Ask Dr. Vinny

New Year's Eve 2006 special edition

Posted: December 23, 2005

Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, or "Vinny" for short. For your New Year's edification, here's a roundup of questions about Champagne and sparkling wine. If you have any other questions for me, ask away. Want to see more of my answers? Check out my archive.

Dear Dr. Vinny,

What is the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine?

—Harper, Rodanthe, N.C.

Dear Harper,

The term "Champagne" refers to bubbly from the Champagne region in France. The French try to protect the use of that term, and when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 to end WWI, they included limiting the use of the word.

History buffs will recall that the United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, and that in 1919 the U.S. was in the midst of Prohibition, so alcohol-labeling laws hardly seemed important at the time. This created the loophole that allows producers here to legally slap the word "Champagne" on their bottles of bubbly—much to the irritation of the rest of the wine world. Out of respect and to avoid confusion, many producers in the United States call their bubbly "sparkling wine," even when it's made in the traditional method. If you don't want to ruffle any feathers, it's best to only use the word "Champagne" to refer to the stuff that's actually from Champagne.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I was wondering why sparkling wine is served in a flute, which is narrow and tall. Since it's technically wine, why isn't it served in a wine glass to accent the aromas, etc.?

—Bruce, Boca Raton, Fla.

Dear Bruce,

While you want to concentrate the aromas of sparkling wine, you also want to stop the bubbles from escaping. The two preferred glass shapes for bubbly include the flute and the tulip shape. The flute, tall long and cylindrical, acts as a chimney, channeling the bubbles in a continuous stream up the glass. The tulip combines the height of the flute with a slight narrowing at the rim. I like this shape because it helps trap the aromas and the tapering helps hold the bubbles. Hold the glass by the stem; warmth encourages the bubbles to go flat.

However, it's perfectly acceptable to serve sparkling wines in regular wine glasses, and I often do that at dinner parties. I find the aromas are intensified that way.

Whatever you do, avoid using the flat, saucer-like glasses called coupes. These were supposedly modeled on Marie Antoinette's breast, but I'm rather certain that's an urban myth started by Antoinette's publicist. No matter what the inspiration, these warm up too quickly and provide too much surface area where the bubbles can escape.

One last tip; don't use fabric softener on towels you'll use to dry sparkling glasses. The softener leaves a residue that kills bubbles.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

How long can you keep a bottle of Champagne open before it loses its "bubbly"?

—Ray V., Lynwood, Ill.

Dear Ray,

Oh, dear. I tend to just finish the bottle so I don't have to fret about such matters. If it's a sparkling wine made in an inexpensive method, à la soda pop, it'll probably go flat quickly. If it's a bottle of bubbly made by a true secondary fermentation, it will retain its carbonation a bit longer. If you anticipate having open bottles of sparkling wine around, invest in some sparkling wine stoppers. These do a good job of holding the fizz in for a day or two. Definitely put the bottle in the fridge—the cold will help preserve both the bubbles and the flavors.

There's also an old theory about sticking a metal spoon in the neck of an open bottle of bubbly—it supposedly keeps the bubbles bubbly. I can't find any solid proof about this, although once a drunken scientist friend told me the metal acts as a thermal conductor causing the air inside the bottle to cool below the temperature of the wine. It might be hogwash, and if you've ever hung around drunken scientists, you know what I mean.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I have recently gotten into rosé Champagne and enjoy it very much. However, I have noticed there is a pretty large premium you pay for these wines over their clear cousins. Why the large disparity in cost?

—Sam E., Salem, Mass.

Dear Sam,

Making a sparkling rosé requires special handling and equipment that adds to the production costs. Rosés get their hue from contact with red grape skins and/or from a dash of still red wine added to the dosage. This means that sparkling producers may need to make a still wine when they normally would not. Often this results in higher vineyard costs, investing in crushers/destemmers and, of course, money and time to manage them.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

On a recent trip to Paris, my Australian dinner companions mentioned they were driving to a vineyard the next day to sample and purchase red Champagne. I am familiar with pink Champagne, but had never heard of red Champagne. I am now on a mission to find a bottle and sample it. Do you know where I can find some? My local wine shops were able to find sparkling Italian red wine, but no red Champagne.

—Tammy F., Alexandria, Va.

Dear Tammy,

Well, there is such a thing as red still (as in, no fizz) wine made in bitty amounts from the Champagne region, and there are sparkling red wines (such as Aussie sparkling Shiraz) made in other parts of the world. But I could find no evidence of any sparkling red wine from Champagne. Perhaps your dinner companions were speaking of one or the other?

I find sparkling red wines intriguing. Where sparkling wines are usually light and refreshing, these wines can be quite tannic and heavy. The best examples are perfect with Thanksgiving dinner, and the worst ones are best poured down the sink.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

Is there a particular purpose to the extreme thickness of Champagne bottles, or is it tradition to have them in this type of glass?

—Sue, Santa Fe, N.M.

