Wine Guide - Champagne - Carousel Card Item 

<h3>The pop of the cork, the fizz of the bubbles, the clink of the flutes; is there any greater encapsulation of joy and celebration than a bottle of <a href="https://wine.qantas.com/c/sparkling-champagne/champagne">Champagne</a>?</h3>Ah, Champagne. No beverage better encapsulates joy and celebration. No beverage is held in quite so high regard. From a tiny corner of France, the unique wines produced in the Champagne region are so famous that the area’s name has become an unintended by-word for all sparkling wines, to such a degree that laws have had to be created in order to protect the purity of the term. But what exactly makes a Champagne wine? When and how was it first created? And why is the liquid – unremarkable in many ways – such a global phenomenon?

Wine Guide - Champagne - A delicious mistake

Wine Guide - Champagne - What's in a Name

Wine Guide - Champagne - Quote 

<h4>The méthode champenoise </h4>A very particular method is used by the winemakers of Champagne to produce their famous product. It is called méthode champenoise, and was created, somewhat surprisingly, by English scientist Christopher Merret. After primary fermentation and bottling of the wine – generally a blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay – a second fermentation process is triggered in the bottle by adding yeast and sugar. Fermentation takes 1.5 years for non-vintage wines, and three years for vintage. A process called “riddling” is undertaken during fermentation, which involves shaking, tipping and/or turning the bottles daily to collect the sediment on the underside of the cork. Once fermentation is complete the neck of the bottle is frozen, and the pressure from within the bottle pushes the frozen sediment out, before a cork is quickly inserted to retain the pure Champagne and an appropriate amount of carbonation.

<h4>The famous names of Champagne </h4>Most sparkling wine drinkers will be well acquainted with the famous producers of Champagne. Each is held to a particularly high standard, so you can be guaranteed a fantastic wine no matter which label you choose. In order of bottle production, the biggest Champagne wineries are: <ul><li><a href="https://wine.qantas.com/c/brand/moet-and-chandon">Moet &amp; Chandon</a></li><li><a href="https://wine.qantas.com/c/brand/veuve-clicquot">Veuve Clicquot</a></li><li>Nicolas Feuillatte: 10 million</li><li>Laurent Perrier: 7 million</li><li>Dom Perignon: 5 million bottles (vintage years only)</li><li>G.H. Mumm: 5 million</li><li>Piper Heidsieck: 5 million</li><li>Pommery: 5 million</li><li>Taittinger: 5 million</li></ul>

The most unique of mouthfeels The combination of early picked, naturally sweet grapes and added sugar for fermentation makes Champagne a particularly sweet wine. Primary flavours of citrus, peach, white cherry, almond, and a hint of charcoal will invade the palate. Intensely dry and with a high acidity, the experience can be best described as “sharp”. Freshly shucked oysters, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs make for the perfect champagne food pairings, as do nuts.

<h4>Champagne titbits </h4><ul><li>Have you got a spare $2 million? Then you’re of the required means to invest in an Alexander Amosu-designed bottle of Goût de Diamants Champagne.</li><li>The chalky soils of Champagne, so adept at growing grapes, are actually the remnants of an ancient inland sea bed.</li><li>Champagne is bottled at 90psi – almost three times the pressure of your car tyres. This allowed one lucky cork to set a distance popping record of 54 metres!</li></ul>

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