Issue date: December 30, 1998

Break out the bubbly: A brief history of champagne, and recommendations from the wine manager at Roberts

Champagne has launched a thousand ships, toasted countless brides and bridegrooms, and attended zillions of New Year's Eve parties.

Long before it was a sparkling wine linked to celebrations, Champagne was a region in France. Located at a crossroads of northern Europe, it was a center of European trade during the Middle Ages, famous for the fairs of Champagne. This was centuries before monk Dom Perignon discovered the fermentation process that resulted in the bubbly wine.

Dom Perignon, remembered for his famous line, "Come quickly, brothers, I'm drinking stars," was cellar master for the Abbey of Hautvillers near Epernay in the 1600s. Before the mid-1600s, there was no champagne, as we think of it. French wines were still wines, but the cool climate of the region and its effect on wine making were to change all that.

Bubbles in the wine were caused by Champagne's cold climate and short growing season. There wasn't enough time for the yeasts on the grape skins to convert the sugar in the pressed grape juice into alcohol before the cold winter temperature stopped the fermentation process. When spring came, fermentation started again, this time in the bottle. Refermentation created carbon-dioxide, which became trapped in the bottle -- thus the sparkle.

At first, Dom Perignon considered sparking wine a sign of poor wine making. He spent a lot of time trying to prevent the bubbles, the unstableness of this "mad wine." And while he was not able to prevent the bubbles, he did develop the art of blending several different grapes, developed a method of pressing black grapes to yield white juice, and improved clarification techniques to produce a white wine brighter than any ever produced before.

Although Dom Perignon died in 1715, after 47 years as cellar master, the basic principles he laid down are still used to make champagne today.

While wine produced in the Champagne region is the only true bearer of the name, 44 California wineries, several associated with French wineries, produce a sparkling wine. California also leads the nation in the consumption of champagne/sparkling wine: 7.3 million gallons in the Golden State, compared with 0.6 million gallons in Ohio. Most of us, 73 percent, drink the domestic bubbly, instead of the higher-priced French product.

More champagne is being drunk by more people than at any time in history, according to the Wine Institute. It is considered the drink to welcome the next millennium. Rumors abound that the major brands of champagne are already sold out for New Year's Eve 1999. "It's already hard to get the top cuvees, like Roederer Cristal and Moet's Dom Perignon, and even Roederer's California sparkler, Roederer Estate," says a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Gerald D. Boyd.

John Akeley, wine manager for Roberts of Woodside, isn't worried about running short for the millennium -- in fact, he thinks some of this talk is hype. Last week he was more concerned about taking care of his customers for this New Year's Eve.

While Silicon Valley millionaires are likely to be toasting the New Year with $150 bottles of the bubbly they picked up at Roberts, Mr. Akeley is just as happy to help customers find a nice $20 bottle of the sparkler.

A veteran of the wine business, having worked at both Beltramo's and Draeger's before coming to Roberts five years ago, he's almost always on the floor to give customers advice. "Customers feel our wine selection is best for quality and diversity," he says.

Asked for recommendations for sparkling wine in different price ranges, Mr. Akeley suggests Aria, a Spanish cuvee from Sigura Viudas at $8.99. At $20, he likes Roederer Estate Brut. "It consistently receives high ratings from the Wine Spectator." For $100, he recommends the monk's namesake, Dom Perignon. "It is the epitome of elegance and sophistication."

For the really big spenders ($150) there is Krug vintage champagne, "a wine of tremendous richness and power," Louis Roederer Cristal, or Bollinger R.D.

No longer considered a luxury, champagne, with its high acidity, pairs nicely with food. It goes with more than just caviar; try it with turkey and the trimmings, a wedge of brie, or a slice of angel food cake. Like Dom Perignon, you'll think you're drinking stars.



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