How Champagne Is Made

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Sputnik: 'I'm Drinking the Stars!' How Champagne is Made

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the Charmat process), or as a result of carbon dioxide injection.

According to the legend, champagne was invented on August 4, 1693 by a Benedictine monk Dom Perignon who at the time served as cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers. "Come quickly! I'm drinking the stars!" he exclaimed when tasting wine that he was unable to rid of bubbles, and thus the legendary beverage was born.

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Champagne Sales Set A Record For 2015

Bottles of Champagne are displayed at Dilettantes wine shop in Paris, France, Dec. 31, 2015.

VOA: Champagne Sales Set for Record Year

PARIS — Champagne sales are set for a record year, driven by solid demand from export markets, favorable currencies and stabilizing sales in France, the fizzy drink's home market.

Industry estimates gathered by Reuters showed that about 312 million bottles of the prestige sparkling wine will have been dispatched in 2015, a rise of between 2 and 3 percent from 2014.

Revenue has risen 4.4 percent to 4.7 billion euros in 2015.

In 2007, the record year so far, revenues reached 4.56 billion euros, before the global economic and financial crisis began weighing on the market a year later.

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Editor: I guess this means that the prices are not going to go down. :(

Crimean Winemaker Massandra Has Put 13,000 Vintage Bottles Up For Auction

Workers at a wine cellar in the Massandra winery on July 23, 2004 (AFP Photo/Alexander Nemenov)

AFP: Kiev cries foul as historic Crimean wines go under hammer

Kiev (AFP) - Legendary Crimean winemaker Massandra, once a supplier to Russia's Tsar Nicolas II, has provoked the ire of Kiev by putting 13,000 vintage bottles up for auction on Tuesday.

Massandra described the wines, some dating back to 1935, as "pearls that have endured heavy ordeals including during the war".

One 1944 muscat "was produced in Yalta just after its liberation from German troops," it noted in a statement launching the sale being held at the winery and online.

The Massandra region, which belonged to the Ukrainian state until the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, is now under Moscow's control with the rest of the peninsula.

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Editor: There must be a lot of history behind some of those wines.

Scotch Whisky Is A £5bn Industry In The UK

BBC: Scotch whisky 'worth £5bn to UK economy'

Scotch whisky contributes almost £5bn to the UK economy and supports more than 40,000 jobs, according to research commissioned by the industry.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said the sector now accounted for 25% of total UK food and drink exports.

Its report also suggested that the industry's direct economic impact had grown by 21% since 2008, to £3.3bn.

It found it added more value to the economy than shipbuilding, iron and steel, textiles or computing.

The report also concluded that Scotch whisky supported almost 11,000 jobs directly.

Editor: I expected a bigger amount.

The Next Big Wine Regions In The World

A worker cuts a bunch of Sangiovese grapes during the harvest at the Biondi Santi vineyard in the Val d'Orcia close to the Tuscan town of Montalcino in central Italy, September 22, 2004. Credit: Reuters/Max Rossi

Bloomberg: The World's Next Big Wine Regions

Eight hot spots producing your next great bottle

I’ve always been a wine-discovery junkie, constantly on the hunt for new grapes, new vintages, new winemakers, and especially new places where vines may never have been planted before. Thanks to ambitious vintners, rising demand from drinkers, a taste shift to lighter wine styles, and yes, even climate change, the number of global hot spots for wine is ever expanding. If you’re still rattling off the names of the old, long-famous regions, you’re way behind the times. In these eight spots, good wine is on its way to becoming great wine, with a few stars leading the way.

Editor: I am not surprised that the country of Georgia is there .... they have produced some of the best fortified wines that I have ever tasted.

A Look At Argentinian Wines

CBC: Argentina wines offer good value, says wine columnist

Argentinian wines are crowd-pleasers that offer a good bang for your buck

My Comment: I have always found their Malbecs to be a pleasant surprise (see the above video) .... and the price has always been cheap. If you have a chance ... definitely try one.