Once the reserve of the rich, famous and racing drivers, Champagne is now not the elitist tipple it used to be. Cole Porter may not have got a kick out of it, but Brummies can't get enough of champers - in 2005 the city was name Champagne Capital of Britain - more bottles of bubbly were bought in the city than anywhere else in the country.
Aside from New Year, the peak period for Champagne has to be Valentine's Day - couples toasting their love over a glass of bubbly. But what do you buy and how do you serve it so you will impress the other half? We asked James Taylor, Senior Wine Buyer for House of Fraser, Birmingham for his top tipples and advice on how to 'do it' properly. "The first thing you have to remember is Champagne is finite," says James. "Each year there is only x amount that you can have, and on the more celebrated names like Cristal, Dom Perignon or Laurent Perrier there is only so much - we've done our allocation of Laurent Perrier Rosé magnums and can't get any more until April. "Particularly with that in mind, rosé Champagnes are one of the smallest productions so it's always very tight; I think it's down to market trends - certainly when I started in the business rosé Champagne was seen as a bit of a no-no, but now it's very much more popular and now rosé wine is following on." Back to the Champagne, though; with over 10 years' experience in the business, James has sampled his fair share of Champagnes and can testify to the quality of each one of the labels he stocks in the Birmingham store: "Our range is pretty comprehensive, but they're only Champagnes that I would actually drink, so you can be pretty confident of any Champagne on the shelf," he insists. "I've tried them all on more than one occasion! "It comes down to budget," says James on the matter of choosing your bottle. "Some people prefer certain houses, different house styles, and then whether you're out to impress - if the actual packaging is what you're after or what's inside the bottle. "Most Champagne houses put a lot of effort into their packaging - even Moët has updated its styling in the last couple of months; Pol Roger have done it, Bollinger have done it..." Unlike with wines (which can range from Germans around 9% to the stronger Australians at around 15%), alcohol content of Champagnes will vary little, while colour is down to age - the older it is, the darker shade it will tend to be ("Krug has a lot of colour because they're always older," says James. "Younger Champagnes will be paler in colour.") "One of my favourites is Billecart-Salmon, which is a fine, small but highly regarded Champagne house," says James. "I would push Billecart-Salmon every time; it's their attention to detail, their non vintage for instance is less than Moët and just stunningly good." Storage "The first thing you have to do is, with all things that have a cork, it needs to be kept moist, to keep it expanded to keep the seal, so keep it on its side," says James. "Don't keep them in the kitchen," he adds."Wine racks in kitchens drive me bananas; temperature in a kitchen fluctuates and temperature fluctuation is one of the worst things that can happen to a wine. "The other thing is don't keep it in the fridge too long - if you keep any white or Champagne in the fridge too long it can damage it, strips the flavour; put it in the fridge before you're going to use it for about three hours. "Don't put it in the freezer - I've done it, you're in a hurry, but it will chill quicker in a bucket with ice and water. If you've got an ice bucket don't fill it just with ice, put water in as well, that enables it to envelop the whole bottle better than if it was just ice - it might not do the label any good but in the end it's the contents you're after." Opening and pouring James says: "Most bottles these days have a tab to full the foil off; twist the cage and take it off, then the secret is first to hold the bottle at 45º, then the real theory is to hold the cork and twist the bottle and slowly ease it out and because it's 45º the air will seep in nicely, then a nice gentle 'pop', not a great big explosion and then you don't lose any. "I think that's one of the reasons why Moët pulled out of sponsoring Grand Prix; they always used to have great big jeroboams, Mumm now do that, but Moët pulled out, they thought it's not the right image." "You have to have the right glasses; don't go for the bowl shaped ones like they used to be in the 1920s - all the fizz just goes - you need flutes that are slightly tapered to the top because that helps refocus the bouquet and aroma. "When you're pouring in theory you hold the bottle by the punt (the recess in the bottom) and the glass at 45º so it stops it fizzing everywhere; another tip: glasses have to be very clean - dirty glasses will get rid of the fizz quite quickly." Serving "Sometimes people don't like Champagne because it's too dry for them," James notes. "Most Champagnes are dry but there are varying degrees of dryness - if it says Brut on the label that's dry, so the ones to go for then perhaps are demi-sec or half dry and they have a little bit of extra sugar which sweetens them up and they're quite better with food. Rosés have more fruit flavours to them and don't seem so dry, and more mature Champagnes will have rounded out and the acidity won't be so strong." He adds:"It's great as an aperitif, but it can go with food, generally with starters, some salmon or fish or a light starter and some go really well with desserts, though they're not ideal for casseroles and curries - but it works great with fish and chips!"
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