12/8/08 Champagne

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. We are full into the holiday season and I for one am thinking about Champagne! So today let's talk about the different types of that frothy libation that just says special occasion like nothing else! I love Champagne and I love many sparkling wines as well. Although I do not believe that Champagne is only for special occasions, I do believe it makes any occasion seem special. Now to begin with there is a difference between Champagne and sparkling wines. You see in the country of France there is a wine region named Champagne by law grows chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot munier grapes, which are the primary grapes used to make Champagne. The bubbly frothy wine produced in this region is made by a rather complicated process and it is named for the region, Champagne. Now obviously bubbly wine can be made from Chardonnay and Pinot noir grown in California or Washington or Australia. But please don't call it Champagne, because it simply is not from the Champagne region of France. These wines can be very good and are known as sparkling wines. If the wine is referred to as a Brut Champagne is a dry wine with little to know sweetness. If it is referred to as extra dry it is just a bit sweeter than the Brut. We will continue discussing Champagne and sparkling wine a bit more over the next few weeks. Remember to send your wine questions to linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.