Bubble's Depot

West Baltimore's #1 Champagne Grower/Distributor

Professor Carleigh penciled in an ace for our bubbly class/tasting: Master of Wine (http://www.mastersofwine.org/) Steve Charters: France's resident Champagne connoisseur.  Layer Charter's poetically contemptuous British accent onto his encyclopedic Champagne knowledge and what do you get?  A meaty sparkling wine blog with insider info worthy of Bud Fox.

Champagne is about 100 miles east and a tad north of Paris, according to Steve it's about as far north as you can go and still find well-grown sparkling wine grapes.  Reims and Epernay are the commercial hubs; grapes grow on the region's remaining farmable acres.  Google maps "Reims" and look to its Northeast countryside...seriously.  "Why...so....serious?!''- Heath Ledger.  Because for one, it's the ideal setting for growing sweet, acidic renditions of the 3 sparkling wine grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Mernier (more on the second reason later).  Champagne's cool, slow, long summer ripening period is this perfection's scientific explanation.

For some comic relief before the rest of bubbly and the jump, I offer the following exchange between Scott and Carleigh at our aromatics tasting:

Dr. Carleigh: "What do you think the Austrians put in their wine, besides sugar, to replace the lack of alcohol from fermentation?"

Scott: "Sugar."

Dr. Carleigh: "No, The correct answer is antifreeze."

Viticulture in Champagne is high-maintenance: hand harvesting is mandatory (machine harvesting can crush the pinot noir grapes and bleed red into the mix), the vines are low, and the rows are packed in tight (1m gaps).   Bubbly's invention is apocryphally attributed to Dom Perignon.  While he was one of the Benedictine monks whose wine underwent a second fermentation because of a freak ice age in the 1600s (creating bubbles), it was an accident.  Later enlightened to secondary fermentation's role in their accident, Champagne makers confronted the logistical gauntlet of bottling effervescence.  I won't get into much of the physics or history, but the two noticeable departures in champagne bottle structure are (as I'm sure you know): The oversized/flared cork with its butt scaffolded to the neck (credit the Portuguese for this technology), and bottle blown with thicker glass than still wines.   You guessed it, many a monk went to his cellar in the morning and thought Charlie Sheen had just partied in his wine cellar.  No, it wasn't Wild Thing who broke the bottles, it was high pressure.  After that, more technology followed, including Madame Clicquot Ponsardin (who was a widow...French for widow is "veuve"...you get the idea) inventing the "riddling" technique.  You can read heaps more on Wikipedia but suffice to say that perfecting Champagne...that my friends...was a REVOLUTION.

Fun Facts:
- Champagne is the only AOC region allowed to add sugar pre-fermentation.
- Champagne is drank in celebration because the CO2 facilitates the alcohol's absorption into your bloodstream (i.e. - you get drunk faster).
- The Champagne industry has a 4.5B EUR annual turnover (there are 327 maisons, or houses, you do the math)
- Champagne flutes are designed to sustain effervescence
- Land Values approach 1 Million EUR/hectare in Champagne due to brand value
- The cork is not actually flared.  When first bottled, an oversized cork is shoved into the neck.  This cork is under such high pressure from the bottleneck that it conforms.  If you leave a champagne cork sitting out for long, it will reshape close to original form.
- Bubbles form at points of impurity on the glass
- Champagne should be stored upright (Chambers' suggestion)

The Bubbly:

Lindauer Brut NV (Marlborough) - $14
A step up from Andre, this was an acidic, citrus/bread nosed wine.  The highlight was a long finish.

Deutz Prestige Cuvee '06 (Marlborough) - $44
A bitter, shorter and less acidic version of #1, this was my least favorite and had a burnt toast nose.

Pol Roger Brut Reserve Non-Vintage - $100
Very clean and clear Yeast nose like #1 but shorter.  Good balance, medium complexity and floral/strawberry flavor (Charters explained that Pinot Meuniet is responsible).

Pol Roger Brut Vintage 2000 - $ ?
Yeast nose with thicker gold body, lots of strawberry, acidic but balanced and long.  60% Pinot Noir (I have no idea if that's a lot or a little).

Pol Roger 2000 Rose - $150
Very bubbly, short high acid and another strawberry theme.

Pol Roger Winston Churchill '98 - $350!
Our most expensive plonk tasted, damn good stuff.  Reminded me of a buttery Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen biscuit.

To end, the highlight of the morning lecture was when Steve asked the class if they knew any Champagne labels (an interactive way of broaching that the name is copyrighted and bubbly made elsewhere is simply "sparkling white wine"...something Rob Lowe already taught us in Wayne's World 1).  The usual suspects of Veuve Clicquot, Moet, etc. came right out, and then Tim exclaimed "ANDRE" and played right into Charters' hand.

-Trevor