Elite champagne: brands, names, photos

According to the strict rules established by the European Union to control the name of the product at its place of origin, only beverages produced in a particular French province have the right to be called "champagne." They wear on their label the sign of their noble genealogy - the letters DOC. All other drinks, even if they accurately copy blend and production technology, are called "sparkling wines". In some countries, they also have their own names. In Catalonia, it is "kava", in Italy - "prosecco", in Languedoc - "blanket." And these drinks also carry the elite DOC abbreviation. But often the law is not written to producers. And in the old fashion sparkling wines made, more or less by the technology invented by the abbot of Perignon, are called champagne. Some drinks are frank burda from waste materials, aerated artificially. But there are among the domestic sparkling wines and are worthy of being served at a festive table. In this article we will consider the TOP-10 beverages of the "Elite Champagne" nomination.

Veuve Clicquot

As the English say, ladies first. But not courtesy of gentlemen makes us miss the lady ahead. This drink really deserves to occupy the first position in the rating "Elite Champagne". Monsieur Clicquot, an unremarkable winemaker, rendered two great services to mankind: he married the young lady Barb Nicole Ponsarden and died on time to give the widow his abilities.

The lady raised her husband's modest husbandry to unprecedented heights. She invented the method of perfect champagne cleaning and bridle on the cork, because the pressure in the bottle is three times higher than in the tire of the car. In addition, the lady skillfully used natural phenomena for self-promotion. So, in 1811, the inhabitants of the Earth observed a comet. The widow Clicquot immediately sent a ship to Russia (whose troops had recently defeated Napoleon) with a huge champagne party, on the label of which was depicted a tailed star. A giant market was provided. The whole aristocracy tried the "wine of a comet," and even Pushkin mentioned champagne in his poems. Now the cheapest products of the house "Widow Clicquot" costs from two and a half thousand rubles. And the price for some elite bottles is estimated at several tens of thousands of dollars.

Moët & Chandon ("Moet and Shandon")

This company is as old as the Widow Clicquot. Who does not know this elite champagne? A photo of a black bow with a gold border, fastened with a round red seal under the neck of the bottle, serves as a model for the French art of living. Moet and Shandon supplied their champagne to the court of the French king. It attracted Louis XV, and Napoleon Bonaparte did not hesitate himself to drop in behind him at the wine house, when he found himself passing through Champagne. Since the reign of Edward VII Moët & Chandon have mastered the British market. And now the company is the official supplier of champagne to the court of Elizabeth II. "Moet and Shandon" are not limited to royal persons. It is their champagne that pours into the glasses at the presentation of the prestigious award in the film "Golden Globe". Due to the large print runs, the company's products are sold at more democratic prices. In Russia, a bottle of "Moet and Shandon" can be bought for two thousand rubles.

Dom Pérignon ("Dom Perignon")

It's time to talk about the inventor of champagne as such. "House" is not a name and certainly not a building. They called Perignon Pierre. Since he was a Benedictine monk, Dom was treated respectfully as a spiritual person. Perignon lived in the seventeenth century, and in his spare time from prayers he experimented in his abbey Ovilje with young foamy wine. He first thought of fermenting quiet drinks again. He kept them in bottles of very thick glass, plugged with a cork of oak. Elite champagne brand Abbey Ovilye very quickly appreciated the French aristocracy. Soon he was supplied to the sun king Louis XIV in Versailles. The firm "Moet and Shandon" bought the vineyards of the abbey. The producer continues to create drinks according to the old technology. This brand is called "Dom Perignon". Since the area of the vineyards is small, then this drink automatically increases in price. The bottle of the usual "House Perignon" costs from eight thousand rubles. Dom Perignon Oenotheque - the elite brand of the wine house is estimated in the market at twenty-two thousand.

Louis Roederer ("Louis Roederer")

In Russia, this is the most expensive elite champagne. His name became known in our country since the reign of Alexander II. And it is not surprising: "Louis Roederer Kristal" was made in 1876 especially for the royal court. The word "Cristal" meant not only the maximum purification of the drink. By order of Emperor Alexander II, champagne was supplied in crystal bottles. About sixty percent of all products of the wine house of Louis Roederer went to Russia. And now our compatriots have remained faithful to the tradition. Champagne "Louis Roederer Brut Premier" is the most popular of French brands. Its average price is four thousand three hundred rubles per bottle. The exclusive drink "Louis Roederer Kristal" is much higher. Its cost varies from ten to thirty-five thousand rubles (depending on the crop year).

