the bottle. This practice is called “aging on lees” or more scientifically, autolysis.

After aging on lees, the bottles are positioned at an angle in riddling racks where they are slowly turned for several weeks to months until the lees collects in the neck of the bottle. Through a process called disgorgement, the neck of the bottle is chilled or frozen, then the bottle is quickly turned upright and the cap removed. The frozen yeast “plug” pops out, a final serving of sugar is added (a practice known as doságe), and the bottle is immediately corked. It is a laborious, time-consuming, costly, and sometimes dangerous process, hence why Champagne is priced higher than other sparkling wines. Other sparkling wines can be made in this method, but nonetheless, Champagne remains unique and the pinnacle of sparklers.

Dry is Sweet and Brut is Dry

Adding further complexity to the topic of sparkling wine is the classification system used to describe the style, or perceived sweetness, of sparklers. Unlike still wine, sparkling wines classified as ‘dry’ taste sweet, and those referred to as ‘brut’ taste dry. It is ultimately the amount of residual sugar from the doságe (see above) that determines the sweetness level and therefore the style of the wine. I won’t bore you with the exact grams of sugar per style, but broken down into a simple scale, the sweetness levels of sparkling wines are as follows:

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