Here is your champagne vocabulary; you’ll use it when you go to the champagne
store to acquire your favorite "star" beverage:
Champagne: the most famous sparkling wine in the world. Grape juice
ferments, carbon dioxide gas is formed and bubbles are captured. The smaller the
bubble, the more intense the taste and the price.
Brut: the most popular type of champagne, dry, or not sweet; pairs
well with desserts, chocolate and sweet sauces. Can be used when toasts (such as
are made at a wedding or banquet) are made.
Sec: sweet champagne; pairs well with acidy fruit (such as oranges or
kiwi), mildly-seasoned dishes, and caviar
Demi-sec: even sweeter than sec; can be served as a dessert on its own
or used to flavor a sorbet.
Nonvintage: nonvintage champagne must be aged one year. The majority
of champagne sold is nonvintage. Nonvintage allows for the blending of juices
from different years and locations.
Vintage: must be aged a minimum of three years and must contain 80%
grapes of that year and a minimum of 11 % alcohol. Vintage champagnes are not
produced every year. That is up to the discretion of the vintner.
Blanc de Blancs: champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes,
the most delicate of champagnes. Only 25 % of Champagne region is planted with
Chardonnay. So Blanc de Blancs can be hard to come by. Always serve Blanc de
Blanc before heavier wines. Serve only with very mildly seasoned foods, light
seafood, delicate pastries, or as a toasting beverage.
Blanc de Noir: champagne made from black Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier
grapes. Not as delicate as Blanc de Blancs.
Methode Champenoise: Process can last from 18-40 months. It is a long,
protracted, labor-intensive method, with the wine staying in bottles from second
fermentation through aging, rather than being in vats.