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Un Petit Primer on Grower Champagne

At the holidays and special occasions, many of us turn to Champagne to add a celebratory note to our gatherings. And while Champagne is certainly festive, this custom of occasional use leads us to underestimate the versatility of this great wine. Champagne: it ain’t just for celebrations anymore. Nowhere is this truer than with the grower-producers of Champagne.

A quick primer for those who may not be familiar with grower Champagnes. Grower Champagne is exactly what it sounds like…Champagne made by farmer/winemakers who work their own land. Grower Champagne is really the analog of farmstead cheese, and like farmstead cheese, this wine is produced on a very small scale with a focus on quality and expression. Unlike Champagne made by the Grandes Marques or “big brands” (Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, etc.) which blend juice from many vineyards to produce wine in the “house style,” grower Champagne is highly idiosyncratic—expressing the nature of the vineyard’s soil and climate, and the personality of the maker. The result is Champagne that varies dramatically from village to village and maker to maker. The fun of grower Champagne is getting to know the “voices” of these talented winemakers.

Grower Champagne is serious wine—that is to say it is wine first, sparkling second. Like any still wine, these estate champagnes lend themselves to food pairings based on the varietal and style. Now this may seem obvious but we Americans have been conditioned through the marketing prowess of the Grandes Marques, to think of Champagne as the toasting, apertif, or party wines, not something you would serve with the main course. So with a little knowledge of the constituent fruit, we can begin thoughtful pairings of Champagne and food. For minerally wine such as blanc de blanc (100 percent Chardonnay), think oysters, scallops, or caviar. Pair a more robust wine—those with a larger percentage of Pinot Noir or Meunier—with roast chicken, veal, or even rabbit.

There are four main sub-regions of the Champagne region: the Montagne de Reims, famous for its Pinot Noir; Vallée de la Marne (the Marne Valley) home of the Pinot Meunier (aka Meunier), the Côtes des Blanc (guess which grape les Côtes are known for), and the Aube, another Pinot Noir growing area and the least celebrated (but perhaps a better value as a result).

At Foster & Dobbs we have a small selection of grower Champagnes in a range of fruit and styles to suit most any palate. We have something from each of these districts with a couple of examples in some cases. Our shelf-talkers list the sub-region and fruit for each selection, but if you have questions, please ask one of the staff.

Salud!

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