Way cool! But only the good stuff. By Nancy Ross Ryan
Photo by Laurie Proffitt
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Pink Champagne - Is It Cool?
Way cool! But only the good stuff. By Nancy Ross Ryan |
Photo by Laurie Proffitt |
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"As much as anything pink is cool, pink Champagne is cool," says Alice Feiring, Manhattan-based wine writer (catch her fall article on Champagne in Martha Stewart Bridal magazine). "Among people who fancy rosé wines, pink Champagne is cooler than regular rosés, and among people who love Champagne -- they go crazy for pink," she says, confessing to her own recent plethora of pink: "I've been drinking a lot of Billecart-Salmon brut rosé; it's my birthday Champagne." As long as we're hearing confessions, hear mine: Until the early '80s I had no idea that pink Champagne could be cool. Oh, I knew about real rosé wines (not white zinfandel, thank you), but I dismissed the very idea of pink Champagne as declassé. Then, one fine evening, I was dining at Michael's, Michael McCarty's trailblazing California restaurant in Santa Monica. I was celebrating -- -something. The occasion escapes me. The waiter suggested my companion and I try something festive to mark the occasion. We put ourselves in his hands, only to be overcome with utter dismay when he returned with a bottle of pink! Champagne. Being a co-dependent diner, I said to myself, "Oh, maybe he's young and inexperienced. Maybe this is his first big job in a classy restaurant -- let's not embarrass him." The embarassment was all mine. I watched in fascination as he poured the shimmering pink wine into the Champagne flute and, as the foam subsided, took my first polite sip. Divine doesn't say it. Beyond divine: celestial, heavenly, stellar. From that day forward I have been crazy for pink Champagne -- but only the good stuff. "So, what was that pink Champagne?" I ask David Rosoff, Michael's general manager, as I told him the tale. "That was so long ago, it's hard to tell, but I'd bet it was the quintessetial pink Champagne: Billecart-Salmon," he says. "They're a small, family-owned but famous house and the rosé Champagne they make has that fruit-forward, terrific pinot noir quality." And, casting another vote for Billecart-Salmon is Steven Lande, manager and sommelier of The Dining Room a the Ritz-Carlton, Chicago. It's his personal favorite, and, he says, very fairly priced at about $50 retail. On the general subject of pink, Lande counsels, "When in doubt, bring -- or serve -- a rosé. Rosé Champagne goes with everything." Which brings us to the matter of price. How little can you safely pay for a bottle of good pink Champagne? All three enophiles say that the safety net is around $25 retail. But there is almost no limit to how much you can pay. Pink Champagne is one of the world's most extravagant drinks. How can you find and recognize the good stuff when it comes to pink Champagne? It's easier than one might think. First of all -- with a couple of exceptions -- it must be French. Second of all, look for the famous French Champagne houses (called Grandes Marques) and recognized brands, some -- but not all -- of whom make rosé Champagnes. (see our list for suggestions). Now about those exceptions. I have found two California sparkling wines which are quite lovely and eminently affordable, and they are made by the traditional classic method, i.e., fermented in the bottle. (Of course, they can't be called Champagne because they do not come from Champagne, France.) The first is Chandon Blanc de Noirs ($14); the second is Schrambsberg Blanc de Noirs ($28), both produced in Napa Valley. However, where your own individual taste is concerned not all pink Champagne -- even the best stuff -- is created equal. Different Champagne houses have different styles: some make them lean and elegant, others make them big and bold. Feiring says there is one sure way to find out what you like best. Gather a group of friends and purchase a half dozen bottles of good pink Champagne. Then bring them home and chill properly (see our how-to chill and serve suggestions). Then conduct a blind tasting. You can hide the labels by either putting the bottles in numbered brown paper bags or else, á la Feiring, wrapping them in white butcher paper so no labels are legible. Personally, I enjoy the irony of drinking good Champagne from a brown paper bag. Next, pour tasting-size samples, sip and compare. Make notes on your favorites. "That's really the only way to learn what you like not only in Champagne but in any other kind of wine," says Feiring. When you pour you will notice a range of colors -- from the palest blush, "Called cuisse de nymphe -- or thigh of maiden," says Feiring, to a rosy almost salmon hue. But the taste will lead you to your heart's desire. "In a blind tasting you come to a wine without any prejudices," she says, pointing out that often a mere label such as Veuve Cliquot will predispose you to like it: If it's Cliquot it must be good. And good indeed it is, but that's not the point. Which do you like best? Then when you find your own true love, toast the millennium. But don't stop there. All year long, enjoy it on any occasion worth celebrating., with hors d'oeuvres (but nothing fried, please), with entrees of salmon, lobster and duck, and always and ever by itself as an aperitif. But alas! Even the most ardent love can wane. Someday you may find yourself once again looking longingly at irresistible pink Champagnes that have not yet crossed your lips. Don't fight the temptation. Surrender. Fortunately, when it comes to pink Champagne, there are no broken promises and no broken hearts. And old loves yield gracefully to new.
What Makes Champagne Champagne
The Méthode Champenoise: First fermentation: The grape juice is fermented in vats -- used to be oak but now mostly stainless steel is used. A few houses still ferment the wine traditionally in oak casks -- the House of Krug, for example. Once the first fermentation is finished the wines are clarified and filtered. Blending: Next comes the critical blending of wines from different vats to create the house style. Most champagne is blended wine (although there are a handfull of single-village, single-vineyard wines). The master blender will blend not only wines from the different grapes, but wines from the grapes of several vineyards, along with some "reserve" wine that has been kept from the previous year. Would you believe some Champagne is a blend of 70 different wines? Second fermentation: A liqueur de tirage is added -- a mix of sugar, Champagne and yeast. Then it is bottled for the second fermentation, tightly sealed, and allowed to ferment inside bottles which are stored horizontally. The tilt: When fermentation is complete, the bottles are transferred to a special rack which is gradually tilted (this may take months) until the sediment settles down in the neck of the bottle. Blast-off: Lastly, the sediment is removed by disgorging. The necks of the bottles pass through a solution that freezes the sediment into a solid plug. The cap is removed and the plug pops out, thanks to the by-now carbonated gas in the Champagne. Then a dosage of wine and sugar is added. The sweetness or dryness of the Champagne depends upon the ratio of wine to sugar in this solution. Finally! After the dosage, the bottles are corked and labelled, and voilà! Champagne is ready for market.
The following gives you useful general information:
How to chill and serve Champagne, Chez Vous
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LIQUID ASSETS - Jan.-Feb. 2000