A Bottle of “The Boy”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 21 (Supplement)

A Bottle of “The Boy”

Some Do’s And Don’t’s For Those Who Would Dine Well. . .

(Written for THE SUN by “CIIANTICLER.”)

nnj|§sjP2sßn HE sparkling wine known to this generation as “Fizz" or “Bubby,” and to the * ast as “ Tlle Widow,” is said to owe I, Mm *its discovery to the cellarer of the Benedictine Abbey at Hautvillers, situated between the towns of Ay and Epernay. This monk, by name Dom Perignon, who is also to be remembered as the first man to substitute cord bark for rags as a stopper for bottles, made his discovery sometime in the Seventeenth Century, that the white wine of champagne is slightly effervescent during the spring, as a result of secondary fermentation. Prior to this both the white and red wines of the district -were fashionable. Henry VIII. had his own vineyard, but it was left to St. Evremond, one of Charles ll.’s French favourites, to introduce the sparkling variety to the English Court. At this same period there was terrific competition between the districts of Champagne and Burgundy for the patronage of Louis XIV. A compromise I was eventually effected on the grounds ! that both wines w'ere essential to comj plete happiness, since burgundy in- | duced the state of mind necessary for | writing a love sonnet, while Cham- | pagne inspired the composition of great music.

it was in 1911 that the French Government laid down that no wine might be known as champagne save that made from grapes grown in the Arrondissements of Chalons, Epernay, and Rheims. All other naturally sparkling wines must be sold as “Vins

Mousseux,” and aerated wines as “Faintaisies.” Beware this last word on a label; it covers a multitude of concoctions! Champagne as prepared for the present market is essentially a blended wine. Owing to the unfavourable climate of the district the vintages vary tremendously with a preponderance of poor ones, and these latter have to be bolstered up with wines from previous better years until they reach the recognised quality of the “cuvee de la maison.” The explanation of this last phrase is that unlike the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, where the names of the vineyards inform the drinker what particular bouquet and flavour to expect, these qualities in the case of champagne are conveyed by the name of the house which made the particular wine he is enjoying. The clean taste of champagne is due to the chalky nature of the soil of the district. The vines—black pineaus and white chardonnays, with the black predominating, for it has to be remembered that the wine is pressed from both varieties —are pruned very close to the ground. The day that picking shall begin and the price a kilogramme of the grapes is fixed by a local committee. The “must” or grape juice is run off into casks which are at once taken to the “caves” —enormous subterranean chambers, several miles of which exist round Rheims. Between the vintage and the next spring the wine is racked into fresh casks three times and then, after the first fermentation is completed, it is bottled. The blending of wines of the same vintage takes place after the first racking, while after the third the al-,

ready-blended wine is further mixed with older wine necessary to bring it up ”to the standard of the “cuvee de la maison” already mentioned. These two processes are known as “assemblage” and “coupage.” Just before bottling the “liqueur de tirage”—a mixture of cane sugar and yet older wine —is added. This last is essential as the liqueur is the cause of the secondary fermentation, without which the young wine would not effervesce. The bottles are then left in a horizontal position for from three to four years. During this period the added sugar is converted into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. As the w'ine grows clearer the sediment forms a deposit and has to be removed. For this purpose the bottles are now placed in racks, necks downward, at an angle of 30 degrees. Next comes the most delicate operation of all —the “remuage.” In this operation the sediment is gradually accumulated at the end of the cork by twisting the bottles round a little every day for a couple of months or so. The “remueur” who can do his 20,000 bottles a day receives the highest salary in the industry. When all the sediment has accumulated, the next stage, known as “degorgement,” takes place. Nowadays this is done by freezing the neck of the bottle. The cork, coated with solidified deposit, is then easily removed. Even by the old method not more than a spoonful of wine was lost by a skilled manipulator. The next process is the addition of the “liqueur d’expedition.” This is a mixture of fine champagne cognac diluted with old w’ine and cane sugar, and is added in the proportion of from one to fifteen per cent. Its purpose : is to give the final degree of sweetness to the wine according to the market for which it is destined; the wine is then labelled according to the percentage of added liqueur that it contains. Thus for the English market the percentage is from half to two and a-half, and the wine is called sec, dry, extra sec, brut and carte anglais. When brought to the table the wine should be slightly “frappe,” and this condition should be obtained by standing the bottle in an ice bucket, but pray do not commit the solecism of putting a lump of ice in your glass. This will not merely make your wine too cold, but will also dilute it and k cause too much of the gas to escape.