Ever Wonder? What Does Cremant de Bourgogne Mean on a the Label of a Sparkling Wine?

An up-coming Behind the Cork™ will feature a sparkling wine that is labeled as “Crémant de Bourgogne.” One might assume that this title indicates a style of sparkling wine. But, actually, no. Crémant de Bourgogne is actually the appellation for sparkling white and rosé wines that are produced in Burgundy France.

Crémant (pronounced "cray-mont") covers all French sparkling wines produced outside the boundaries of the Champagne region.

The two main grape varieties grown in Burgundy are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Gamay, Pinot Gris and Aligoté are also grown in the region, but on a smaller scale.

Sparkling wines labeled “Crémant de Bourgogne” must be produced from a minimum of 30% of any combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and/or Pinot Noir with no more than 30% Gamay included in any wine.

As stated earlier, sparkling wines labeled “Crémant de Bourgogne” must be grown in land covered by the Crémant de Bourgogne appellation. And, this appellation is large! It covers nearly 5,000 acres from the Grand Auxerrois and environs, in the north, to the southern extremes of Beaujolais. It also includes the villages of the Cotes de Beaune and Cotes de Nuits.

All sparkling wines of Crémant de Bourgogne are made in the methode traditionelle where the second fermentation is done in the bottle.

Crémant de Bourgogne is produced in various levels of sweetness ranging from Brut Nature (no sugar added) to Doux (more than 50 gm/L of sugar). In the U.S., you will probably find either Brut (6-12 g/L) or Extra Brut (less than 6g/L).

So, next time you are looking for a bottle of sparkling wine to enjoy, look for “Crémant de Bourgogne” on the label. Cheers!

It's the Holidays and Time for Sparkling Wine!

Sparkling wines are perfect for the holidays. Here’s a few types to consider enjoying:

Photo by Oliver Sherwin on Unsplash

Champagne

Champagne is a sparkling wine that is produced in the relatively small region of Champagne in France. Only those sparkling wines produced in this region are allowed to be labeled as 'Champagne.'  And an entry level bottle of Champagne is going to start in the $50 range. So, typically you are toasting with some other sparkling wine. Read more

Some Champagne facts:

• Champagne is typically produced from three grapes — Pinot Noir (Yes! A red wine grape!), Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier

• To be called Champagne, it must be produced in the Champagne region of France. Otherwise, it’s called Sparkling Wine

• Champagne is produced using a process called the méthode champenoise where the bubbles are formed in the bottle during a second fermentation.

U.S. Sparkling Wine

In the U.S., there are a tremendous number of makers of sparkling wine. Most will produce a wine that can taste very much like the French Champagne. And, you can also find rosé sparkling wines.  An entry level bottle of sparkling wine in the U.S. can be as little as $5. Read more

Prosecco and Asti

In Italy, Prosecco is their signature sparkling wine. Produced in the Veneto region just north of Venice, this sparkling wine usually produces bigger bubbles. Bottles of Prosecco can be purchased in the $10- $15 range. Read more

Cava

The sparkling wine of Spain is Cava that is produced in the Catalonia region of Spain where Barcelona is located.  Nice bottles of Cava can be purchased for around $15. Read more

Styles of Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Brut Nature - This style is bone dry meaning it has little or no sugar content (0–3 g/L sugar).

Extra Brut - This style is also very dry but, it can have up to twice the sugar level of Brut Nature (0–6 g/L sugar). This little bit of sweetness creates a wonderful balance with Champagne’s naturally high acidity.

Brut - This is the most common style. While considered “Dry” this style can have twice the sugar of Extra Brut (0–12 g/L sugar).

Extra Dry - This is the one that always confuses people. This style is sweeter which actually makes it also taste a bit fruity (12–17 g/L sugar).

Dry - The confusing continues. This style is getting up there in sweetness (17–32 g/L sugar).

Demi-Sec - Now you’re talking Sweet (32–50 g/L sugar). This style works well with desserts or cheeses.

Doux - This one, while very rare to find, is really sweet (50+ g/L sugar).

No matter which type or style you choose, give sparkling wines a try this holiday season. Cheers!

Today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day!

