Seasonal sparkle with less sugar
Champagne is festive and bubbly, and that’s why people love it. But thankfully, not all bubbles are full of sugar.
Let’s familiarise ourselves with the concept of ‘‘dosage’’ (pronounced doe-sazh), which is the sweetness level of a finished sparkling wine product. It refers to the amount of sugar added to the bottle before corking (and other residual sugar left over from the fermentation process).
In the past decade, there’s been a global trend to drop the dosage in Champagne and sparkling wine by adding less sugar.
Part of the reason for this is for the fruit to speak for itself: the generally favourable Champagnegrowing weather from the past 10 years has given more complex and ripe flavours without the need to add sugar. Generally, the standard dosage in one litre of Champagne used to be 10-12 grams.
Brut – the most common type of Champagne available in New Zealand – now generally contains a dosage of around 9g.
However, some liquor stores have cottoned on to the low-sugar trend and are now importing ‘‘extra brut’’ Champagne, which has between 0 and 6g of total sugars, and what’s called either ‘‘brut natural’’ or ‘‘zero dosage’’, which – you guessed it – has zero added sugar.
Moe¨ t & Chandon, Mumm and others dropped their dosage to fewer than 10g of sugar around 2011. For a real taste of low- and nosugar Champagne (and other sparkling wines from different parts of the world), here is what’s on offer in New Zealand.
Most of them are available from Glengarry and other smaller, boutique liquor stores but not in supermarkets.
No added sugar
❚ Drappier Brut Nature, $60 This zero-dosage Champagne is created from 100 per cent pinot noir grapes. It also has an absolute minimum use of sulphur so the final product really is as nature intended. Drappier’s Brut Nature is really crisp and ripe in fruit and one of the freshest bottles of bubbly you’ll ever try.
❚ Ca Del Bosco, $85
An Italian methode champenoise, Ca Del Bosco is pricey for something that’s not from Champagne. But as a 2011 vintage blended from 60 per cent chardonnay, 23 per cent pinot blanc and 17 per cent pinot noir grapes, it was aged for four years before bottling in 2015 and is currently a perfect zero-dosage drop.
❚ Andre Jacquart And Fils, $89 Even though this is a zero-dosage Champagne, the fruit concentration has made this wine a really sweet and fruity delight because the base fruit is from the very aromatic 2007 harvest from the Champagne region of France. You get all the flavour and none of the sugar on this one.
❚ Quartz Reef Zero Dosage, $38 Our own Central Otago winery Quartz Reef is also producing a zero dosage sparkling wine in the methode traditionnelle style. What’s on shelves now is the 2015 Cuvee from 63 per cent pinot noir and 37 per cent chardonnay grapes, and this bottle is an elegant and crispy drink on par with the pricier zero dosages from the Champagne region. It’s also only
$5-$6 or so more expensive than standard Quartz Reef.
Low sugar
❚ Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old, $139
This Champagne is a real delight: it’s made from six different vintages dating all the way back to
1988. It’s double aged, has spent three years on lees (maturing) in vats, and then another three years in secondary fermentation. This is the first extra brut (less than 6g dosage) Veuve has ever made and its creamy, refined, concentrated flavour is worth every penny for an extra special occasion.
❚ Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Brut Rose´ , $60
Surprisingly, you can even get pink fizz in a low-sugar (less than
6g) variety. Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Brut Rose´ gets its colour from Avenay pinot noir aged in oak barrels and comes from 37 per cent pinot noir, 13 per cent pinot meunier and 50 per cent chardonnay grapes. It tastes like a subtle bubble concoction of strawberries, cre` me de cassis and hazelnut.
❚ Frexinet Extra Brut Cava, $13 A cheap and cheerful low-sugar Champagne alternative can be found in Frexinet Extra Brut Cava, which also has less than 6 grams dosage. It’s not the best tasting sparkling wine out there, but you do get what you pay for – it’s an agreeable option for something casual like fish and chips on the beach. It’s dry and crisp and will satisfy the budget-conscious lowsugar fans among us.
7. Look out for each other: Social connection is important for strong mental wellbeing but for many people Christmas and the New Year can be a lonely time. Keep an eye on your friends, neighbours and loved ones.
8. Quit smoking: It’s never too late to quit. Research shows smokers who quit at age 50 halve their risk of death caused by smoking, while quitting by age 30 avoids almost all of the excess risk associated with smoking.