Behind the Counter: Down-to earth individuality defines growers' champagne

Cheryl Pick Sommer | For The New Mexican

12/30/2008 - 12/31/08

What do Claudia Schiffer's breasts have to do with sparkling wine?

Everything, if you're the champagne producer Moët Hennessy. Moët is selling Dom Perignon along with a Karl Lagerfeld-designed glass in the shape of the supermodel's upper body. Absent is any mention of flavor intensity, bouquet or other adjectives that often describe wine.

That's because the big conglomerates that control more than 80 percent of the champagne market have created a marketing juggernaut that links their product to celebrities and high-brow celebrations. And it has worked: the large houses sell tens of millions of bottles a year, much of it during the holidays.

But a number of grower-connoisseurs more concerned about taste than appearance are beginning to change things. Taking note of the move toward more distinctive and flavorful food products such as heirloom tomatoes and free-range chickens, they are creating distinctive and affordable artisan champagne that easily transitions from aperitif to fine table wine.

Down-to-earth individuality is what defines these growers' champagnes. While conglomerates concentrate on urban image, growers discuss their rural environment and terroir — the wine essence that comes from soil and climate. As the big producers blend for consistency, grower-producers blend to create something unique.

Champagne is a sparkling wine from a defined region about 100 miles northeast of Paris where chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes are grown. The area's rain and early frosts give way to a short growing season that produces grapes with low sugar content. These acidic grapes spurred the champagne method of wine production characterized by secondary fermentation that occurs in the bottle.

Champagne's initial steps are similar to those of other wines: grapes are crushed, blended and fermented in vats. But then things diverge — the wine is bottled with a dose of sugar and yeast to aid in a second fermentation. Bottles are stored for at least 15 months before being moved to an area where they can be riddled — placed upside down and shaken every few days, causing the sediments to collect in the neck. The neck is then frozen, the bottle is opened to remove the icy-block of accumulated sediment, and a dosage of base wine and sugar is added. Dosage is necessary to balance the acidity.

While champagne can be made from a single grape or a single-year's harvest, some 90 percent are multi-varietal or multi-year vintages.

The number of blends used in champagne is one characteristic that distinguishes grower-producers from the big guys. Since growers don't have space to store wines from many production years, their blends tend toward purity, drawing upon a fraction of the number of wines used by big producers. Grower-producers blend with artistry, taking into account growing conditions and quality. Terroir can be affected by seemingly minor characteristics such as the slope of a vineyard, and unlike the large houses, growers know the exact provenance of each bin of grapes and wine.

Growers can also be selective, keeping their best grapes for their own production and selling the lower quality to the big producers. And because they don't have enormous marketing expenses, their champagne is usually less expensive.

But perhaps most important to the consumer is that each grower-producer has an individual personality that goes into his or her wine, resulting in champagne that is as unique as any other French wine.

Navigating labels

With so many of the big brands owned by just a few conglomerates, how do you know if you're getting champagne produced by the grower? Many growers use their own name on the label, and first names like Henri, Pierre and Gaston are good indicators. To be sure, look for the initials RM in small print on the label. RM stands for récoltants-manipulants or grower-maker. NM, or négociants-manipulants, indicates the grapes were purchased by the maker. RC comes from cooperatives that often sell their grapes to producers, who then allow the cooperative or the grower to affix a private label.

Champagne is classified by level of sweetness. Brut nature, extra brut and brut zero are the driest, with no sugar added with the dosage. Brut is less dry, followed by extra sec or extra dry, and sec. Dessert champagnes are demi-sec and the very sweet doux.

Villages, each of which specializes in a different style, are also classified. Grand Cru village champagnes are considered best and have price tags to match, followed by Premier Cru and Deuxieme Cru.

While most champagne contains a blend of the three predominant grapes, those called blanc de blancs are made exclusively from chardonnay. Blanc de noirs are made from dark grapes — pinot noir and pinot meunier, or a blend of the two. Prestige cuvee refers to special blends. Champagne that uses just one grape will indicate the varietal on the label, usually pinot noir or chardonnay, rather than pinot meunier.

Single vineyard champagne consists of one varietal from a single plot of land, and single vintage is made from the wine of the year indicated on the label. NV refers to non-vintage, with wines from more than one year added to the blend.

There will always be a place for mega-blend champagne produced by big houses, and thousands of growers owe their livelihoods to these brands. But if you are looking for something unique this holiday season, look for RM grower's champagne.

This holiday, I will be serving what I call the affordable Dom Perignon: a grower's champagne from Vilmart in the Premier Cru village of Rilly-la-Montagne. Accompanied by a budget-friendly lobster salad, my guests will never know we are in a recession.



LOBSTER SALAD

(Serves 8)

1/2 shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 head butter lettuce, washed and broken into bite size pieces

8 small white potatoes, cooked and quartered (bite-size pieces)

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 frozen lobster tails, steamed, shelled and cut into bite-size pieces



Combine first 5 ingredients. Add oil in a small stream while stirring to form thick vinaigrette. Dress lettuce with just enough vinaigrette to moisten and arrange lettuce on 8 plates.

Combine potatoes, tomatoes and lobster. Add remaining vinaigrette and toss. Using a slotted spoon, place equal amounts of lobster mixture on the center of each salad.

Santa Fe native Cheryl Pick Sommer is the owner of Kaune Foodtown, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail.