4.9/5.0
BEST WITH CHAMPAGNE
The birds are chirping, the plants are starting to bloom and trendy "in-locations" such as Undosa on Lake Starnberg or the well-known soccer stronghold called "Hugos" in downtown Munich are starting their St. Tropez white parties to attract wealthy dentists and wannabes - To offer a spectacle again to the nouveau riche.
This summer, too, records will probably be set again in destroying champagne - or better in "Who manages to annoy the most people with a champagne shower in the shortest time?". I can already hear the white Moët “cups” jingling, with which the fur-wearing Range Rover mums, who are in double-digit plus degrees, toast their wealthy husbands what feels like 50 times.
There are more brands of champagne than football teams in the Bundesliga. Starting with the beginner champagne Moët & Chandon, through club darling Dom Pérignon (because it glows so well in the dark club, if you add a few extra pennies and treat yourself to the luminous version) to Armand de Brignac (better known as Ace of Spades) by rapper legend Jay Z, for all the Instagram millionaires who want to fool their followers into living a luxurious life without limits.
Even with 2 per mille, you can still see my slight aversion to this tingling lifestyle drink called champagne. This is mainly due to all the 16-year-old “rich kids” who smack dad’s money for champagne without even having earned a single cent themselves, and of course the rest of the socialites in Munich who expressed their fame by sipping champagne glasses wants to bring. In general, I'm suspicious of people who drink sparkling wine from thin flute glasses and not from normal wine glasses - but that's another topic. For all image drinkers who only drink champagne because of their own reputation in front of others, here is a short explanation.
Production of champagne
Starting with the grape harvest, which is carried out carefully by hand, the production of champagne is tied to strict quality standards. The red base wine varieties Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are mostly used for Champagne. Pressing quickly prevents too much dye from being released. The production of rosé champagne usually does not involve mash fermentation, but simply a little red base wine is added to the white base wine. The must is then poured into wooden barrels or fermentation tanks and yeast is added. The same fermentation process takes place here as with normal wine.
You can find out more about this in our article “10 Things you should know about wine”.
What makes a champagne so special is above all its cuvetting. Depending on the winery, different locations, grape varieties and vintages are mixed together, also known as assemblage. The cuvée is then bottled and mixed with a mixture of wine, sugar and yeast. This allows fermentation. The bottle is closed with a crown cork. This mixture is also called “Liqueur de tirage”, for all those who want to impress their friends with their knowledge.
For all passionate heavy drinkers (including me) a long time of at least 15 months has passed. The final step in champagne production is called disgorging. Here, the turbidity produced by the fermenting yeast during bottle fermentation is removed. The bottle is then filled with a dosage, which can consist of a sugar solution, a sweet wine or even brandy, and sealed with a cork.
So much for the theory. It doesn't all sound bad, does it?
I personally don't like people who do everything badly without giving any constructive suggestions or alternatives. Because of this, I stick to my moral principles. My answer is “Winzersekt”.
Almost everyone Winery has a bubbling representative in the portfolio. Target group and quality don't play a role here. Winemakers' sparkling wines in Germany are mostly made from Riesling. Riesling is also predominantly used for bottle fermentation.
When I think of good sparkling wines, I immediately think of representatives such as Dönnhoff Riesling brut vintage 2008 or, for example, the pink variant Adam Rosé brut from Henkell. Both cost around half of an entry-level champagne and are really impressive.
All those who now think I'm too critical - you're right. Champagne is a great thing for anyone who can and wants to afford it. The excellent quality, for example, of a Heidsieck Monopole - Blue Top Brut or a Taittinger Brut Reserve really conjures up a taste explosion in your mouth and the delicacy of the aromas makes you forget all the bad wines you've ever drunk. Champagne is and remains a fine art that not many have mastered. Only the best grapes and sophisticated technology make such an experience possible and I take my hat off to that. It's just a pity that champagne has been put in such a bad light by the "splashes" of the "club elite".
The fact is, however, that sparkling wine from Germany and other countries is underestimated and is simply suppressed by cheap Prosecco from Italy or champagne from France. It's really a shame given the number of good wines we have at home.
I will probably never let myself be persuaded by Mr. Roederer as long as there are beautiful sparkling wines from Germany - true to the motto "Dahoam is Dahoam".
And if I should break my resolution, then only with wines (sparkling wines) from South Africa - of course ;-).
Haute Cabiere's MCC (sparkling wine)
Also this South African sparkling wine from Winery Haute Cabière is something to be proud of. The sparkling wine is the ideal aperitif and is not too overpowering with its balanced acidity. Its biscuit and light marzipan aromas make it a very special wine.