Beaujolais Nouveau. Its name literally means 'new Beaujolais.' This wine is named for the village of Beaujeu in France, which is a small region just south of Burgundy.

On the third Thursday of each November, which is November 16th this year, France releases Beaujolais Nouveau wine to the world.

The 'new' part of this wine is due to the fact that the grapes used to make this wine are picked from the vineyards just a couple of months prior to its release! That's compared to most wines that spend at least a year or more going through the fermentation and aging process before being bottled and shipped to market.  But Beaujolais Nouveau gets from the vineyard to you in about two months!

Word has it that this wine was originally produced for the harvest workers in France to immediately thank them for all their hard work just after harvest was complete. But now its production is somewhere between 30-60 million bottles so that the entire world can enjoy.

Although there are more than 100 Beaujolais Nouveau festivals held each year in the Beaujolais region, the 'Les Sarmentelles' multi-day festival is said to be the biggest and most famous for celebrating the release of Beaujolais Nouveau. The festival includes music, dancing, fireworks and, yes, plenty of wine.

This wine is produced entirely from handpicked Gamay grapes and because it is so new, it is very fresh and fruity. Many describe Beaujolais Nouveau as having flavors of candied cherries, strawberries, red plum, bananas and and even bubble gum.

Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be enjoyed young, not critiqued. So, pick up a bottle soon and give it a slight chill. Then raise a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau to the French harvest workers. It's Beaujolais Nouveau Day! Cheers!

Ever Wonder About Italian Wine Blends?

Much like France, Italy has a long tradition of wine. In the 1960s, Italy formalized their wine appellation system modeled after the French system. Under this system, each wine region in Italy was required to operate under strict rules for the types of grapes they were allowed to grow and how their wines were to be produced.

Under this system, native Italian grapes were required to be used in Italian wines. These native grapes included Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Montepulciano.

These regulations were quickly criticized as being overly restrictive and led small groups to push-back against them. By the end of the 1960s, these groups were producing wine blends with non-native grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

Unfortunately, these producers of wines using non-native Italian grapes and/or blends of different grapes were forced to bottle their wines using the generic title of Vino da Tavola (Table Wine) that is associated with Italy’s lowest-quality wines. Instead of settling for this, they chose to unofficially call their wines “Super Tuscans” so as to distinguish them from inexpensive table wines.

Finally, in 1992, the Italian government created a new wine classification called “Toscana Indicazione Geografica Tipica” or “Toscana IGT” which is permitted on any wines, including wine blends, produced in any of Tuscany's ten provinces.

The Toscana IGT continues to be used to distinguish Super Tuscans. So, look for Toscana IGT on the label of these unique Italian wines. Cheers!

What Makes a Wine Kosher?

Photo by Aaron Ovadia on Unsplash

Kosher wine is made just like other table wine, with an extra set of rules to make it consistent with Jewish dietary law. In order for a wine to be deemed kosher (Yiddish for "proper" or "fit"), it must…

• Be made under the supervision of a rabbi

• Contain only kosher ingredients such as the yeast and the fining agents

• Made with equipment that has been certified by a rabbi to make kosher wines

• Be free of preservatives or artificial colors

• Be handled from start to finish by Sabbath-observant Jews

• Producers of Concord-based wines (such as Manischewitz) that are sweetened with corn syrup must produce special "kosher for Passover" bottlings which are labeled as such

• Some kosher wines are heated as part of the production process. These wines are known as ‘mevushal’ which literally means the wine was ‘cooked’

• Kosher wines will have certification symbols. One of the most common looks like a ‘U’ in a circle Ⓤ, suggesting that it’s certified by Union of Orthodox Rabbis. A ‘K’ in a circle Ⓚ indicates it’s kosher, a ‘K’ in a circle with a ‘P’ Ⓚ-P is kosher for Passover, a ‘K’ in a star, cRc and Hebrew ‘ר‎כש ’ are also indicators that the wine is kosher.

So, in summary, kosher wines don’t necessarily taste any different from non-kosher wines, or have higher or lower quality; they simply must be produced in accordance with a set of Jewish dietary laws.

L’Chaim! Cheers!