This blog covers The Spirits of New Mexico show we aired on December 26^th a few days ago. While many of the celebrations have already occurred as we begin a new year there will doubtless be more opportunities to buy discounted sparklers. While any sparkler is festive this time of year, we sampled sparkling Rosé on the show. Something about those pink to glorious red tones shout that the holidays are here. Or that could just be me. Another benefit of Rosé-based sparklers is their food-pairing chops that work with a wide range of foods including beef and lamb.

Sparkling wines have been around for quite some time but they did not originate in the Champagne region. Nonetheless this is the sine qua non of sparkling wines so we must give it its due. So that is where we’ll start.

Champagne region

The Champagne region lies to the east of Paris and is comprised of several sub-regions. The two principal towns are Reims and Epernay and there is much to explore besides the wines in these famous cities of Champagne. There are over 84,000 vineyard acres, making an average of one million bottles a day. That’s a lot of primo bubbly! There are 5 main subregions in Champagne and each has their own unique style. As one would expect with this broad a wine region different terroir will influence the grapes grown there.

• Montagne de Reims: Principally Pinot Noir, many tête de cuvée wines from major Champagne houses come from here.
• Côte des Blancs: Principally Chardonnay. Chalk-based soils produce wine with higher acidity. Wines are elegant and racy. This area is south of Epernay.
• Vallée de la Marne: Principally Pinot Meunier, a grape known for its fruity and unctuous flavors. The abbey Hautvilles, where Don Pérignon solved the mystery of the exploding bottle, is located here.
• Côte des Sézanne: Principally Chardonnay with soils of both chalk and marl. Wines are aromatic with less acidity than Côte des Blancs.
• Côte des Bar: Principally Pinot Noir in marl soils, aromatic wines with less acidity

Types of Sparkling Wines

• Non-Vintage (NV): The most traditional of all sparkling styles. These are a blend of multiple varieties and vintages of wine. The goal is to blend a consistent wine every year. Minimum aging is 1.5 years in Champagne. Some producers call it multiple vintages.
• Vintage: In Champagne, there have been 46 years denoted as vintage years in the last 60 years. Vintage Champagnes are aged a minimum of 3 years prior to release. Other regions might not follow this pattern, but Gruet, as one example, does not make a vintage sparkler every year.
• Cuvée de prestige: The tête de cuvée or “Grande Cuvee” of a Champagne house–the very best wine a house produces. The term is used by other producers, Many by Champagne houses located in California for example.
• Blanc de Blancs A sparkler made completely of white grapes like Chardonnay.
• Blanc de Noirs: A sparkler made completely with black grapes, such as Pinot Noir and less commonly, with Pinot Meunier.
• Rosé: In Champagne, typically a blend of white and red wine to create a pink wine prior to secondary fermentation. Other areas might do a conventional Rose method.

Méthode Champenoise or the Traditional Method

There are many ways to make sparkling wine, but only two methods offer a quality product. The one that yields the highest quality regarding mouthfeel and sight is the méthode champenoise or traditional method.

In it a second fermentation is done in the bottle, thereby trapping an intense, small-bubble carbonation that contributes greatly to the mouthfeel. The liqueur di tirage is a mix of yeast, wine and sugar added to induce a second fermentation. So far, so good, but how do you get the remaining sediment out of the bottle, without losing all the trapped CO² produced?

Madame Clicquot, the near-legendary Champagne producer helped introduce the riddling process of slowly turning the bottles upside down, while also twisting each bottle so that all the sediment eventually rested in the bottle’s neck. The disgorgement process then removes the sediment by freezing the bottle neck, removing the cap so the plug pops out. Finally a dosage or liqueur d’expedition of wine and a measure of sugar is added to top off the wine.

When Dry is not Dry

Historically, this added sugar was necessary to balance the wine as the grapes were seldom fully-ripened and had high acidity, which was intensified by the carbonation. A whole series of styles were created by this technique which was copied by sparkling wine makers worldwide. Early on the dosage could be up to 100 grams per liter, which is very sweet indeed. Later in the twentieth century as we left the little ice age, grapes became riper and drier styles grew in popularity.

• Brut Nature – no added sugar and under 3 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Extra-Brut – between 0 and 6 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Brut – less than 12 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Extra sec (or Extra Dry) – between 12 and 17 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Sec (or Dry) – between 17 and 32 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Demi-Sec – between 32 and 50 grams per liter of residual sugars
• Doux – more than 50 grams per liter of residual sugars

In Champagne, since the late 20^th century, early 21^st century the warming trend permitted a longer hang time, riper grapes, better farming techniques, and less reliance on sweeter dosage. While brut wines have been around for some time, we are now seeing Extra-brut and Brut Nature wines.

The Charmat Method and Volume Processing

The Charmat method was invented and patented in 1895 by the Italian Federico Martinotti, a winemaker in Asti. In 1907, Eugène Charmat, a Frenchman, made some improvements to the process and patented it under his name. Leave it to the French to call it their method. In Italy, the process is sometimes known as the Martinotti method, after its original inventor. This new winemaking technique allowed for sparkling wine production to be done in volume at a lower price than any previous method.

The Charmat method is a sparkling winemaking process that traps bubbles in wine via carbonation in large steel tanks. This technique is also called metodo Italiano, the Martinotti method, the tank method, or cuve close (“sealed tank,” from the French cuvée, or vat).

The Charmat method begins, like the traditional method, with the creation of a still base wine. This wine is mixed with a measure of sugar and yeast called the liqueur de tirage, much like the traditional method, then put in a large stainless steel pressure tank, or autoclave. The yeast and sugar cause a second fermentation in the closed tank, which is held under pressure so the carbon dioxide from the fermentation is forced into the wine.

