It’s one of the world’s great wine paradoxes: A delicate, subtle, food-oriented wine calling for introspection most often is used to toast horse and auto race victories, weddings, New Year’s Eve, and World Series.
It’s Champagne, the wine of fireworks and celebration. But really, there’s little excitement in the best Champagnes, which come from that French district.
Unlike famed red wines, there’s little alcohol in bubbly, rarely any oak, and no concentration. Most are made with underripe grapes, and the wines that they make aren’t ostentatious. They’re sublime and crisp.
Most real French Champagnes aren’t action movies; they’re drawing-room dramas—quiet and reserved. And for various reasons, Champagne is expensive, partly due to expensive grapes from low-yielding vines and arduous, time-consuming production methods.
The greatest Champagnes I’ve tasted were all with solemn wine lovers who chatted quietly. Because Champagne is expensive, many wine lovers pour it only when its subtleties will be appreciated: at quiet times.
Only the image-conscious spray it around locker rooms amid people cheering. Better choices are alternatives that are cheaper and less sublime.
All great Champagne houses (including Moet, Salon, Bollinger, Ayala, Krug, Taittinger, Perrier-Jouet, Henriot, and Roederer) have styles that define them. Champagne is unique.
But many cheaper alternatives, like California sparkling wines, can be also, such as Italian prosecco, Spanish cava, and German sekt. Alternatives can be good value, but few ever make it to even modest Champagne-style quality.
However, without fanfare, California bubbly houses (some French-owned) now make great strides toward the style of Champagne, albeit without some of Champagne’s complexity. A dozen California sparkling houses now make such stellar bubblies that I’m amazed.
It began 58 years ago when Jack and Jamie Davies released their 1965 sparkling wine at then-nascent Schramsberg in Napa. Until the Davies’ efforts, nothing domestic ever came close to Champagne.
Lately, we’ve seen amazing sparkling wines from California priced at about $40. Quality French Champagnes start at about $50 and go up to a C-note or more for the best.
If you care about quality at a fair price, try a domestic sparkling. Good ones will be about $25; a few at $15–$20 can be found at discount stores.
In the past three years, a successful company based in Healdsburg, California, offers the wine industry the ability to make quality bubblies that can be sold for $10.
The contract bubbly maker produces some spectacular bubblies for clients such as wineries, retailers, and restaurants. Rack and Riddle in Healdsburg now makes top-rate French-method sparklings for those without the equipment or expertise.
Some of the products actually say “Rack and Riddle” on their back label; others just use the bottling location, Healdsburg. Either way, the wines are excellent. Many are fairly priced.
