Champagne (beverage)

From ArticleWorld

Named after the Champagne region of France, the Champagne beverage is created by inducing a secondary fermentation of the wine. In Europe, and most other countries, the name Champagne is legally protected to mean only sparkling wine produced in its namesake region and adhering to the standards defined. While the term champagne is often used by makers of sparkling wine in other parts of the world, such as California and Canada, it should properly be only in reference to the wines made in the region of Champagne, France.

Champagne

Under the regulation of the Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne, a comprehensive set of rules and regulations have been developed for all wine that comes from the region. These rules are designed to reduce competition, to ensure quality, and to increase Champagne prices. They include a codification of the most suitable places for grapes to grow, the most suitable types of grapes to be used (most Champagne is produced from one or a blend of up to three varieties of grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier), and a lengthy set of viticultural requirements. These include vine pruning, the yield of the vineyard, the degree of pressing applied to the grapes, and the fermentation time. Only if a wine meets all these requirements may the name Champagne be placed on the bottle.

Sparkling wine

Other sparkling wines, not from Champagne, sometimes use the term sparkling wine on their label. While most countries have labeling laws that protect the economic interests of the Champagne region, some (including the United States), have followed English common law, which permits wine producers to utilize the name. The reason U.S. wine producers are allowed to use the European names is that, when the Treaty of Versaille was signed, the United States had just begun Prohibition. The U.S. had no intentions of ever producing wine again, so it didn't sign the treaty.

Opening Champagne

Open a Champagne bottle as follows:

• Remove the foil and pull down the wire loop.
• Drape a towel over the bottle.
• Place your hand over the cork.
• Loosen but don't remove the wire cage.
• Grasp the cork and the cage firmly with your hand, then rotate the bottle (rather than the cork) by holding it at the base; this should allow the cork to come out on its own.

A sabre can be used to open a Champagne bottle with great ceremony, this is call sabrage. To use a sabre to open Champagne, one should:

• Select a heavy sabre, with a rather short blade.
• Hold the sabre in one hand. Use the back of the blade.
• Hold the Champagne bottle in the other hand, on its lowest part, the wire cage loosened or removed.
• Touch and slide the blade alongside the bottle until it hits the swelling on the bottleneck. The impact will break the bottle, and its tip will fly away.
• Have part of the spray spill out in order to wash away potential glass splinters.