- Champagne history
- How to select champagne
- The Top Ten Mistakes about Champagne
The Top Ten Mistakes about Champagne
The Top Ten Mistakes about Champagne
Artyomovsk Winery has compiled an unusual rating. It concerns any mistakes and myths about champagne wines.The method used to compile this rating is rather simple and is based on consumers’ studies regularly conducted by Artyomovsk Winery’s specialists. It was noted, for instance, that consumers have been keeping for many years with the same opinions, which are not always correct and sometimes even paradoxical. That is why Artyomovsk Winery has decided to destroy the most popular mistakes of consumers. This rating consists of ten mistakes and covers the most common and interesting myths about champagne and the way it should be drunk.
Mistake No. 1: Cork Shot.
It is common practice to make a cork pop out loudly with lots of foam when opening a bottle of champagne.It is not true. On the contrary, you should uncork the bottle very carefully having the bottle angled at 45º and controlling the cork with another hand. Slight puff and gentle pop are the evidence of a high quality drink.
Mistake No. 2: Champagne and sparkling wine are different drinks.
Sparkling wine is not champagne. It is true, and it is not true at the same time... Only those producers who keep with the traditional method of bottle champagnization and use only three authorized grape varieties grown within the French province Champagne have the right to call their wine “champagne”. Fermentation process should also take place in that region. For a pretty long time, sparkling wines produced by bottle champagnization method have been called as champagne. It went like this until Champagne Province declared its exclusive right to use that brand. So, it is clear that sparkling wine and champagne are the same drink with the only difference in the geographic location of its production.
Mistake No. 3: Icy champagne.
It is necessary to chill the champagne pretty well before drinking. In actual fact, the champagne should be chilled to the definite temperature. Optimal serving temperature is 9-12ºC. If you make your champagne cooler, you will not discover its true flavors and aromas.
Mistake No. 4: Sweeties and champagne.
hampagne goes better with chocolate and desserts. It is not quite so. Indeed, sweet or semi-sweet champagne should be served with desserts and chocolate. Brut and dry champagne, however, will taste better with cream or hard-pressed cheeses. Besides, white brut is perfect in combination with seafood, white meat or black caviar; rose brut goes well with veal, lamb or duck, and red brute tastes the best with red meat. Anyway, you should remember the key principle: food should not suppress or absorb the taste of champagne and vise versa.
Mistake No. 5: Champagne is a drink for women.
Champagne is drunk mainly by women. And what about the fact that such outstanding men as Eisenhower, Ian Fleming, Peter the First, A.S. Pushkin, Louis the Fourteenth, and N. Khrushchev were the real judges of this drink.
Mistake No. 6: Chipped bottle neck.
If the bottle neck is chipped, it means that the bottle is defective. It is not quite so... The case is that sparkling wines produced by classical bottle champagnization method are subject to disgorging procedure (when the cramp holding the temporary cork in position is removed and the sediment is discharged), which may cause a mechanical bottle neck damage evidencing the classical method of production rather than a bottle defect.
Mistake No. 7: Champagne is a festive drink.
It is customary to drink champagne only on festive occasions. Actually, champagne (sparkling wine), if drunk in reasonable quantities, is necessary for the good health. All negative consequences mistakenly attributed to champagne, are usually the result of excessiveness in consuming what is served before champagne rather than the result of drinking champagne itself. Champagne, on the contrary, can be regarded as the healthiest drink among all alcoholic beverages.
Mistake No. 8: Origin of rose champagne.
Rose champagne is the result of mixing red and white wines. It is not quite right. Color of the rose champagne results from short-time contact of white wine with red grape peel in grape must. This process is incredibly complex and laborious.
Mistake No. 9: Proper way to open a bottle of champagne.
One should turn the cork to open a bottle of champagne properly. It is not true. Paradoxically, but you should turn the bottle but not the cork to open a bottle of champagne. In this case, the cork will slide smoother and, eventually, pop out with a gentle “puff”.
Mistake No. 10: Drinking champagne in the morning!
“… drinking champagne in the morning is the privilege of aristocrats or …”
Actually, the French (and first of all, champagne producers) consider it quite normal to drink champagne in the morning. Indeed, it is not a bad thing to drink half a glass of champagne for breakfast. But if you are such an inveterate drinker of this festive drink and are going to continue drinking champagne at dinner and supper, you should remember the following: simple and light champagne is for breakfast, moderate champagne is for dinner, and the “prestige Cuvee” is for supper with friends.
