The Secret Behind the Bubbles

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN FRANCE

AROUND THE WORLD, CHAMPAGNE is synonymous with festivity and celebration. Indeed, the sparkle and bubbles that characterize this beverage are a hallmark of many happy occasions.

Many credit Dom Pérignon with inventing champagne. Whatever the case, he certainly did much to improve its quality. This Benedictine monk was cellarer of the Hautvillers Abbey (in the heart of the Champagne region of France) from 1668 until his death in 1715. Some credit Dom Pérignon for many of the techniques used in champagne-making to this day.

The first to become enthusiastic over sparkling wine were the British, but by the 18th century, the French court discovered this luxurious beverage. Note, however, that to be truly called champagne, the wines must be produced in Champagne, France. Even the grapes cannot come from outside this region!

The subsoil of the Champagne region is chalky as far down as 330 feet [100 m] and is covered by a fine layer of alluvial soil. This peculiarity guarantees constant humidity, and at night the soil releases the heat accumulated during the day. Furthermore, the roots of the vines burrow down more than 30 feet [10 m] into the ground, making it easier to take up the minerals essential to the wine’s finesse.

While the region bearing the champagne appellation covers some 90,000 acres [35,000 ha], the vineyards cover roughly 70,000 acres [28,000 ha]. The vines are planted on the upper half of hillsides to limit the devastating effects of frosts, such as the one in 1985 that reached minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit [-30°C]. Three types of grapes are grown: Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, which are black grapes, and Chardonnay, which are white grapes.

The Still Wine

Picked grapes are immediately put into large, shallow winepresses to prevent the skins from coloring the juice. An initial pressing of four tons of grapes yields 540 gallons [2,050 l] of cuvée, used only for the best wines. Two subsequent pressings yield 110 gallons [410 l] and 54 gallons [205 l] respectively of inferior-quality juice. After that, anything obtained is not truly champagne.

For several weeks yeasts quietly work away in oak casks or metal vats. Consuming the sugars in the juice, the microorganisms produce alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste products. This first fermentation is similar to that undergone by any wine. The outcome of this process is a still (noneffervescent) wine. Now it is time to transform this excellent wine into a sparkling nectar.

The sugar content of this still wine is measured and regulated to approximately one ounce per quart [25 grams per liter] by adding a liqueur composed of cane sugar dissolved in old wine. The resulting wine is then transferred into bottles, which are closed with a temporary stopper. These are stacked horizontally in cellars at 50 degrees Fahrenheit [10°C] for several months. During this time the yeast gorges itself on the sugar and slowly starts a second fermentation. By once again consuming sugar, the microorganisms produce more carbon dioxide. But this time it cannot escape, as it did in the vats. Instead, it is trapped inside the bottle, steadily increasing the pressure to about six atmospheres. Upon being uncorked, about five or six liters of gas are set free, which accounts for the famous sparkle and the millions of bubbles.

To withstand such pressure, the bottles must be strong, and they need to be securely stopped. In the past this caused considerable difficulties for producers. For example, in his book The Story of Wine, Hugh Johnson relates that toward the end of the 19th century, “it was most unwise to venture into a champagne cellar, especially in springtime, without a metal mask to protect one’s face from flying glass.”

However, our champagne is not quite ready. The deposit made up of dead yeast cells and mineral salts must be eliminated to keep it from clouding the wine. This is the traditional task of remueurs, or bottle twisters. The bottles are progressively tilted neck downward and turned daily by the remueurs by an eighth to a quarter of a turn. Some workers can turn up to 10,000 bottles an hour! For ordinary champagnes, however, this task is gradually being mechanized.

The Finishing Touches

Eventually, the sediment collects in the neck of the bottle. This is removed in a process called dégorgement (disgorging). While the bottle is held upside down, its neck is steeped in a saltwater solution at minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit [-27°C]. The bottle is then quickly opened. The pressure inside forces the frozen sediment out. To make up for lost volume, a new liqueur is added. Its sugar content determines whether the champagne will be dry, medium, or sweet, to suit the consumer’s taste. Now the bottles can finally be sealed with special corks that will gradually take on their distinctive mushroom shape—one of the hallmarks of champagne.

The cork, though, must be firmly held in place. Initial attempts using hemp twine proved unsuccessful, as it rotted in the damp cellars. Next, ordinary metal wire was used, but this rusted and cut through the cork. Finally, another idea was introduced: A metal cap was placed over the cork, and these were held in place by a muzzle of twisted wire. For the past 150 years or so, bottles have been sealed in this way. Finally, the foil trimming and the decorative label are added.

An Envied Drink

Many wine-making areas have sought to produce similar sparkling wines. However, even if the same methods are used, the product can only be called sparkling wine—not champagne—since the name champagne is protected. Recently, when a French fashion designer released a perfume called Champagne, he was taken to court. The same thing happened to an Englishman who marketed a drink called Elderflower Champagne, made from elder flowers, in bottles resembling those of champagne.

As with many enterprises, the champagne industry has experienced an economic crisis. After record production figures in 1989—with 249 million bottles—sales fell, leaving a large surplus. Today, wine-growers limit production in favor of quality.

Away from light and at a constant temperature, champagne may be kept for a few years, but it has already been aged by the manufacturer. Therefore, champagne may be consumed as soon as it is bought. How should it be served? Champagne should be chilled to between 43 and 48 degrees Fahrenheit [6-9°C]—setting the bottle in a bucket of water and ice cubes is a good method to achieve this—and poured into fluted glasses to show off the rising bubbles.

So if you get the chance to sample this delicious drink, think about the continuous care that has gone into making it, and take delight in the millions of bubbles whose secret we have tried to reveal.

[Footnotes]

The chalky soil there also made it easier to dig more than 150 miles [250 km] of cellars, where the temperature must remain at 50 degrees Fahrenheit [10°C]. Presently, most cellars in the Reims region are the remains of ancient Roman quarries.

Certain champagnes are made with just Chardonnay grapes, such as the famous Blanc de Blancs (meaning white of whites), from the Côte des Blancs vines south of the town of Épernay.



Chardonnay

Pinot Noir

Pinot Meunier



1 Grapes are carefully handpicked and pressed in mechanical grape presses

2 Yeasts work in oak casks for several weeks

3 Bottles are stored on racks for a second fermentation

4 In a process called “dégorgement,” the sediment is shot out of the bottle