Champagne is the perfect antidote to a global recession and looming war. For many, exotic holidays and new homes are on hold. However, like a large box of Belgian chocolate truffles, a chilled bottle of champagne can block out reality for at least a couple of hours.
I just wish it wasn't so expensive. Surely thick, glass bottles and double fermentation can't justify such hefty prices. Some friends in marketing believe prices are kept high just to retain the 'luxury, aspirational' image the champagne houses are seeking.
In my recent research of the champagne production process, it quickly became apparent that a bottle of this particular fizz is never going to become an inexpensive commodity. The rules and guiding principles for the Champagne appellation will never allow it. For the wine producer, the costs start in the vineyard. Strict limits are set for the number of vines grown for each hectare of land and a central controlling body determines how much winemakers must pay the 14,000 Champagne grape-growers for their crops.
The rules continue at the grape press. For every 160kg of grapes only 100 litres of juice may be extracted. After this stage of production, the rules become less strict and the desire of each champagne house to make a wonderful wine comes to the fore.
Over the next two to four weeks, the grape juice is fermented into a dry, acidic, still white wine. This then rests in the cellars over the winter but will twice need to be laboriously separated from any sediment (known as 'racking') resulting from fermentation.
A highly trained, extremely well-paid blender then creates the finished wine. For non-vintage (NV) champagne, more than 40 different wines may be included in the final blend. These wines come from different grapes and vineyards and include reserve wine from earlier vintages. The blender's biggest objective is to create a consistent house style so that every NV bottle of Moet et Chandon or Pol Roger you buy tastes identical. Vintage champagne still use more than 30 different wines, but all will hail from the same year.
