 Sparkling champagne is commonly thought to have originated
in France, but this is not quite the case. The first
French document to mention it was written in 1718, and
details the emergence of sparkling champagne 20 years
earlier. The first ever-documented mention of champagne
in any language is an English text from 1676. At that
time, the English used to import French wines in casks
and then add sugar and molasses to create champagne.
Dom Perignon is often credited for inventing champagne,
but it is generally believed that he spent most of his
time trying to remove the bubbles that appeared naturally
in wine.
The Origins of Champagne
The Champagne region might be in France, but the first
sparkling wine was made in England. The English used
to import French wines in casks and then add sugar and
molasses to create a fizzy wine. The thin, green wines
from the Champagne region were an ideal base for this.
The English had at that time one great advantage over
the French: the glass bottles produced in England were
strong enough to contain the Champagne, whereas the French
bottles were not. The English also rediscovered cork
before the French. Cork had been used in Roman times,
and plays a vital part in keeping in the bubbles. The
use of cork in England is evident in Shakespeare; the
French were using wooden bungs wrapped in hemp, which
would barely provide a seal, never mind holding in the
pressure of a sparkling wine.
Dom Perignon is often credited for inventing Champagne,
but it is generally believed that he spent most of his
time trying to remove the bubbles that appeared naturally
in wine, as these were considered a fault. A pupil of
his, Frere Pierre, wrote a 35-chapter article in 1724
that was dedicated to the work of Dom Perignon. This
lists an amazing set of achievements, including picking
the grapes in several tries or passes to get the grapes
at their best, inventing the traditional champagne coquard
press, creating a consistent wine by blending from different
vineyards, reintroducing cork and pioneering the use
of the stronger English glass, or verre anglais. However,
the article doesn't mention sparkling wines at all.
Improving
the Quality of Champagne
It took about two hundred years to evolve from this
hit-and-miss method of adding sugar to a repeatable way
of creating a high quality, clear sparkling wine. It
was very much an evolution, rather than a revolution,
with gradual improvements in many areas. Among these,
three developments stand out: liqueur de tirage, degorgement
and liqueur d'expedition.
Liqueur de triage
Sugar was added to cause secondary fermentation, but
this was unreliable until the processes involved were
well understood. The amount of sugar to add was quantified
by Chaptal in 1801, and the basic function of yeast in
the fermentation process was described by Pasteur in
1857. Some time around this period, the practice of adding
a precise amount of sugar solution to start a second
fermentation became common, probably following the invention
of a device in 1836 by Francois that easily measured
the sugar content already present. Yeast was added to
this sugar solution, to replace the natural yeast that
is usually lost prior to bottling, and also to help give
a consistent result.
This sugar and yeast solution was called liqueur de titrage
by Robinet in his 1877 book describing the making of
sparkling wines. Literally, this means 'the liquor that
sets the strength of the wine.' This quickly became,
as usage spread in the 1880s, liqueur de tirage, or 'liquor
for bottling.'
Degorgement
Degorgement, or disgorgement, is the removal of the sediment
that naturally occurs during the secondary fermentation.
It is linked to remuage, which is a technique that moves
all the sediment into the neck of the bottle. Without
these processes, champagne would not be the clear, bright
drink it is today.
To remove the sediment, without emptying all of the wine
from the bottle and losing its sparkle, the waste must
first be collected in the neck of the bottle. The sediment
contains a mix of waste products, some of which are very
sticky, so simply turning the bottle upside-down doesn't
work very well, even if you leave it upside-down for
some time.
Nicole-Barbe Clicquot Ponsardin was widowed in 1805 at
the age of 27, and ended up in charge of a major Champagne
house. Veuve (widow) Clicquot cut holes in her kitchen
table and stood the bottles vertically upside-down. By
regularly taking them out and shaking them, much of the
sticky waste was loosened and did collect in the neck.
Some still remained, however. Not satisfied with this,
she hired Antoine Muller in 1810 to help her. He hit
upon the idea of sloping the bottle at 45° to start
with, slowly turning the bottle and increasing the slope
until it was perpendicular.
This process takes about eight weeks, turning each bottle
daily by hand. Mechanical methods have now replaced this
in most vineyards, which have reduced the time needed
to just eight days. It's also cut down on the claims
for repetitive strain injury that were starting to build
up.
Liqueur d'expedition, or dosage
It has always been common practice to add sugar or
molasses to wine to sweeten it, particularly when the
wine is produced in northern areas such as Champagne
where the grapes often produce tart, green wines as they
struggle to ripen fully. Given the imprecise methods
of adding sugar to start the second fermentation to produce
the bubbles, it is no surprise that the early champagnes
were all sweet. Champagne used to be served as a dessert
wine, and even with the drier styles now produced, the
French often continue this custom.
To improve the taste of the fermented wine, at the time
of degorgement the liqueur d'expedition is added. These
days, this is mostly sugar. The sugar is dissolved in
a similar wine to the champagne itself, which helps it
to mix in the bottle. For the sweeter wines, brandy or
similar strong alcohol is also included to maintain the
strength of the final mixture.
Many other substances have also been added to champagne
at this stage. A list from the late 19th century includes
port, tannin, raspberry brandy, kirsch, tartaric acid
and alum.
The liqueur d'expedition is now more commonly known as
the dosage.
Industrialization
The basic method for making champagne has not changed
since about the 1880s - however, there have still been
many improvements that have helped the annual volume
increase from 20 million bottles to about 120 million
bottles today. One significant advance uses brine chilled
to below the freezing point of water. The necks of bottles
ready for degorgement were placed in this brine, which
caused the sediment to freeze into slush. This made it
much easier to remove, as the bottle can be turned the
right way up and the pressure of the wine ejects the
slush. The slush holds all the sediment, so the clarity
of the wine is also improved.
Article © 2002-2006, The
Champagne Shop. All rights reserved.
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