Champagne Problems🍾
sparkling wine for all of life's moments
I’ve been trying to start this post for a few days now, and haven’t been able to adequately find the words. My brother is getting married this weekend (my speech is still bullet points), I’m wanting to be sucked into the world of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame (a fantasy book series that my friend Kelsey joked was horny Harry Potter) and, well, I’ve been wanting to make some grand metaphor about “end of the year reflections”, self-growth, and sparkling wine. But you know what? I haven’t been able to find that perfect bow, and that’s ok. I have sparkling wine recs to share, so metaphor be damned, you’re getting them!
My M.O.: Pop some bubbly to celebrate the little wins, the big-deal-life-changing-moments, and everything in between. Raise a glass to yourself today, and the future that’s yet to unfold. Take what worked, leave what didn’t. Show up for yourself how you would a best friend, stay curious - and if you’re opening nice bottle at a restaurant, share a taste with your server or somm (it’ll make their night!)
…also sparkling wine goes with everything. facts.
Sparkling Wine Buzzwords:
CHAMPAGNE is a region in France, and also the namesake for any wine coming from that region. The grapes used are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Munier (moon-yay) and it’s also done in the “champagne/traditional method”, meaning the bubbles come from a secondary fermentation that happens in-bottle when a small amount of sugar and yeast are added to the still wine, their chemical reaction together causing the carbonation
CRÉMANT is sparkling wine from France, but not from the Champagne region. Usually it’s done in the same “traditional method”, and other grapes can be used as well
BLANC DE BLANCS is sparkling wine made only using white grapes
BLANC DE NOIR is sparkling wine made only using red grapes (usually vinified white, aka the skins aren’t in contact
PET-NAT stands for petillant-natural and is the OG way of making bubbly. Usually sealed with a crown cap (the kind on top of beer bottles). Think easy-breezy light and foamy bubbles and can also be known as “ancestral method”
PROSECCO is sparkling wine from Italy that’s carbonation happens winemakers adding CO2 to still wine
FRANCIACORTA is a region in Italy making sparkling wine in the traditional method
CAVA Spains answer to Champagne, done in the same traditional method
…will it be sweet??
Here’s a little chart to help you with that, from least dry (meaning sweet) to most dry — and yes it’s fucking bizarre that “extra dry” isn’t the driest of them all.
DOUX - more than 50 grams of sugar per liter
DEMI-SEC - 32-50 grams of sugar per liter
SEC - 17-32 grams of sugar per liter
EXTRA DRY - 12-17 grams of sugar per liter
BRUT - less than 12 grams of sugar per liter
EXTRA BRUT - 0-6 grams of sugar per liter
BRUT NATURE – 0 – 3 grams of sugar per liter
BUBBLES, MY BUBBLES!!
Here’s a list to get you going. Once you start on your sparkling journey, keep a note in your phone of ones you’ve liked (snap a pic and add it to the note for all you iPhone users), so it’s easy to keep track of. These range from proper champagne to easy-effervescent pet-nats, so play around and pop open a few different kinds to figure out what you like!
***the nip slip***
AKA my miscellaneous post-script of whatever else I feel like sharing. This one happens to be an event I’m co-hosting next week at Tabula Rasa in LA. A portion of the proceeds are going to Village for Vets , an organization working to end Veteran homelessness in LA. The more the merrier!!! And of course I picked a fun pet-nat as one of the wines.
See you at Tabula! I live a couple blocks away if you need a photographer :)