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See if you can spot the error in the following sentence from a customer review of an Austin fine dining establishment: “(Blank) offered two good Champagnes by the glass, one Italian and one Spanish … ”
The answer: neither Italy nor Spain produces Champagne. These and many other countries, including the U.S., produce outstanding sparkling wines, but using Champagne is a misnomer. Here’s why: When it comes to wine, location is perhaps the most important ingredient. The land, air, water and weather where grapes are grown – known collectively as terroir – are what make each wine unique. Champagne is not a generic term for sparkling wine, but rather a Denomination of Origin for a specific wine produced from specific grape varietals in the Champagne region of France, about 90 miles Northeast of Paris (therefore, not all French sparkling wines are Champagne either, but other regions of France make excellent products). The Champagne Appellation has some of the strictest, most exacting standards for growing, producing and labeling of any area in the whole wine world, and by law, only wines that come from this region can bear the name Champagne. Hence, these wines are usually expensive. Believe me, you won’t find the real deal by the glass for less than $15, and you won’t want to make mimosas with a $45 bottle of “inexpensive” Champagne. Recently, the U.S. Champagne Bureau launched a campaign to educate consumers and encourage lawmakers to protect wine place names on wines sold in the United States, including – of course – Champagne. The ad campaign highlights a legal loophole in federal law that allows some U.S. sparkling wine producers to label their products “Champagne” even though they do not come from Champagne, France.
Now, all this doesn’t mean that they are not worth drinking! Sparkling wines of great quality are made in many parts of the world, including Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, South Africa, Argentina and Australia, to name a few, and are usually available for a fraction of the cost of real Champagne. These wines are delicious, incredibly food-friendly, and add a festive, romantic touch to every occasion. In general, inexpensive sparkling wines tend to be sweeter than more expensive products so they are suitable for making mimosas, bellinis and kirs, for instance. They range from driest (Brut) to off-dry (Extra Dry), sweeter (Demi-Sec) and sweet sparkling wines like Moscato d’Asti. This is a brief guide to some of the better-known sparkling wines – including recommendations from some of our favorite retailers – for wines available in the Austin area.
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