Finer details of tiny bubbles in a glass

NELSPRUIT – “If I could drink only one wine, it would be Champagne,” said the host of Wine Library TV. Gary Vaynerchuk is not only famous as the host of the video blog, dedicated to the drink, but many would agree with him.

South Africa’s per capita consumption on wine lags far behind other famed producers like France, Italy, Spain, Australia and Argentina and often undiscerning consumers tends to overlook the finer details surrounding the sparkling variety of wine.

According to the Cape Wine Academy Certificate Wine Course book, fully sparkling wines, sold with a pressure of between five and six atmospheres, and which derive their bubbles from secondary fermentation that occurs in the bottle, is called Champagne if it originates from that region in France. Wine made in South Africa in this time-honoured French tradition is called Méthode Cap Classique (MCC), as we are not allowed to call it Champagne.

The book explains that various methods can be used to capture the gas in the sparkling wine. Méthode Cap Classique is the pinnacle of sparkling wine. It is a well-known fact that only sparkling wine using this method and which originates in the region in France is allowed to carry the name. This, however, does not prevent other winemakers from producing sparkling wine of the same quality using the same French method.

Mr Michael Heyes of Distell, South Africa’s leading producer of Cap Classique and sparkling wines, says that most MCCs are made using the same grape varieties classically used in Champagne, namely Pinot noir and Chardonnay.

According to the academy’s book, this method calls for a second fermentation of the base wine which takes place in the same bottle in which it will be sold. The grapes used for the making of Cap Classiques are usually picked before they are fully ripe as opposed to grapes used to make still wines.

At first, the wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks. After making the base wines, a tirage (a mixture of sugar and yeast) is added before the wine is bottled. The second fermentation occurs in the bottle and with the carbon dioxide unable to escape, the delicate bubbles are created. This process should produce the bubbles and required pressure in four to eight weeks.

The wine is then left to rest on the inactive yeast cells for between 12 – 60 months. During this period of maturation on the lees, additional flavour is imparted and the wine develops its complexity and character. Once the wine has reached its optimal maturation, the dead yeast cells, known as lees, need to be removed from the bottle. This is achieved by placing the bottle in an inverted vertical position so that the deposit can move to the neck of the bottle, a slow process that can take up to seven weeks to complete.

Finally, the deposit is removed, by plunging the neck of the bottle into a chilled brine solution which freezes the deposit as a solid pellet of ice. The pellet is expelled from the neck when the cap closure is removed from the bottle. The bottle is then topped up with dosage (a mixture containing wine and sugar syrup) and finally corked and wired for sale.

A simpler way to achieve a fizzy sparkling wine is by pumping carbon dioxide into a wine tank and bottle the liquid under pressure. With this method the wine produces slightly larger bubbles which escape rapidly once the bottle is opened.

To identify a Cap Classique, look for:

Tiny and persistent bubbles in the glass

A balance between acidity and sweetness

No obvious grape variety is detectable on the nose

MCC’s are usually made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Nutty and biscuit characters developed during secondary bottle fermentation and prolonged maturation on the lees.