Champagne has harsh winters, so the cold regularly stopped fermentation in the barrels. Once it warmed up, the wine would ferment again, but there were no bubbles because carbon monoxide escaped through the barrel grooves. That is why the cruel truth is that we have the glassmakers to thank for the champagne we know today.
Good bottles, aging and fine yeasts
When still wine in Champagne began to be filled into good glass bottles and left to age for a long time on fine yeasts, the Champagne method of secondary fermentation in the bottle was created. So, thanks to the glass we injoy in the most demanding, most exclusive and, for many, the most beautiful drink of modern times.
It is true that Pierre Perignon is the originator of the art of blending wine, which means choosing the right ratio of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, the three main varieties from which Champagne is made. To get the best Champagne, true blending artists also look for the best mix of wines from different locations in Champagne, and in champagnes without a vintage designation, they add older wines to the wine of a single vintage in order to achieve the desired quality even in bad years.
Some are always the same, the best are not
That is why non-vintage champagnes, as the French call those without a vintage designation, are of uniform quality every year and always recognizable. At the same time, they are different in each champagne house because each has its own style and blends wines differently.
Champagnes with a vintage designation, on the other hand, reflect the weather conditions of the year they are labeled. They are made only in good vintages, and the good ones mature for five years before being released on the market. The most famous Champagne houses do not release their vintages from the cellar for seven or eight years after the harvest.
Vintage also means much more expensive
Non-vintage champagnes, by law, must age in the bottle for a year and a half, but most are aged for three. Those without a vintage designation in France cost between 25 and 45 euros, in Italy, paradoxically, about twenty percent less. In Croatia, unfortunately, prices are 40 euros and up. Champagnes with a vintage designation are at least three times more expensive.
Sparkling wines are also made using the charmat method, which means that the wine is fermenting a second time in tanks. A few centuries ago, they tried this in Champagne, but the wooden barrels leaked bubbles. With the advent of stainless steel, this problem disappeared, but less appreciated wines are still made using the tank method.
The father of Croatian good sparkling wines
Stars in a bottle are not, of course, exclusive to Champagne. The French also make sparkling wines using the classic bottle fermentation method in other regions, but the Champagne name is protected, so they have to be called Cremant de Alsace, Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Limoux. Excelent sparkling wine the Spanish make in Catalunia and call them Cava, the Italians calls them Spumante, the Germans Sekt, the Englishmen, Americans and the Australians Sparkling wine and the Slovenians Penine.
The father of good Croatian sparkling wines is Franjo Jambrović (1926–2006), an oenologist born in Međimurje who spent his working life in Plešivica. In the 1980s, he made Zlatni perlan using the classic method of second fermentation in the bottle, and he ushered in the modern era of sparkling wine production in our country. The quantity was small, but his fame is eternal, also because he selflessly shared his knowledge.
Serious production started in Šenkovac
His student was Ivan Turk from Šenkovac near Zaprešić. He was the first in Croatia to protect the geographical origin for his Šenpjen in 1991. The production of Šenkovac sparkling wine using the classic champagne method was continued for some time by Turk's daughter, Dr. Lidija Volovec. The pioneer of Croatian sparkling wines from Šenkovac was followed by many. Among the first were the Tomac family from Plešivica and the Istrian king of sparkling wines, Dr. Đordano Peršurić.
Peršurić became famous with three sparkling wines made from different blends of Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Malvasia. Misal is based on Malvasia, Misal Prestige is Chardonnay and Misal Rose Pinot noir. The first Croatian Blanc de blancs sparkling wine has also arrived on the market from Peršurić's cellar. This is what the French call Champagne made exclusively from white varieties, usualy Chardonnay. After Đordano's untimely death in 2015, his daughters Katarina and Ana continued the business.
The right glass for complete enjoyment
And the stars of sparkling wines are best seen in a narrow, tall crystal glass on a stand. In it, perlage, as the movement of bubbles around the glass is called, starts from the middle of the glass and the bubbles travel evenly upwards. However, a slightly wider wine glass, such as a Riedel for Malvasia, will allow for the true enjoyment of sparkling wines. View to a perlage is not that beautiful, but it is felt in the mouth, and a wider glass allows for better development of aromas and the full taste of a good sparkling wine.
Categories of Champagne and other sparkling wines by the amount of unfermented sugar
Pas dosage
No added sugar
Brut nature
Up to three grams added sugar per litre
Extra brut
Up to six grams added sugar per litre
Brut
Up to 15 grams added sugar per litre
Extra dry
Up to 20 grams added sugar per litre
Dry or Sec
Up to 35 grams added sugar per litre
Demi sec
Up to 50 grams added sugar per litre
Doux
More then 50 grams added sugar per litre