Levels of sweetness
Extra Brut (most dry)
Brut (most common)
Extra Dry
Sec
Demi-Sec
Doux (sweetest)
Styles of Champagne
What are the differences in style between a Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs and Rose.
Blanc de Blancs: 100% Chardonnay and lighter bodied than the Blanc de Noirs which are made from only the black/red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
Rose may be made with all three varieties and usually red wine is added to the base cuvee.
Opening
Champagne
To reduce the risk of spilling or spraying any Champagne, open the Champagne
bottle by holding the cork and rotating the bottle at an angle in order to ease
out the stopper. This method, as opposed to pushing the cork out, prevents the
cork from flying out of the bottle.
Pouring Champagne
Pouring sparkling wine while tilting the glass at an
angle and gently sliding in the liquid along the side will preserve the most
bubbles, as opposed to pouring directly down to create a head of
“mousse”,
Colder bottle temperatures also result in reduced loss of gas.
Champagne
Vocabulary
Méthode
Champenoise – traditional method of
making sparkling wine
Cava – Spanish sparkling wine
Spumante – Italian sparkling wine
Sekt – German sparkling wine
Crémant – French sparkling wine (outside of the Champagne region)