• The second fermentation takes one to six weeks, after which the carbonated wine is immediately filtered and bottled.
• The dosage is added at bottling, usually to brut level sweetness (6–12 grams of sugar per liter).
• The wine is bottled after secondary fermentation without additional aging, giving wines a fresh fruit character.
• The method is ideal for wines made from aromatic grape varieties like Moscato (Prosecco) and Riesling.
• It helps retain the grapes’ aromas more than traditional method, which introduce nutty, toasty flavors from aging on the wine’s lees.
• Charmat method has two to four atmospheres of pressure, thus softer carbonation
• The traditional method has five to seven atmospheres of pressure
• Charmat method wines are filtered, no sediment in the bottle and the wines are crystal clear.

Domestic Sparklers

New Mexico

You won’t find a better sparkler in New Mexico than Gruet, which offers 5 vintage and 7 NV sparklers.

• 2014 Cuvée Danielle Grand Rosé $39, 2015 Grand Blanc de Noirs $30, 2012 Library Release Blanc de Blancs $40, 2015 Gilbert Gruet Grande Reserve $44
• Brut $15, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Brut Rose all $17.
• Magnums of the Brut, Blanc de Noirs and Brut Rosé are all $42. One always pays a premium for a magnum of traditional method sparklers
• Barrel-aged Gruet Brut $28, Pinot Meunier Brut $42, Cuvée Laurent Extended Tirage Rosé $40

California Regions

Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Sonoma County (Russian River Valley, Sonoma coast), Napa Valley, Marin County, Carneros (Sonoma/Napa).

Many Champagne houses are located here, such as Roederer in the Anderson Valley, G.H. Mumm in Napa, Tattinger Domaine Carneros, Schramsberg in Napa, and Moёt & Chandon Domaine Chandon in Napa.

Old World choices

Spanish Cava: Penedés region, cava aged 9 months, Reserva 18 months, gran reserva 30 months, Rioja sparklers have a separate classification
Other French: Crémant de Bourgogne in Burgundy, Crémant de Loire in Loire Valley and Crémant d’ Alsace in the Alsace region all produce méthode champenoise sparklers.
Italian: Franciacorta DOCG uses traditional method with French grapes, Prosecco Charmat process
German Sparkling wines: Sekt.

Opening Champagne Safely

Ophthalmologists will tell you the most common eye injury from flying object is, you guessed it, Champagne corks; or any bubbly using the traditional method, with its attendant higher pressure.

So bearing that in mind, don’t point the cork end at anyone; particularly the eye area, although crotch level is also not so good. Try pointing it at a vacant wall if this is your first time, and avoid chandeliers. And you thought this was just simply opening a bottle of wine. Au contraire.

Preparing and opening the bubbly: Here is your uncorking sparklers refresher.

• If storing for more than one month, keep sparklers horizontal in rack
• Start with a well-chilled bottle, not one rolling around the back seat of your car for the last hour.
• Holding bottle at 45 degrees loosen cage, 6 turns if you’re counting, but leave cage on
• Hold cork and cage firmly in one hand, turn the base of bottle not the cork with other hand for a smoother release
• Allow cork to slowly ease out but keep at 45 degrees for a few seconds after cork removed
• Make sure flutes are handy if it foams and pour into glasses at 45 degrees to fill more quickly
• One can pour from the bottle by placing thumb in punt (indentation at base of bottle), less warming by hand, but also more dangerous.

Flutes versus coupé

In the 30s, 40s and 50s, the coupé was the more common glass to serve Champagne. The classic shape is reputed to have been formed from Marie Antoinette’s left breast. While the apocryphal story has a romantic ring, it’s hard to imagine this actually happening. “Excuse me, Marie, but can we borrow your breast to make some glasses?”

The advantage of the flute is that the tiny bubbles are on full display adding to the attraction of a classic sparkler. And unlike the Marie Antoinette coupé it does not lose its head quite so quickly and you don’t have to have it with cake.

The on-air tasting of wines

We work at providing a contrast of styles with our featured wines. We also double-decant our red wines before the show to allow them to open up properly. We use a flute, not a coupé for our sparkling wines.

While both of these wines are produced by champagne houses they also exhibit the difference between New World and Old World styles.

What we are tasting: Mumm Napa Brut Rose ABV 12.5% $28

Mumm signature rosé has an eye-catching pink coral color, robust red fruit flavors and an elegant finish. Pinot Noir is responsible for the wine’s soft texture and forward fruitiness, while the Chardonnay contributes structure and elegance. Vivid aromas of black cherries, red berries and citrus introduce soft red fruit flavors that are rich and mouth-filling, yet retain the elegant character that is Mumm Napa’s trademark. This is a joint venture of G.H. Mumm, and Seagram & Sons.

What we are tasting: Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Rose, $50

Nicolas Feuillatte created his Champagne house in 1976 as an exclusive Reserve Champagne. In 1986, Feuillatte created a partnership with the Centre Vinicole de la Champagne, the largest association of growers in Champagne, situated near the Grand Cru village of Chouilly in the outskirts of Epernay.

Grapes are supplied by over 5,000 growers across the Champagne region. To assemble the blends, a judicious selection of Crus is made from 11 of the 17 Grand Crus, 26 of the 42 Premier Crus and 145 of the 260 remaining Champagne Crus.

In addition, a mosaic of soils creates wonderfully nuanced Champagnes. Sandy sub-soils create supple, light and fruity wines, while soils on marl and limestone clay deliver wines allying structure with fruit intensity. Chalk soils bring minerality and freshness and aromatic complexity develops over time.