Champagne may come in several different styles, but is nearly always made from just three different grape varieties: Pinot Noir
Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier
With each of these varieties having a different influence on the champagne. So how different
types of grapes affect the taste of champagne? Chardonnay the white grapes
Chardonnay we say it's fresh
Fresh- why? when you drink it bring acidity. Pinot Noir, I prefer Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir powerful
Pinot Noir destructure
With Pinot Noir you have more sensation of fizz in front of your palate
strong aftertaste. Pinot Meunier, fills a gap between
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Pinot Meunier is we say it's round
Sweet, you have sensation of sweetness on the tongue so you can drink it younger
There are actually seven grapes that are permitted for champagne production
However, the lesser known four could no longer be planted and collectively make up less than 1% of all vineyards
Champagne may be produced from any combination or blend of these grapes as well as being made from just one variety
Although the majority of champagne will be a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
Producers may also blend between different years or vintages of harvest producing non vintage champagne. That doesn't state a year on the bottle.
A Champagne house whether it's chance high-tech or other Champagne houses produced two type of wines. One type of wine is a non vintage
It mean that the wine is not made from just one harvest we blend different years together
Including some reserve wines to make a blend which will be consistent
After a few years of aging by oposition a vintage wine
Is a wine produced with the grapes of one particular year just one just once so
Basically here every vintage by definition will be different. That's the magic of champagne
Non vintage champagnes are often the most important wine for a champagne house defining their house style
Vintage champagnes are generally more complex and only contain grapes harvested in a single year
They must spend at least three years Aging in the bottle developing their complexity before they are released and sold
Realistically many will spend much longer than this vintage champagnes are rarer
However, as they are only produced in years where growing conditions are favorable with exceptional vintages normally occurring just once or twice a decade
Champagne may be famous for its sparkling white wines
But sparkling rose is becoming more popular than ever and in champagne, there two ways to make it
Firstly we have the blending method champagne is the only place in the world where it is legal to use this method
quite simply it is adding a still red wine to base white wine to make a pink rose a
Secondly the Saignee or bleeding method
Grapes are picked and pressed and the grape skins are left in contact with the juice until the desired pink colour is achieved
This lightly colored wine is then fermented before being bottled for its secondary fermentation
There is two way to make a rose. Exactly. So you have two options nothing to do the quality
One will be providing something a bit lighter more crispy more refreshing profile
That's the Saingee, and when you make the blending method, since you are going to use a final red wine
You will add a bit more structure with more body. It's more question of taste
The sweetness of champagne is the final element of the basic differences between
champagne styles with producers adding sugar to their wines before sealing the bottles with cork
This is known as dosage and impacts the sweetness of the wine
Dosage of the wine is a very last step in the making of champagne
It's an addition of wine and sugar that you put at the end before to put the definitive cork. It's what will help to
have a good balance and good harmony in the wine and
To give an idea of what the dosage for each wine is we use
Different terms, which is the most common ones. It means you have less than 12 grams of
Sugar per liter, but you can also find extra wood which will be between zero and six
You can find brut nature at you or brut zero
So this time it's you have no sugar at all. And the music is very sweet champagne. It's more than 32 grams
of sugar per liter
Next time you open a bottle of champagne look out for these different basic styles, which will be stated on the label
It's always good to start by asking the questions. Is it a blend or single-variety is a vintage or non vintage?
How much sugar has the winemaker added to the wine?
The best way to experience the various styles is to taste different champagnes side by side no matter what it's always
Fascinating to consider how much thought has gone into every single bottle