Champagne or another sparkler? A bubbly 101

New Year’s Eve is right around the corner, and in the beverage business, the marketers and sellers of champagne and sparkling wine can be heard clinking their glasses from sea to shining sea.

And why shouldn't they? According to ACNielsen, the sparkling wine segment — including champagne — is at the height of its sales year (with another spike to come ahead of Valentine's Day.

To help you make the best selection for your celebration, here’s our 101 on the bubbly stuff:

Champagne or sparkler?
Though many people refer to virtually all sparkling wines as champagne, fact is only sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France are the real deal. Indeed, in 1891, the Madrid Agreement, which dealt with the international registration of trademarks, declared that only wines originating from the region could use the name "champagne" on their labels. That agreement was reiterated in the Versailles Treaty (the 1919 document that settled things after World War I.)

But here's the rub: The U.S. Senate never ratified the Versailles Treaty. And in the midst of Prohibition, with no legal alcohol beverage production, the U.S. saw little need to regulate trademarks of products that could not be legally sold within its borders. And so, in 1933, when the 18th Amendment was repealed and alcohol beverages were again legal in this country, the term "champagne" began to be used liberally, and came to mean "sparkling wine" among the masses (just as Burgundy and Chablis, both region-specific varieties, became commonplace for "red" and "white," respectively).

How sparkling wines are made
There are two methods of making sparkling wine. Only one of these, the méthode champenoise, in which the bubbles form in the bottle, can be used to make the trademarked Champagne.

Champagne must use the following grapes (either singly or in a combination):

• Pinot Noir
• Pinot Meunier
• Chardonnay

Sparkling wine can be made from any grape the winemaker chooses. For example, Lambrusco and Asti from Italy are sparkling wines, as are a host of others from every country in the world.

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All sparkling wine is the result of two fermentations. The first fermentation process is done to create still wine in pretty much the same way as regular, non-bubbling wine.

The secondary fermentation process can be done in one of two ways. For most sparkling wine, it is done in tanks in a process called Charmat. For champagne and other sparklers that use the méthode champenoise it takes place in the bottle.

The Charmat process:
The most common method used for sparkling wine has been around for about a hundred years. It is known as the Charmat process, and is very much cheaper to do than the méthode champenoise.

1. Still wine is put in cold, large pressure sealed tanks where it is "seeded", meaning that sugar and yeast are added, and allowed to ferment. The fermentation creates carbon dioxide bubbles.
2. The next process is filtering, to remove sediment. This is done under pressure so the wine remains "bubbly".
3. The now-sparkling wine is adjusted for sweetness, then bottled, and then shipped out. This entire process can take as little as three weeks.

The Méthode Champenoise:
Méthode champenoise is the traditional way, and it why a bottle of Champagne costs so much more than sparkling wine using the Charmat method.

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The traditional method of making Champagne is when the secondary fermentation process takes place in a bottle, and not in a tank.

1. The bottle is filled with still wine, sugar and yeast. The bottle is sealed and laid to rest in a cool, dark cellar.
2. The fermentation producing carbon dioxide takes place in the bottle. The sediment, or "lees," in the bottle add to the flavor.
3. After a minimum of nine months (Although it could be several years) the bottles are slowly turned upside down over a period of months, so the sediment, or "lees" falls into the neck. The "lees" are then frozen, and "popped" out.
4. Then a "dosage," a. sweetening adjustment, is added to the now clear champagne, which determines if the wine is to be dry or sweet.
5. The bottle is then corked, labeled, and sent off to shippers.

(By the way, a trip to the Champagne region of France is a wondrous vacation, where small underground trains take you through famous wine cellars.)

“Vintage,” "Non-Vintage," Rosé?
Non-vintage is a blend of different years. It accounts for 85 percent of all champagne sold.

Vintage is from a single year (for example, 1990). A vintage champagne comes out two or three times a decade. It occurs when the grapes produced in that one year are exceptional, and no blending from previous years is necessary, or desired to make an exceptional champagne.

Rosé champagne happens in one of two different ways. Red wine is actually added to the blend or the red grape skins are left in contact with the must for a period of time.

You brut, you
Champagnes and other sparkling wines use four main terms to describe the wines:

• Brut: driest
• Extra-dry: Not as dry as brut
• Sec: Very slightly sweet
• Demi-sec: Sweeter.

How much green for my bubbly?
Price is a key differentiator between true champagne and other sparkling wines. A vintage champagne — that is, one produced from a specific harvest — is the most expensive. Bottles priced over $100 are not uncommon, and the top end can fetch in excess of $2,000.

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That’s the bad news. The good is that fine-tasting sparkling wines, including some true champagnes, can be found in the $10-$40 range.

"The wine connoisseur can tell a $100 bottle from a lower-priced bottle," notes Vince Cilino, director of the Zeph's One Stop wine shop in Salinas, Calif. "But the person who goes out and buys one bottle a year will be satisfied with a $10-$20 bottle."

And don't forget, the finer the bubbles the better the champagne. Supposedly there are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne. Enjoy them!

Phil Lempert is food editor of the “Today” show. He welcomes questions and comments, which can be sent to or by using the mail box below. For more about the latest trends on the supermarket shelves, visit Phil’s Web site at www.supermarketguru.com.

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