CHAMPAGNE

Contrary to general impression, Champagne is made from fine varieties of black and red grapes. Its "white" color is due to the fact that the grapes are pressed before the skins have had a chance to color the juice.

The grapes are sorted immediately after gathering and taken at once to the press-house where they are again critically inspected during the weighing and then, with the least possible delay, pressed to separate the juice from the pulp.

The products of the first three pressings become first class wines. The subsequent pressings produce only an inferior article, generally used for local consumption.

This virgin wine is left standing in large vats to await fermentation--the process being instigated by the micro-organisms ("wild" yeast cells) contained in the "bloom" of the grape and carried into the juice when pressing. In fermentation, the natural sugar of the grape juice is transformed into alcohol and carbon-dioxide (gas). The latter escaping by the bunghole, produces the stage commonly called "boiling."

As the weather becomes cold, the ferments gradually lessen their activity until the wine finally becomes clear and is in condition to be separated from its lees.

With the approach of the following spring comes the most critical operation--the one which tests the experience and ability of the wine merchant--the blending of the crude wines to suit the tastes of his clienteles in various countries. When the desired result has been obtained, the "cuvee" is said to have been formed and is ready for bottling.

A certain amount of cane-sugar is added to the wine and it is then put into new and carefully cleansed bottles, which are corked as filled and taken at once to the cellars.

The return of spring again sets the ferments in action, transforming any natural sugar still left in the wine from the previous fall--and also the cane-sugar added--into alcohol and carbon-dioxide--but this time the gas cannot escape and instead mingles with the liquid, producing the "sparkle" for which champagne is famous.

But the development of the wine is not yet completed, for this last fermentation leaves a deposit or sediment to be got rid of. To accomplish this, the bottles are held in racks, head downwards at an angle of 70 degree, for three months or longer while the deposit slowly descends and collects on the corks. Every day during the entire period a specially trained cellarman gives each bottle a slight twisting motion to assist its descent.

When all the sediment has collected on the corks, the cellarman takes each bottle separately and removes the cork, or undoes the iron clasp holding it, according to the method employed, and the rush of the carbonate gas forces the deposit out with a loud report. The wine is thus left absolutely clear and sparkling.

By the most modern process, the necks of the bottles, when ready for the extraction of the sediment, are placed to a depth of about three inches in a refrigerating bath to congeal the deposit and thus facilitate its expulsion.

The second fermentation has removed all taste of sugar, and for a perfectly "dry" wine, the cellarman refills the empty space in the neck of the bottle, left by the withdrawal of the sediment, with unsweetened "dosage" and recorks the bottle as it is. Nearly all the champagne sold is though sweetened more or less--the extent varying with the preferences of the different countries to which it is to be shipped--and consequently the dosage usually consists of sugar dissolved in "champagne" brandy and variously flavored. A keen palate can often clearly detect the flavors of the dosage--as of apricots or other fruits.

The bottles go next to underground wine cellars to mature. The cellars or "caves" at Reims consist of miles of tunnels cut in and through old chalk pits. The length of time required to attain proper maturity depends to a certain extent on the quality and characteristics of each year's vintage. An average of eight years is generally considered sufficient.

It is a matter of common knowledge that many of the stronger "still" wines are improved by long life in the bottles, but that a good vintage champagne will improve up to the tenth year is not generally known.

The "dryer" the wine, the more important becomes the time set apart for its aging, and the finer the discrimination possible in comparing the merits of different vintages. In heavily sweetened champagnes, the "sharpness" of immature wine or the mediocrity of a poor vintage may be obscured to a very considerable extent by the sugar flavor.

An easy test for age in champagne is found in the corks extracted. If the end of the "stem" swells out to approximately the same dimensions as the head of the cork, you may be sure the wine has not been very long in the bottle. If it swells only moderately, it has been to that extent better matured. If it proves to be lacking entirely in resiliency and retains the straight up and down shape of the inside of the bottle's neck, it has been aged sufficiently for any connoisseur's requirements.

This test applies only to champagne and similar sparkling wines,--not at all to old ports or Rhine wines, or any other wines held longer than ten years to mature, as in such cases new corks are generally substituted about every ten years.

Most of the champagne consumed in Russia, Germany and other countries of Northern Europe is heavily sweetened. An 18 to 20 per cent syrup addition was formerly common in that shipped to Russia and 14 to 16 per cent in that for Germany. About 12% was quite common in France itself. The champagne consumed in those countries is not as sweet as formerly, but it would still be considered excessively so by English and American connoisseurs.

"Sec" or "dry" champagne is wine with only a comparatively little sweetening--generally from 3 to 5 per cent. "Extra dry" has still less. "Brut," which means "natural" or "unsweetened," signifies champagne without any sweetening or, as generally, with only the minimum amount.

In Europe, the terms "sec" and "brut" serve to distinguish the wines so labelled from the heavily syrupped types mentioned, but as very little really sweet champagne is ever seen in this country (practically all of the importations being of the "sec," "extra sec" and "brut" types), "sec" has come to mean "sweet" to American consumers. It is "dry" in comparison with the sweet European champagne, but it is "sweet" in comparison with the still dryer "brut".

A small quantity of champagne sweeter than "sec," though not nearly as sweet as much of that consumed in Northern Europe, is imported and sold here under special trade titles, but the demand for it is comparatively small. "Sec" is probably the typical American taste, being generally preferred both to sweeter and dryer types.

It is necessary, however, to confine oneself to generalities in discussing this subject, as both wines and firm policies vary considerably. It is impossible to give a conclusive idea of the sweetness of different cuvees by naming the percentage of syrup added, as different quantities may be required to obtain the same degree of sweetness--the same amount of syrup added to a fine mellow wine would make a much sweeter article than if added to a young sharp wine. And, as there is no absolute standard of definition for "sec" or "brut," it may happen that one firm's "brut" is sweeter than another's "sec".

Another classification, which does not so generally affect the average consumer, but is understood by the connoisseur, is into non-Mousseux, not effervescent (seldom seen); Cremant, moderately sparkling; Mousseux, sufficiently effervescent to eject the cork with an audible report, and Grand Mousseux, excessively effervescent.

It is very important that champagne should be kept in a dark cellar where the temperature is cool and even. If exposed to light and variable temperature, it will lose much of both effervescence and flavor. The bottles should be laid on their sides, inclined slightly downwards so that the wine keeps the cork moist. If it has been shipped a considerable distance, it should be allowed to rest a few days before serving.

Champagne should be drunk cold, but the cooling process should be gradual--it is detrimental to shake it or turn it violently in the cooler, as is so frequently done.

Several styles of wine glasses are used for serving champagne. The most desirable are those which show the "sparkle" best and retain it the longest. The "hollow-stem" glass is excellent by both these standards. It is important that the glasses be perfectly dry before pouring the wine into them--a damp glass kills much of the sparkle.

As the sale of imported champagne is in this country largely directed by advertising, it is not generally advisable to stock heavily any brand with which the public is not thoroughly familiar. The French government has restricted the use of the title "champagne" to wine made within a certain clearly defined area, covering nearly all of the Department of Marne--which includes, among others, the cantons of Avize, Ay, Chalons, Epernay and Reims--and a few communes in the Department of Aisne.

There are several American "champagnes" now made which are excellent in quality and show a good profit to the retailer. See American Wines.