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| Welcome to Du Vin Wine & Spirits |
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Du Vin Wine & Spirits is the only wine shop specializing in European wines in Southern California.
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 It may be said, without fear of contradiction, that Champagne is one of the most celebrated wines in the world. Its origins began when the inland sea, which in pre-history covered the Champagne region, disappeared and left a chalky subsoil which was gradually covered by a layer of fertile soil. When the Romans arrived, after their conquest, they discovered a thriving viticulture already in existence. The region is located 90 miles northeast of Paris.
Up until the early 1600’s the wines of Champagne were still wines, not sparkling, however, every once in a while the wines would have a pleasant effervescence that was unable to be accounted for. The lore of how this sparkling wine originated, and who its originator was, is sometimes disputed. What is acknowledged is that a Benedictine Monk named Dom Perignon (1638-1715), was its man of destiny. He was the cellar master of the Royal Abbey of Saint-Vanne. He had the brilliant idea of blending various grapes from different vineyards in the region in order to create a cuvee (blend) that was superior. Today, some champagne houses strive for a cuvee that mixes as many as 30 to 40 or more different base wines to make their house style. Dom Perignon is also credited as the first in Champagne to use thicker bottles and seal them with corks, tying the corks down with string in order to prevent the exploding of the bottles.
Because the region is so far north, the cool weather creates a difficult growing environment for grapes. The main grape varieties—red Pinot Noir and Pinto Meunier and white Chardonnay—all require warmer weather for optimum ripening. Grapes that cannot fully ripen tend to have high acidity and less developed flavor, which is the perfect recipe for sparkling wines.
While many use the term "champagne" for all sparkling wines, not all sparkling wines are actually champagne or originate from France. Some of the most exciting sparklers today come from Italy, Spain, South America and the United States, most notably California. We have selected ten standouts from artisan Winemakers in both Champagne and other parts of the World.
Vintage Champagnes are made form the best grapes of the harvest when the winemaker of a champagne house feels the grapes are better than average. Wines from that year must make up 75-80% of the cuvee in order to be labeled a Vintage Champagne. These champagnes must be aged for a minimum of 3 years prior to their release.
Non-vintage Champagnes, which make up 75-80% of those produced, are blends of two or more years. They’re usually made in a style reflecting the taste of the winemaker of the champagne house, which is achieved by meticulous and centuries old blending recipes. In some cases these wines may contain other grapes such as Ugni Blanc, also known as Trebbiano in Italy.
Rose Champagnes are generally made by adding a small amount of red still wine to the cuvee, although some producers extract the rose color by macerating the juice with red grape skins. These sparkling wines are usually full-bodied and full-flavored and have the sensual color of a sunset.
Blanc de Blanc Champagnes are bone dry and contain less than 1.5% sugar.
Extra Dry (or Extra Sec) are slightly sweeter at 1.7-3.5% sugar. Demi-Sec is even sweeter and Doux is very sweet at 5% sugar.
Sparkling wines made outside of the Champagne region are not allowed to use the term "Champagne" (exceptions are the United States and some South American countries). However, most top quality, US sparkling wine producers don’t use the term "Champagne," but do indicate that their wines were made by the French "method champenoise."
Method Champenoise is the traditional method consisting of blending various still wines to make a cuvee that represents a style of a particular champagne house (winery). Once the wines are blended in large vats, a dosage (a syrupy mixture of sugar and wine) is added along with special yeasts. The cuvee is immediately bottled and corked. The sugar in the dosage and the yeast cells cause a secondary fermentation to take place in the bottle.
This results in the effervescence or sparkle. During this fermentation, pressure in the bottle can build up to over 100 pounds per square inch. The next steps are "riddling," consisting of positioning the bottles upside down at a 45 degree angle. Every 3 or 4 days, trained workers give the bottles a shake and a slight turn. While a skilled person can turn over 30,000 bottles a day by hand, today many winemakers are employing machines, called in the USA, VLM’s (very large machines). Once the sediment is collected at the top of the bottle, "disgorgement" occurs. The neck of the bottle is placed in an icy solution which causes the sediment to freeze into a solid plug. The cork is removed and the pressure inside the bottle forces the frozen plug to pop out.
At this point a further dosage (the level of sweetness determined by what type of champagne is desired) is added to top off the bottle. The bottle is then re-corked. The pressure inside the bottle is 60-90 pounds per square inch. |
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