By Bob Souza
Souza Family Vineyards
Why is Champagne the Wine of New Year's Eve?
Bob - the ‘Wine Guy’
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Welcome back and Happy New Year to all my beloved readers! As the question in the title asks, “Why champagne on New Year’s Eve?”
Savvy champagne producers have managed to associate their bubbly with life’s highest moments. Winning the Formula One race or Wimbledon tennis championship, launching a boat (my personal favorite), a baby, a marriage, or the New Year.
Several hundred years ago top champagne houses, many of them run by young women who were widows, sent cases of their bubbly to royal courts across Europe whenever a new baby was born, or a king or queen was crowned, to help celebrate. This early product sampling and event marketing was quite effective, and I’m sure most of you will agree still is today.
Here’s an interesting factoid, why do Indy 500 winners drink milk but Formula One winners only drink champagne? Tradition. One of the first winners of the Indy 500 race, and we’re talking way back when, asked for a bottle of milk to quench his thirst – and did so again when he won the next year. Thus creating the tradition for the Indy 500 winner to drink milk after the race. Believe it or not a local dairy farmer saw an opportunity for product placement and had a bottle of milk ready when he won the third year. Tradition also is why Formula One winners drink champagne.
“Many times what is the pressure inside a bottle of bubbly?” Okay gang here it is, the pressure inside a cold bottle of champagne is about 90 pounds per square inch (psi) which, by the way, is equal to the tire pressure on a city bus. Now you know why the cork can fly so far when you open the bottle. When you get that pop upon opening the cork it’s an indication of the release of the carbon monoxide (CO2 ). Not all of the carbon monoxide is released when open, some of it stays dissolved in the wine and that’s by design.
”What’s the fastest way to chill a bottle of champagne?” It’s not in the fridge, which could take several hours at least, and it’s definitely not in the freezer, even for short periods of time. Instead, submerge your bottle up to the neck in ice water to bring it down to the chilled temperature between 40°F and 43°F for about 20 to 30 minutes. Again, never put it in the freezer, unless you want to see the stars when it explodes.
Keep in mind when a bottle of champagne is at room temperature the CO2 is largely not dissolved in the wine and is just lying there at the top waiting to escape. So when you open it, the pressure goes from 90 psi to less than 1 psi in just seconds – all of the CO2 makes a run for it out of the bottle and it sprays everywhere, leaving your bubbly flat. We’ve all seen that scene in the movies where the waiter brings a lovely bucket with the champagne and it is not just full of ice, it also has ice water in the bucket
– it really does work, guys.
There’s also been a change as to what is the appropriate glass for champagne. As I’m sure most of you have noticed the wide glasses aren’t used anymore because they allow a lot of bubbles to escape. That’s why today we use fluted glasses with their slender long bowl and narrow opening.
It’s also a good idea to tilt the glass when pouring the champagne to reduce the head and keep the bubbles in the beverage rather than let them escape into the air.
One last really interesting fact about champagne: Balloon pilots for the last 200 years or more have carried a bottle of champagne in the basket while ballooning as a tribute to the farmer or rancher where they happen to land their balloon.
We know this first hand as a number of years ago on the 4th of July a balloonist landed at the Souza Vineyard and Bob the Wine Guy was presented with a bottle of champagne by the pilot, as custom dictates. The reason it’s not wine is because when agitated champagne makes a terrific fire extinguisher, really. And it was used for that purpose as hot air balloons were fed with a live flame.
Before I take my leave, I’d like to share a story: My aunt & uncle were attending a dinner party and after the meal, the wives went into the kitchen. The guys were sitting around talking, and my Uncle Giovanni says, “Last night we went out to a fabulous new restaurant that I’d highly recommend.”
One of the men says, “What’s the name of the restaurant?” Uncle Giovanni thinks long and hard and finally says,”Uh, what is the name of that red flower you give to someone you love?”
One of the guys replies, “A carnation?” “No, no.” Uncle Giovanni says. Another guy suggests, “The Poppy?” “No, no, no,” growls my uncle.
“You know – the one that is red and has thorns.” His friend finally says, “Do you mean a rose?”
“Yes! That’s it!” my uncle says. He then turns toward the kitchen and yells, “Rose, what’s the name of that restaurant we went to last night?”
Bada Bing!
Hope 2015 will be a great year for you. Abbondanza Fortuna!
