Champagne – Not Just A Snooty Drink For New Year?

Written by Ian Robertson on 17th December 2007

The mere mention of the word sends snorts of derision through Aussie blokes. They charge their glasses for toasts at weddings and midnight on New Year’s Eve before heading back to the bar/esky to knock off a few more Extra Dry’s.

“Yeah, the girl’s like it, but it is a bit poncy.”

Yep, Champagne can be a struggle to convince the Aussie bloke. But I am here to give it a shot.

Of course, when I say Champagne, I say it in the approved sense of the name – being the sparkling white wine that originates from the French region of Champagne and is made from any sort of combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The exact recipe of course differs from Champagne House to Champagne House, so that they all have their individual style. They are bottle fermented to give that very fine, elegant bead (or bubble, to you and me) and are grown in a quite cool climate with chalky limestone strewn soils that impart their own unique freshness and character.

But, it is fair to say that the real success of Champagne, fine a drink as it is, has been in marketing.

Champagne is a product that is produced in fairly substantial quantities. Given that there seems to be enough to meet demand, in the usual economic sense you would expect it to be cheaper. But of course, Champagne has long been associated with the art of celebration – it is drunk to mark a special occasion or a party. With this ingenious little piece of brand association complete, the price has been able to stay quite high over the years in keeping with the aura of prestige. And, in a piece of “one for all and all for one” the Champagne Houses have pursued any inappropriate use of the term Champagne with zeal in order to protect the uniqueness of their brand – thus why there is such a minor stink in wine circles if you call an Aussie sparkling white wine by the name of Champagne.

So enough of the history and economics class – why am I here trying to tell you to drink it?

Well, in my humble opinion, no other grouping of sparking wines has ever approached Champagne for its elegance, its fresh zing, its minerality or its length of flavour. Be it Australian (and we are starting to produce some nice wines, don’t get me wrong) Italian Prosecco, Spanish Cava or even some fine bubbles from the UK, the French have a magic in the bottle with Champagne.

Recently I conducted a tasting of six NV Champagnes – which means the standard label of most Champagne Houses compiled from many vintages with the aim of producing a consistent product. What struck me was not only the consistent quality (I was throwing around a lot of Outstanding ratings) but the key stylistic differences – from bronzey steely power through to pretty flowery elegance and everything in between, there was a style of match.

So, convinced?

Click Here to sort out which Champagne you want to drink over the X-Mas New Year break.