Bubble Kings

R brought some lovely champagne the other night. Curiously, it was labeled "extended tirage". Horrifyingly, R could not explain what this meant. As our most erudite wine aficionado and all round impresario, this is aserious deficiency that begs redressal.

In ordinary French winemaking circles (peasants), tirage (from the French tirer, to pull; or the Italian tire, to pick, as in pick-me-up, a rum and caffeine infested tiramisu confection) is the drawing of wine from barrels to bottle it. In Champagne, and the production of methode champenoise sparklers, once the wine is bottled, a dosage of wine and sugar (and a touch of yeast) is added to induce secondary in-bottle fermentation to produce the lovely bubbles. After this, the wine is further bottle aged. The sediment produced from the yeast is frozen and disgorged before the wine is marketed. Tirage is the time the sparkler sits in the bottle for secondary fermentation in addition to the time it ages in bottle before disgorgement. Extended tirage is non-quantitative referring to a longer period of aging before the yeasts are removed. This is tenuous and perhaps even dangerous as champagne turns very quickly unless you cellar well. You do get a deeper color and intense yeasty flavor.


It is not uncommon to be asked to recommend a champagne. Break it up.
Non-vintage champagne -Fabulous for celebrations, parties or because it is Tuesday night

• Bollinger Special Cuve Brut NV: classic, full, dry
  
• Joseph Perrier Brut Rose: elegant dry rose
  
• Lanson Black Label NV: dry
• Laurent Perrier Brut: grand marque consistent
• Moet et Chandon Brut Rose NV: rose, chardonnay fruit
• Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial NV: all three grape varietals
• Pol Roger White Foil NV
• Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut NV: orange label actually :)

Singles for weekend brunches:

• Montana Lindauer Brut: from NZ
• Montana Brut Rose: fruit flavored
• Codorniu Rose Cava: very fruity
• Veuve Clicquot Demi Sec NV: slightly sweeter and with a white label
• Veuve Clicquot Vintage 1996
• Moet et Chandon Brut Vintage 1996
• Bollinger Grand Annee Vintage 1996
  

Magnum selections work when you have more people at home:

• Lanson Black Label NV
• Moet et Chandon Brut NV
• Veuve Clicquot Brut NV
• Bolligner Special Cuvee NV

Sparkling wines are alternatives with some acceptable tastes

• Frexinet Cordon Negro: delightful popular Spanish cava. Magnum
• Codorniu Pinot Noir Rose Cava
• Greenpoint Sparkling NV: M&C's Aussie sparkler
• Rumball Sparkling Shiraz: like cherry Coke. Seriously.

Luxury cuvee for that special occasion

• Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon 1996
• Kruge Grande Cuvee

Tips

• Unlike most beverages, best enjoyed at cool temperatures, champagne should be poured uot the bottle at 43 to 48 degrees. You can chill it by refrigerating it for a few hours or in an ice bucket filled with a mixture of ice and water (throw a handful of rock salt in the slush to speed up the chilling). Never freeze.
• J had been most mistakenly informed that the wire cage must perforce be removed before uncorking. No. Pull off jsut enough foil to reveal the cork. A little red tab guides you. On the side of the wire cage is a section of wire twisted into a curlicue (2.25 turns). Rotate the curlicue counterclockwise 2.25 times gripping the cage (with cork within) with your opposite palm. Do not agitate the bottle. Twist the bottle and never the cork. You want the cork to emerge gradually with the "gentle sigh of a well satisfied woman" and not a loud pop. Nevertheless point the cork away from your face and other valuable faces of current company. A faceful of cork can be quite a dreadful thing as speed imparts missile properties. Always keep a glass handy as some flow might be incident.
• There are two classic serving glasses - the coupe and the flute. The coupe is not a breast and is not ideal for consumption, but merely allows the greatest surface area for bubble release which is cute but little else. The flute captures the bubbles for sustained release. The surface of crystal is rougher than ordinary glass and thus stimulates more bubbles in champagne.
  
• After flute selection (I own no coupes), hold the bottle by placing your thumb into the punt (dimple at the bottom of the bottle) and splay fingers across the barrel of the bottle. This seems dreadfully precarious but you can retain a rather lovely firm hold. Wipe the rim of the bottle with a clean napkin to remove dirt and flowers that have fallen from heaven and pour a small splash into the bottom of each glass. Return to each glass to fill it two-thirds (no more!) in order to avoid the dreadful foamover. That is so embarrassing.
• The reason wine glasses have ever so long stems is to keep your hand heat away from the chilled goodness, keeping the liquid closer to its optimal chilled temperature. Look at the color of the liquid and the form of carbonation. Take a pause. The ideal hue is light amber. Make some polite comments if you should so please. It will impress your special someone. If you are drinking alone, make comments too but acknowledge you have a problem. better bubblies have bubble release in near vertical uniform lines. Do not smell the liquid - it should be non-aromatic