Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/599364
54 Beverage Dynamics • November/December 2015 S parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is driven by Millennials: 62 percent of them report drinking sparkling wine each month, compared to 21 per- cent of Baby Boomers. But even people who rarely drink wine will often spring for a bottle of bubbly for the holidays. A lot of consumers like to call anything with bubbles "Champagne," and some U.S. producers reinforce that misconception by labeling their products as, for exam- ple, "California Champagne." True Champagne comes only from the Champagne region of northern France, although sparkling wine is made in nearly every part of the world that makes wine. In the western U.S., California leads the way on sparkling wine, with choices ranging from inexpen- sive André and Barefoot Bubbly to pricier offerings like Roederer Estate and Schramsberg. Oregon and Washington produce bubbles, too; the Michelle brand from Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington is widely available. Spain produces Cava, much of which is bargain-priced. And, of course, there's the bubbly phenomenon from northeastern Italy called Prosecco, a category that's seen tremendous growth over the past several years. Like all wines, sparkling wine starts by undergoing an al- coholic fermentation: Yeast converts grape sugar into alcohol. Sparkling wine involves a secondary fermentation in a sealed container to catch the carbonic gas that's produced. In general, that secondary fermentation is achieved using one of two pro- cesses: the methode champenoise (sometimes known as the tra- ditional method) and the charmat method. In the fi rst, the second fermentation takes place in the same bottle in which the wine is sold. That's the way it's done in Champagne, in high-quality domestic sparkling wine and in Spanish cava, among others. Wines made in the charmat method S parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. S parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. S parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. S parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. S Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- S Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- S Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- S Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- S ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is S ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is S ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is S ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is Sdriven by Millennials: 62 percent of them report Sdriven by Millennials: 62 percent of them report Sdriven by Millennials: 62 percent of them report undergo the second fermentation in a large tank before they're bottled under pressure. This technique is used in Prosecco and in some inexpensive California bubblies. Within all categories of sparkling wine, there is a range of styles. The wines can be very dry or quite sweet, al- though most are dry to slightly sweet. Most are pale; some are rosé-colored; some are even red (like sparkling shiraz from Australia). And the vast majority aren't vintage-dated. CHAMPAGNE Connoisseurs consider Champagne, from the demar- cated region of northern France, to be the gold standard. The marginal climate and chalky soils of Cham- pagne confer a unique combination of delicacy, richness, raciness and minerality on the wines, which are made primarily from chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. The economic recovery has been good to Champagne producers. Shipments to the United States grew in 2014 to 1.6 million cases, up more than 100,000 cases from the previous year, according to the Champagne Bureau USA. The big Champagne brands, like Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon and Perrier-Jouët, account for the vast majority of exports to the United States. But small growers, many of whom sell their grapes, dominate the vineyard scene. In recent years, more of these growers have started producing their own wines – so-called "grower Champagnes." Only about 4 percent of the Champagne exported to the U.S. is grower Champagne. Champagne makers, large and small, each have a house style that's most obvi- ously refl ected in the winery's non-vintage brut, parkling wine is having a renaissance in the U.S. Consumption is up throughout the year, accord- ing to the Wine Market Council. The trend is driven by Millennials: 62 percent of them report drinking sparkling wine each month, compared to 21 per- cent of Baby Boomers. But even people who rarely drink wine will often spring for a bottle of bubbly for the holidays. A lot of consumers like to call anything with bubbles "Champagne," and some U.S. producers reinforce that misconception by labeling their products as, for exam- ple, "California Champagne." True Champagne comes only from the Champagne region of northern France, although sparkling wine is made in nearly every part In the western U.S., California leads the way on sparkling wine, with choices ranging from inexpen- sive André and Barefoot Bubbly to pricier offerings undergo the second fermentation in a large tank before they're bottled under pressure. This technique is used in Prosecco and in some inexpensive California bubblies. Within all categories of sparkling wine, there is a range of styles. The wines can be very dry or quite sweet, al- though most are dry to slightly sweet. Most are pale; some are rosé-colored; some are even red (like sparkling shiraz from Australia). And the vast majority aren't vintage-dated. CHAMPAGNE Connoisseurs consider Champagne, from the demar- cated region of northern France, to be the gold standard. pagne confer a unique combination of delicacy, richness, raciness and minerality on the wines, which are made primarily from chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. to Champagne producers. Shipments to the United States grew in 2014 to 1.6 million cases, up more than 100,000 cases from the BY LAURIE DANIEL THE CATEGORY HAS GROWN WELL BEYOND CHAMPAGNE