Fun (Wine Review)

Champagne -

Why I have chosen to write about champagne this week is because sparkling wines that originate from the region in France of Champagne are the only ones that have the “right” to be called champagne. All others can only be termed as sparkling wines.

One of the main elements of champagne is the yeast that is used in it that will make the bubbles. When you first get the champagne in your hand, you must smell it to see the fineness and quality of its yeast to determine how good the champagne is. Champagnes are made from 3 grapes and surprisingly, two grapes of the three are red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and one is white (Chardonnay).

The History of champagne goes as such: a monk named Dom Pérignon was making wine for his colleagues when, unbeknownst to him, he failed to complete the fermentation before bottling and corking the wine. During the cold winter months the fermentation remained dormant, but when spring arrived the contents of the sealed bottles began to warm and fermentation resumed producing carbon dioxide that was trapped in the bottle. Later that spring Dom noticed that bottles of wine in the cellar were exploding, so he opened one that was intact and drank, declaring "Come quickly! I'm drinking stars!" Thus, Champagne was born and named after the region where it was discovered.

The French love to have a small and light drink before starting their meals called an aperitif. Here are two very popular champagne aperitifs that you could use

Bellini

1 parts Peach Schnapps

3 parts Champagne (or Sparkling wine)

Combine in champagne flutes, serve.

Kir Royale

- Cassis (1-2 tablespoons or 15-30 ml) (sweet blackcurrant flavored liqueur)

- Champagne (about 6 ounces or 150 ml)

- Flute or Champagne Glass

· Pour the Cassis into the wine glass

· Add the Champagne

· Serve