Piper-Heidsieck ("Piper Heidsick")

The owners of this wine house promote their products through the stars of Hollywood. Champagne "Piper Hiidsic" was the favorite alcoholic beverage of Marilyn Monroe. And at all the ceremonies of the "Oscar" awards, the products of this house are invariably present. PR-managers of the company, it seems, have discovered a "gold mine". Now the names of "Piper Heidic" and Hollywood are inseparable. In 1965, the firm produced a 1.82-meter-high bottle, to the rise of Oscar-winning actor Rex Harrison (for his role in the film My Fair Lady, played in tandem with Audrey Hepburn). And last year the designer of the house "Piper Heidzik" was Christian Lobuten. So there was a champagne elite brut, released in a gift set with a shoe on a crystal heel. This PR move sends us to the tale of Cinderella. But at the same time he makes us remember the old wedding tradition, when the groom drinks champagne from the bride's shoe. A gift set can not be found in wine boutiques in Russia. But the usual champagne "Piper Heidicik Brut" can be found for fifteen hundred rubles.

GH Mumm ("Mumm")

The red ribbon of the Legion of Honor was adorned with the label of its products by the first owner of the company in the eighteenth century. Now the company advertises itself through sports. The slogan of the wine house - "The pursuit of accomplishment and courage." The firm sponsors many sports competitions and scientific achievements. In 1904, this elite champagne uncorked the crew of the ship "Le-France" in Antarctica. They are watered prize-winners of the competition "Formula-1". "Mumm" is the third manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. A bottle of champagne from this firm costs an average of two and a half thousand rubles.

Krug ("Circle")

Can sparkling wines be aged? Yes, if they are produced in the basement "Circle". This house originally put on the quality of the drink, and not on the volume of sales. Own vineyards in the company of only twenty acres! The wort of the best blend is fermented in small wooden barrels, and then stands in bottles for at least six years. Thanks to this method, champagne not only has a complex, recognizable taste, but also the ability to "age nobly". Such an elite champagne can be kept in the cellar for at least forty years, then it is profitable to sell. What is not an investment? For example, at the auction of wine in Hong Kong in April 2015, the bottle "Circle" of the harvest of 1928 went for twenty-one thousand two hundred dollars. But the usual champagne of this company costs about twenty thousand rubles.

Champagne sweet elite

It is usually considered that drinks of the category "Prestige Cuvée" should be dry: ultra, extra, natural and savage brut. But recently dessert wines have become more and more fashionable. This trend is reflected in the champagne. They began to produce dessert "Prosecco" and "Kavu", German sparkling wine "Sect". Then came the sweet "Cremant". This is also French champagne, but it is produced outside the elite province. Very well-known "Kreman" from Jura and Alsace. Perhaps the most delicious sweet "champagne" can be called "spumati" (sparkling wine) from the Italian province of Asti. It is made from one variety of berries - Moscato.

Domestic brands of champagne

The production of sparkling wines in the Russian Empire began in 1799, when academician Pallas in his estate near Sudak released the first bottles of the drink, made by the method of champagne. In 1804 a school was even opened in the Crimea. There they began to conduct experiments on the creation of champagne wines. Great contribution to winemaking was made by Prince Lev Golitsyn. In 1900, his champagne "New World" received the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Paris. Golitsyn worked not only in the Crimea. In 1870, in the royal estate on the bank of the river Dyurso and Abrau lake in the Kuban, he, along with French specialists, grew vineyards and equipped a factory for the production of champagne. The first batch was released in 1897. But Abrau-Dyurso and Novy Svet were not the only brands of sparkling wines in Russia. Among the domestic names in the years of the USSR, the "Moscow elite champagne" has emerged and is now firmly holding the position.

Is it possible to produce such wine in the northern latitudes?

There would be production facilities corresponding to the technological process. In the suburbs are found mushrooms, berries-flowers, but not grapes. But berries varieties "Pinot", "Riesling", "Aligote" and "Chardonnay" are delivered to the Russian capital from the southern regions. At the MKSHV plant, grapes are transformed into a drink called "Moscow elite champagne": brut, semi-dry and semisweet. The amount of sugar in wine is regulated not by the addition of crystals, but only by assembly. The must is aged for about six months. As a result, a light-straw color drink is born, with a harmonious taste and an interesting bouquet.