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    What You Need To Know

    - Champagne is facing competition from other countries producing cheaper alternatives.
    - Only wine that comes from the Champagne region of France can truly carry the name.
    - It is worth spending money on quality champagne for special occasions.

Champagne: just hype or true quality?

There are foods out there that have an almost mythical status among diners and, because of that, they carry a huge premium, costing us hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of dollars just to have the pleasure of experiencing them.

Are they worth it? Well, as is often the case, some are, and they carry the high price for valid reasons, like scarcity, a short season of availability or the incredible level of skill taken in their creation. Others, however, do not, and the exorbitant prices of buying them are as much the result of hype as they are of quality.

Champagne

No sound on earth shouts “special occasion” more than the unmistakable pop of a cork from a bottle of champagne.

From the moment it became the drink of choice at the royal courts in France, in the early part of the 18th century, champagne has been synonymous with celebration. Unfortunately for most of us, celebrating in style does not come cheap, and the pleasure of experiencing really magical bubbly is always accompanied by the much less pleasant shock of picking up the tab.

There has been a huge improvement in sparkling wines from other parts of the world in recent years. For example, Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco and even German Sekt can make excellent alternatives when you want to drink something with a bit of fizz.

So, champagne is facing constant challenges to its place at the top of the pile, and even though we are still drinking as much of it as ever, its share of the overall sales of sparkling wines has fallen in the last few years as people turn to cheaper alternatives and question why the most famous wine in the world comes with such a hefty price tag.
 

The argument for expensive champagne

The history

When you buy a bottle of champagne, you are not just buying any old bottle of sparkling wine. You are buying a piece of history. The Champagne region of France can trace its roots back to the time of the Romans and, while the style of wine produced in the region may have changed over the centuries, many of the great champagne houses can trace their own origins back to the late 1700s or earlier.

When you buy champagne with a name like Dom Perignon or Veuve Clicquot on the label, you are buying into brands that have a reputation built up by generations dedicated to excellence, rather than brands that have only been around for a few decades. Think of this as buying a Rolls-Royce instead of a Kia.

The region

While many other sparkling wines are often passed off as champagne, only wine that comes from the Champagne region of France can truly carry the name. It is a relatively small region, and the land it contains is some of the most expensive in the world. Consequently, anything grown on it will always carry a very heavy premium.

Although people have been making wine for centuries in Champagne, it is one of the coolest wine regions in the world. This was part blessing and part curse. One the one hand, the climate promoted the natural secondary fermentation that produces the characteristic bubbles of champagne; on the other hand, it limited the grapes that could be used in wine making.

The method

Champagne is produced by what is now called “Methode Champenoise.” This is a lengthy process that involves an initial fermentation in steel barrels, followed by a secondary yeast- and sugar-promoted fermentation once it has been bottled. After bottling, champagne goes through four more stages -- aging, riddling, disgorging, and dosage -- before there is even a thought of labeling and sending to market.

While some of these processes are now done by machine, the most prestigious houses still cling to traditional methods and employ skilled workers to oversee the wine from grape to market. As with the production of anything so labor intensive, the costs are passed on to the customer and can be seen in the price of the final product.

The hype

Champagne producers have always been good at promoting themselves and their luxury wine. So, while some of the old guard may frown upon the notion of rap stars and rockers waxing lyrical about their Cristal, they have been quick to take advantage of the fact that champagne is now hip with a younger crowd.

Brands like Cristal, Krug and Dom Perignon have always carried a high ticket, but their more recent rise to hip-hop-icon status has helped make their price acceptable to a whole new market, though, as Public Enemy so thoughtfully reminded us, don’t always believe the hype.

Is it worth it?

The producers of champagne are definitely going to have to look to their laurels if they want to keep their preeminent position in the sparkling wine game. Other countries are now producing spectacular alternatives, and there is a new generation who will look to them as they become more budget conscious.

That said, when it comes to a truly special celebration, nothing comes close to the magic of a stunning champagne. So the answer is yes, it is definitely worth it to experience the best -- even if only as an occasional treat.