This is how you choose a good champagne, according to the experts
A good glass of champagne is always great to have at special events, but how do you make sure that choose quality champagne? Expert Daniel Brennan from Laurent-Perrier, a 200-year-0ld champagne house, reveals the right way to choose the sparkly drink for your special evening.
Daniel Brennan first explains that there are several different types of champagne. “Champagne is a dry wine. It does have a degree of residual sugar in it from the grapes, however, in order to get a nice finesse between the acidity and the sugar levels (residual sugar) a dosage is added. Demi sec has the highest amount of residual sugar [of commonly available champagnes],” he says. Brennan states that the most common champagne is brut, which is also one of the driest ones, meaning that champagne types vary from driest to sweetest like so: extra/ultra brut, brut, extra sec, sec, demi-sec, doux.
According to Brennan, the most important aspect to look for in champagne is appearance, noticeably the colour of the beverage and the finesse of the bubbles. He explains that younger champagnes will be lighter, while the older ones will be darker, and that “the smaller the bubbles, the better the champagne, and you get a nice smooth consistency which means it’s smoother on the palette as you drink it and a more pleasant experience.”
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The mousse on top of the champagne as it is poured is also a good indicator for the quality of the beverage, a top champagne having a fine layer of bubbles.
As far as serving is concerned, the expert says that the tulip glass is the best for champagne, because it leaves “enough space for the aromas but not so much that you lose all the bubbles.” Bubbles are lost with a coupe glass, for instance.
Another aspect consumers should pay attention to is chilling the bottle for at least an hour before serving and when opening, to twist the bottle and not the cork at a 45 degree angle, while tilting the glass to stop the mousse from rising.
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