We Americans have curious notions about how to celebrate our founding; we love to light things on fire and blow stuff up.
When I was a little kid, that was pretty great because if I had my druthers, I would have been doing that every day, not just on national holidays. I’ve lost interest in it now, having collected enough scars from errant missiles, I suppose, but I still happily attend someone else’s fireworks show. I appreciate that they put all that time, money, and effort into momentary visual displays.
I have my own sparkling things to consider. It just seems right to have Champagne to mark the most important dates. Since the Champagne region of France was the site of many medieval battles, it’s not surprising that the victors celebrated with whatever drink was closest at hand. French kings began the tradition of being crowned at the Cathedral at Reims (sort of the capitol of the Champagne region), so celebrations and Champagne became intertwined, at least in France, which for a time was the heart and soul of the
culinary world. These days, there is no such singular spot. It could be San Sebastian, Lima, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Florence, Bologna, Palermo, and a thousand other places. Champagne? Sure, but any place that makes wine can make sparkling wine.
Champagne itself is just a sparkling wine—an often special one, I will allow—but its main feature is that it has bubbles. The reason it is sparkling is because the carbon dioxide that is created by fermentation is kept in the wine, just like with beer. Non-sparkling wines, called “still wines,” are created when winemakers allow the CO2 to dissipate into the air.
The bubbles in sparkling wine give a giggly element to the wine, and it’s the reason these are perfect party wines. Some people wrongly think the bubbles rush the alcohol into their bloodstream, but that’s nonsense. People tend to get drunk more quickly with bubblies because the wine goes down too easily, and they drink too much of it. It’s still wine after all.
But the other feature of CO2 is that those bubbles scrub the flavors out of your mouth. If an ideal pairing between a dish and a wine is that each allows the other to shine without being overwhelming, then sparkling wine is the perfect date. It’s light and thus doesn’t
overshadow the food, but the CO2 cleanses your mouth of the flavors of the food, getting you ready for a new and fresh bite. I don’t believe in perfect pairings since we all like different things, but if asked to pick one wine for everyone, although they are eating very different things, I would say sparkling wine is as good a foil as any.
Almost all sparklers have some sweetness to them—even Champagne, so just accept it—and that offers another feature: the sweetness will cool the heat from a spicy dish. It’s as if these wines were meant to go with all manner of foods. And they do. Those scrubby bubbles are begging for a plate of just about anything. And when you bring a bottle of bubbly, I’ve noticed, you will be allowed entrance into just about any party.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2022 edition of Missouri Life.
Doug Frost is both a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, one of only three in the world to achieve both titles. He lives in Kansas City.