Dear Sue,

If you think you've got pressure, it's much worse being inside a bottle of bubbly. The pressure per square inch in there is somewhere around 70 to 90 pounds. To give you some perspective, that's about double to triple the amount of pressure in the tires on your car. Hence the extra-heavy glass bottle. Engineers will also point out that the punt—the depression in the bottom of a bottle of sparkling wine—gives it extra structural strength.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

Could you please tell me why Champagne corks have two rings glued to the main body of the cork, at the part that is in contact with the Champagne?

—Ramon F., Vancouver, Canada

Dear Ramon,

Good eye! Sparkling corks are "mixed corks," comprised of an agglomerate body glued to discs of natural cork. These corks are specially designed to maintain gas pressure in the bottle and to stop precious carbon dioxide from escaping. The disks are slices of corkwood about 6 mm to 8 mm thick, and the body is often made from the disc-cutting remnants, which helps moderate costs. Don't be freaked out by the idea of glue in your cork; the FDA has standards for these things, and the glues are resistant to dampness. The corks, initially cylindrical in shape, are forced halfway into the neck of a bottle, which then gives them their mushroom shape.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I am a fine-dining server and have a question about presenting sparkling wine at the table. I have been told by a sommelier not to present a taste for Champagne and sparkling wine, and have recently had some wine reps and vineyard reps tell me that absolutely every wine should be presented to the host with a taste. Why or why not?

—Michael, Girdwood, Ark.

Dear Michael,

I checked with a real-life Master Sommelier, Evan Goldstein, to get the answer to this. Evan trains and examines potential candidates for the Court of Master Sommeliers, so he's the guy you want to impress. This is what Evan said:

"As Champagne or sparking wines are indeed ... well, wine ... and as they are sealed with a cork, they are subject to cork taint as well as many other common problems associated with wines that can occur—poor storage, etc. As such, they should be tasted as any other wine would, and most all sommeliers indeed do offer their guests a taste of the wines. Wine is wine, with fizz or not! And the cork should be removed from the cage and presented, too."

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

In a tasting environment, what is the proper way to "taste" a sparkling wine? It doesn't quite work to slosh it around in your mouth—fizz-o-rama! And spitting is also an unpleasant sensation. Suggestions?

—A.K., Portland, Ore.

Dear A.K.,

Swirling bubbly in a glass is less necessary than still wine, as its natural carbonation magnifies and releases the aromas and flavors. Sloshing? I find it always helpful to slosh the wine around your entire mouth, and with some practice you can do with sparkling wine and have it not tickle your nose. Try inhaling when you slosh. Spitting is always the hippest thing to do, and much less unpleasant than the effects of getting tipsy when you shouldn't. Practice spitting in private, until you get the confidence (and aim) you need to do so in public.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

Does TCA affect sparkling wine, generally, in the same percentage as it is reported for still wines?

—Michael K., Prague, Czech Republic

Dear Michael,

The chemical compound TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) and the nasty odors of musty, damp cellars and wet newspapers can indeed affect sparkling wine as much as it can affect still wine. Sparkling wine corks need to be super high quality to deal with the pressure inside the bottle, so some theorize that higher quality corks might mean a lower incidence of TCA. I'm happy to know that some forward-thinking sparkling producers in Australia are beginning to release their wines with crown caps (which you'd recognize from most beer bottles) to eliminate the chance of TCA infecting a bottle of bubbly via a cork.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I recently came across a Sonoma sparkling wine that was labeled "Blanc de Noirs," but it noted on the back that it contained a large amount of Chardonnay. I always thought such wines were made entirely from Pinot Noir or a Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier blend. What is the deal?

—Ben, Ames, Iowa

Dear Ben,

While the term "Blanc de Noirs" ("white of blacks") in Champagne can only refer to bubbly made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, here in the United States, this term is not regulated. I spoke with winemaker Bob Iantosca of Sonoma's Gloria Ferrer, and he explained that he'll add as much as 7 or 8 percent of Chardonnay to his Blanc de Noirs for added complexity and backbone and to add a citrusy quality.

—Dr. Vinny

Dear Dr. Vinny,

About 10 years ago, during a tour at Mumm Napa, I was told that it is not necessary to store sparkling wines on their side, because the pressure in the bottle keeps the cork moist. Is this true?

—Hoyt H., Nashville, Tenn.

Dear Hoyt,

I've had a few questions about this, so I went straight to the source. This is what Mumm Napa winemaker Ludovic Dervin said:

"Storage of bottles on their side isn't as important for sparkling wines as for still wines, since the pressure inside the bottle indeed allows the cork to stay happily humidified. However, the majority of sparkling wine producers prefer to recommend storing bottles on their side for long-term cellar aging, since there are no particular advantages to storing bottles neck up.

"A perfect bottle-aging environment for sparkling wines should be at a cool and constant temperature, ideally 50 degrees to 54 degrees Fahrenheit, up to 59 degrees maximum. Humidity should be between 60 percent and 70 percent. Probably the most important factor: Keep it away from light! Just like little gremlins, beautiful sparkling wines will be rapidly ruined by exposure to UV rays from sunlight. Neon lights are also very bad. UV rays catalyze a chemical reaction that develops obnoxious flavors and aromas of cooked cabbage or wet wool inside the bottle."

Gremlins! Cooked cabbage! Pay attention here!

And have a happy New Year,

—Dr. Vinny