Choosing a good wine is not an easy task, even for a specialist, let alone an amateur. The task is somewhat simplified in the case of champagne wines - this category of drinks must meet the highest quality criteria. Therefore, in choosing real champagne, you can freely orient yourself to your taste.
What is champagne
First you need to define exactly what champagne is. Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne province that meets the standards for grape quality and aging. Even good sparkling wines like the Italian bosca are not really champagne.
Champagne wines can be very different from one another. You can find out about this even without tasting - by learning to read the label and analyze the appearance of the wine.
If you don't want to buy champagne without tasting, visit a winemaker's salon - at such events you can usually taste wines.
In many ways, the taste of champagne determines its age. Contrary to popular belief, not always aged wine does better than young wine. Young champagne, i.e. which is between 15 months and 3 years old and usually has a slight fresh fruit or berry flavor. Mature champagne - 3 to 5 years old - contains notes of raisins and dried apricots. Wines aged for more than 5 years acquire a richer taste, in which sometimes even smoked notes can be discerned. It should also be borne in mind that the longer you age the champagne, the stronger the flavor will be.
The choice of champagne is also influenced by its color. The most expensive and prestigious varieties are considered to be rosé champagne. However, the choice between white and rosé wine depends more on your taste preferences. Rose wine is well worth the extra cost if you like the light notes of peach and honey in champagne.
To search for non-standard champagne, it is worth going personally to the winery.
Another important criterion is the amount of sugar in the champagne. French producers use a system for naming the sweetness of wine that is different from the Russian one. Champagne with the lowest sugar percentage is labeled as extra-brut and brut. Champagne sec, which means dry, contains an average amount of sugar. There is even more of it in demi-sec wine, and the sweetest wines are labeled as doux. What is the best drink? There is no definite answer - historically consumers have chosen sweet varieties more often, but modern winemakers are producing more and more brut champagne. It should be noted that sweeter champagne prevails among the most expensive and prestigious brands.
Champagne and cuisine
Your choice of champagne should also be determined by what dishes you are going to serve it with. A more aged champagne goes well with various red meat appetizers, including some types of game. Experts recommend serving pink champagne with seafood dishes, in particular, with lobster, and also with black caviar. Young white champagne will go well with oysters. Sweet wines make a great addition to foie gras pate. Black and white truffles, in turn, go well with all types of champagne.
