Most folks toast the new year with a glass of sparkling wine, but there are so many other ways to drink Champagne.
By:Josh Appelbaum
While having a meal in France, a glass of Champagne (or perhaps
a Vouvray vin petillant, if you’re being hosted in Touraine) will invariably
be served at the start or end.
But despite the myriad varieties from innumerable origins available
at wine shops and restaurants in the United States, American wine buyers rarely
think of Champagne or sparkling wine as anything but an apéritif for a
special occasion. Champagne has faced hard times since the region’s producers
set prices higher to combat expected shortages prior to New Year’s Eve 2000.
Gary Pavlis, a small fruit and vitaculture expert at the Rutgers
Fruit Research and Development Center who works with the New Jersey Wine Growers
Association, says the entire sparkling wine market, including New Jersey producers,
have absorbed a bit of the backlash because of higher Champagne prices. "The sparkling
wine market hasn’t rebounded yet," he says.
Mike Riley, who buys for Wegmans Wine & Spirits, reasons
that the entire market has taken a hit because Champagne producers traditionally
set the bar for pricing of non-Champagne sparkling wine. Producers of prosecco,
as well as Californian, Australian, South African, Austrian and other sparkling
wines, tier their pricing downward from their Champagne counterparts. In recent
years, says Mr. Riley, the strength of the Euro and weakness of the dollar has
hurt Champagne and sparkling wine sales even as supply has caught up with demand.
But Wegmans is betting on a sparkling wine and Champagne comeback,
thanks in part to new domestic and imported sparkling wines that have appeared
in the U.S., and Mr. Riley says that with a little education, consumers can enjoy
highly satisfying sparklers at virtually any price level from a variety of sources.
However, locally produced sparkling wines might just be the
hardest to find. That’s because very few New Jersey wineries produce sparkling
varieties and even fewer retailers carry them.
Dr. Pavlis says Californian and international producers have
long dwarfed the local market for sparkling wine. He says smaller local producers
don’t turn out a lot of sparkling wine because the process to make it is longer
and more costly than making still wine. "It’s not going to be the first priority
for a vineyard in New Jersey," he says. "You’ve got to have a lot of space for
the aging, riddling and disgorging process."
Charlie Tomasello of Tomasello Winery in Hammontown, one of
a handful of New Jersey vinters that make sparkling wine, says it’s often difficult
to find equipment suitable for small producers.
Mr. Tomasello says his family has been making sparkling wine
since the 1940s using the methode champenoise, which means that a second
fermentation occurs in the bottle when yeast and sugar are added. In riddling,
dead yeast cells are collected by turning bottles that are set in horizontal racks
eight times a day. Once the yeast accumulates, it is usually frozen with something
like carbon dioxide and disgorged. The bottle is then topped off with dosage,
a sparkling wine of the same variety, to displace the yeasty material.
Generally, sparkling wine and Champagne is made of three types
of grapes, the most prominent being Chardonnay, which Dr. Pavlis says is a hardy
variety that does well throughout the state. Pinot meunier, he says, is a grape
variety used mostly to make still wine in New Jersey, and the third grape in the
Champagne triumvirate, pinot noir, is scarcely grown here.
However, the only vintage sparkling wine (made from one year’s
crop of fruit) Mr. Tomasello sells is the Tomasello-Sylvin Atlantic County Sparkling
Pinot Noir 2003 ($18). The vintage is made from the cuvee pinot noir crop grown
at Sylvin Farms in Germania, whose owner Frank Salek has been growing the variety
for over 25 years. Mr. Tomasello describes it as a full-bodied, salmon-colored
brut, a result of contact with the grapeskin during the crushing process.
The winery also sells three non-vintage sparkling wines, a Blanc-de-Blanc
Natural ($14), a Blanc-de-Blanc Brut (both are made from Vidal Blanc) ($12) and
a Spumante ($9.95), made from Traminette, a cross of Gewurtztraminer and Seyvel
Blanc, which produces a fragrant bouquet and is somewhat sweet.
Most of the winery’s sparkling wine is sold at wine festivals
and at Tomasello’s catering facility in Hammonton for weddings, at its New Year’s
Eve party and its own outlets in Hammonton and Lambertville. But Mr. Tomasello
admits the sparklers are a very small part of his business. He says the four varieties
only sell briskly toward the end of the year. "The sparkling wine segment is pretty
soft it’s generally a two-week market," he says.
The market for sparkling wine and Champagne at Wegmans is slightly
longer, with Valentine’s Day and the weeks before college graduations giving yearly
sales a boost, according to Mr. Riley.
But Mr. Riley is somewhat pained to report that nearly 80 percent
of Wegmans’ stock is sold in that same two-week window. "Try as you might to explain
to people that it’s just another variation of wine, people have this conception
that it’s just for special occasions," he says.
In fact, Mr. Riley says he is more apt to recommend more sparkling
wine for dishes of heavy cream sauces, with seafood and poultry, as well as spicy
foods like sushi topped with wasabi or Thai specialties. "Truthfully it’s one
of the best food wines because of the acidity," he says. "You can be more aggressive
in pairing (more robust flavors) with some of the full-bodied Champagnes because
of the acidity and lower alcohol levels."
The buyer says the non-traditional sparklers, from unlikely
regions with innovative packaging and distinct flavors, are steadily luring Wegmans
shoppers back to bubbly. At the Wine & Spirits shops in West Windsor, Mr.
