UNDERSTANDING CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINE - SWEETNESS LEVELS
Bubbles in your wine glass are undoubtedly festive and fun!
Who doesn’t love Champagne? It’s probably fair to say that most would agree that it is a universally pleasing wine and drink for most wine lovers out there.
(side note - no snobbery intended here, we promise. Just please remember that Champagne and Prosecco - and other sparkling wines for that matter - are NOT the same thing! )
At a minimum, most people think of Champagne as their wine of choice when they have something noteworthy to celebrate. Champagne is often consumed to celebrate and commemorate major life events such as birthdays, weddings, showers, graduations and anniversaries to name a few. It is worth mentioning here that while Champagne is one category of bubbly that people love to enjoy, it is but one product that is available within the broader category of sparkling wines i.e. wines that have bubbles in them. It is also worth reminding everyone that not all sparkling wine is Champagne - it is only Champagne if it comes from the region of Champagne, France :)
But regardless, it all tastes delicious! So it’s no wonder why people love sparkling wines!
A BIT ABOUT THE MARKET FOR CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINES
Did you know that overall demand for, and consumption of, sparkling wines has increased drastically in the past decade? So much so that more and more producers and wine regions are turning their eyes and hands to producing more sparkling wines and cashing in on consumer demand.
This is great news for the average consumer. It means that there is a lot of sparkling wine, including Champagne, available for the taking. And it is avaiable at a variety of price points too, meaning more and more people are able to afford this small luxury.
If you’re someone who regularly buys sparkling wines, you may already know that all products in this category are not created equal. There are many unique and differentiating factors to explore when it comes to sparkling wines, for example what grapes they are made from, what region they come from, what method is used to make them….and the list goes on.
UNDERSTANDING SWEETNESS IN CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINES
In this article, we will look at one area in particular that differs from bottle to bottle and that is sweetness, also referred to as “residual sugar”. To understand this better, let’s quickly understand where sugar levels come from in sparkling wines and Champagne.
While the sugar can come from the sweetness of the fruit itself, this is often not the major source of sugar, especially not when we are talking about Champagne. In fact, the sugar in the final wine usually comes from something is routinely referred to as “dosage”, especially in Champagne.
Dosage is sugar that is added at the end of the production process (in the case of Champagne or wines made in the same way that Champagne is, this is added into the “liqueur de l’expedition”) to create a less acidic or bracing wine. The amount of sugar that is added is determined by the winemaker and his/her team and is often dependent on the style that they are trying to achieve and the quality of grapes that they are working with. If the grapes have yielded a high amount of residual sugar in and of themselves, then perhaps too much dosage is not required versus a situation where the grapes did not have a high level of sugar and the wine would be unpleasant without the addition of the dosage. Furthermore, the desired style that the winemaker wants to achieve is impactful because if they want to create a sweet wine, they might need to add sweetness.
SO WHAT ARE THE LEVELS?
Sweetness in all wines is expressed in g/L and is a very important indicator of what the wine will taste like i.e. will it be sharp and dry, will it be pleasant and sweet or will it be somewhere in between.
In the world of Champagne and many other categories of sparkling wines, sweetness is also expressed with specific words. Unlike g/L, these words are often prominently displayed on a label and can help you the consumer quickly ascertain how sweet or dry the wine will be. This obviously matters because of individual preferences when it comes to sweetness, but it also matters when you are trying to decide what to pair your Champagne or sparkling wine. For example, a sweeter Champagne is a good match for sweet treats and desserts while a bone dry Champagne is not. Understanding sweetness can therefore make your special occasion a lot more special!
Luckily, we’ve created a handy little guide for you. Have a peek, we hope this makes it easier for you to find, buy and drink Champagnes that suit you perfectly! This guide is also very helpful for anyone wanting to understand and explore the world of Champagne and sparkling wines at a deeper level.
A NOTE OF CAUTION: Very little in the world of wine is black and white or easy and the world of sparkling wines and Champagne is no exception. While this guide and these labelling terms/sugar levels are very relevant to Champagne and a lot of other sparkling wines coming from Europe, it is important to note that this information is not universally applicable, especially in relation to sparkling wines produced outside of Europe and/or those that have not been made utilizing the traditional method that is employed in the production of Champagne!
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We hope this helps!
Wishing you lots of peace, love, light….and good sparkling wine! Cheers!