Riley shows off a 2004 Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs in a refrigerated case. Seemingly
targeted at young women, the wine could fit in a handbag, or even match it (it
comes in a small pink aluminum can at $4.49, $16.99 for a full-sized bottle).
In the sparkling wine section, below the shelves that hold Veuve
Clicquot Demi-Sec ($42.99) and Perrier Jouet Brut ($42.99), sits Cuvee Klimt ($19.99),
which Mr. Riley describes as a refreshing and unique choice from Austria, and
a DanieL Methode Traditionale ($13.99) from Marlborough, New Zealand, a region
that consistently produces wonderful Sauvignon Blancs.
Among stacks of cases of Champagne and sparkling wine is one
of Mr. Riley’s domestic favorites, Domaine Chandon Chateau Ste. Michelle Brut
($17.49), which was served exclusively at his own wedding and garnered a 90 point
rating from Wine Spectator magazine. He says Moet & Chandon, the famous
Champagne producers, make several varieties of the sparkler in Napa Valley.
On the same shelf is the new kid on the block: a Mionetto Proseco
($12.49) that uses a crow cap in lieu of a cork. Wegmans regularly adds new sparkling
wines from producers in Spain and Italy and Mr. Riley says he encounters "prosecco
nuts" who seek out different varieties of the sparkling wine, which is traditionally
lighter and more crisp than other types of sparkling wine or Champagne.
Despite ongoing anti-French sentiment, the classic true Champagne
is still a contender for taste on American palette. And producers in other regions
have used the term "champagne," much to the chagrin of Champagne region growers.
But advocates for the French appellation are fighting for distinction on wine
labels and in ad copy. The Web site for the Office of Champagne USA proclaims
that Champagne is "word associated with a specific famous wine district in France,
not a generic term for sparkling wine."
Jeff Carlson, the sommelier for Rat’s Restaurant in Hamilton,
says he is partial to true Champagnes, and the wine list reflects that
only eight "international sparklers" are available among 28 from Champagne. "There
are some wonderful sparkling wines from other regions," Mr. Carlson says. "In
fact, one of the sparkling wines we have by the glass is an (Iron Horse) Russian
Cuvee ($13 per glass) and it’s from Sonoma. In fact it’s been credited with ending
the Cold War. Apparently it was made for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting and
the story goes that they got drunk on it and came to détente.
"But most of them," he continues, "aren’t on par with a true
Champagne."
Mr. Carlson explains that the cuisine at Rat’s is unique, so
in recommending wines to patrons, he likes to "think outside the box." And so
rather than point customers to big-name cuvees like Roederer Cristal, 1990 ($400),
Krug "Clos du Mensil" Blanc de Blancs Brut, 1986 ($370) or Dom Perignon Brut,
1993 ($250), Mr. Carlson likes to highlight Champagnes that speak to the unique
character of the restaurant.
He champions mostly non-vintage Champagnes that are turned out
by small producers who only make between 200 and 500 cases of a particular type.
"It’s very much a family affair," Mr. Carlson says. "They grow the grapes, they
squeeze them, ferment it, they whack the corks on and glue the labels on and put
them in boxes it’s just them and their families."
He says these varieties are a fraction of the price of the well-known
vintages and are usually outstanding due to the care that is given by the producers
to varieties Rat’s carries such as Billiot Brut Reserve ($70), Gaston Chiquet
Carte Verte Brut ($65) and Ployez-Jacquemart Brut ($70). "They are always very
interesting because they’re very singular. They’re done at a specific place with
a certain climate with a good soil structure, and it makes for a very individual
and unique product."
The sommelier often pairs one of these unique Champagnes with
a course on the tasting menu, which is assembled differently every day. "What
we like to do is take the first glass of Champagne and pair it with something
like lobster or oysters, something that’s Champagne friendly," Mr. Carlson says.
While he pairs the more delicate selections with a fine-boned
Champagne, sometimes Rat’s Executive Chef Peter Nowakoski includes something that
needs a more robust flavor. "If you are doing vichyssoise with a crabmeat dumpling
and duck confit, you want something bigger, with a creamier taste."
Although he describes Rat’s as particularly suitable to special
occasions, he says Champagne is appropriate with almost any meal. A bit bolder
than Mr. Riley, Mr. Carlson insists Champagne can be served with anything, including
red meat. Anything, except asparagus. "Nothing goes with asparagus," Mr. Carlson
says.
On New Year’s Eve, Rat’s will offer two prix fixe seatings (5:30-7:30
p.m. and 8:30-9:45 p.m.) with a wine-pairing option that is sure to include an
unusual Champagne. An eight piece dance band will set the mood for a midnight
toast of Perrier Jouet Fleur, 1995.
But Mr. Carlson stresses that Champagne shouldn’t just be thought
of for special occasions, and describes the transcendental power the special drink
has. "The French believe every meal should begin or end with Champagne," Mr. Carlson
says. "If everybody did that I think people would be a little mellower and the
world might be a nicer place."
Wegmans is located at 240 Nassau Park Blvd., West Windsor. For information,
call (609) 919-9300. Wegmans on the Web: www.wegmans.com.
Tomasello Winery and Vintner’s catering facility is located at 225 White
Horse Pike, Hammonton. For information, call (800) MMM-WINE. Tomasello Winery
on the Web: www.tomasellowinery.com.
Rat’s Restaurant is located at Grounds For Sculpture, 16 Fairgrounds Road,
Hamilton. For information, call (609) 584-7800. Rat’s on the Web: www.ratsrestaurant.org

