Russian champagne is a sparkling wine produced and sold in Russia. The demand for sparkling wine in the country exceeds a quarter of a million bottles a year. A New Year's table without a light, foaming cold drink sparkling with bubbles is equivalent to an Olympic stadium without a burning torch.
Producers of Russian champagne
Popular products often make money-seekers want to get involved in the business. But, having no technology, technical standards, wine raw materials and winemakers, unscrupulous producers are driving counterfeit products to the market.
To prevent the appearance of low-quality wine products on the consumer market, the Association of Sparkling Wine Producers was established in 2010. The association includes 13 Russian enterprises and one Belarusian enterprise.
Consumers are confident that the presence on the label of an inscription about the manufacturer from the list of members of the Association is a guarantee of the production of Russian champagne in compliance with technical standards.
Competition of winemakers
In Russia, winemakers annually hold a business meeting. In the category of sparkling drinks, the best Russian champagne of the classical method and the reservoir method of production is selected. In 2016, two winners were awarded respectively: Russian champagne from the Crimea collection dry white "Golden Riesling" and Krasnodar sparkling wine brut "Blanc de Blanc" (Fanagoria) 2015.
Ordinary consumers are in awe of the Golden Riesling. Buyers do not skimp on compliments: “good”, “tasty”, “unearthly bliss”, “the most delicious champagne” and “the best memorable gift from the Crimea”.
Flavor "Blanc de Blanc" charmed tasters with fruity notes of peach, pear and apple. Buyers praise the soft and fresh taste with hints of honey and spices. Surprisingly well with cold appetizers and hot seafood dishes.
Criteria for classifying a sparkling drink
Selecting by manufacturer does not mean the best search result. Consider three more options for classifying sparkling wine:
- by price,
- by popularity
- by quality.
In each class there is a product that is best in the main parameter.
Price plays a major role for the average consumer. It's nice to surprise a girl with collection wine. It is important to remember that high-quality champagne for 150 rubles does not exist, this is a drink from a different category. The cost of Russian champagne, for example, from the Abrau-Durso winemaker, varies from 435 rubles for 0.75 liters of white or pink semi-sweet to 1875 rubles. collectible brut.
Domestic figures of show business note the quality of Abrau-Durso champagne, its refreshing taste, and the absence of a headache after a libation.
More often, champagne is purchased for a celebration - to emphasize the importance of the moment. A festive feast in a friendly company begins with a glass of sparkling wine.
For a dinner in a chamber setting, for example, a decisive date or a marriage proposal, champagne is indispensable. It is important not to make a mistake in choosing a drink. As with any choice, experience matters. Articles on the Internet give a theoretical understanding of the drink under study. The theory is verified by practice, so that at the decisive moment the wine does not present a “sour surprise”.
Learning the skills of a sommelier
Proper tasting helps a competent choice of sparkling drink. Wine selection criteria:
- Foam.
- Aroma.
- Taste.
- Aftertaste.
First, we delight the eye. Then the delicious aroma captivates and pulls you to taste the drink. And if after a few minutes there are no unpleasant taste collisions, but on the contrary, a desire to repeat a sip of wine awakens, then the aftertaste convincingly proved the quality of the drink.
Champagne is poured along the wall of an inclined glass in a light stream, so that mousse forms on the surface - a light, persistent foam, and the taster of the drink admires the play of small gas bubbles.
Feel the aroma of wine. Carry out a simple test - a pleasant or unpleasant smell. Even if the advertisement promises an exquisite aroma, but the consumer does not like the smell, then delete the drink being evaluated from the list of preferences, try another brand of wine.
Pay attention to the champagne company "Northern Venice". The company's winemakers use raw materials from Spain and South Africa. The grapes are 100% ripe there. All types of Pinot are used to create the drink, but the main grape is Chardonnay. The color of the drink made on the basis of Chardonnay is from light yellow to dark pink. Consumers note a wide range of flavors: flowers, citrus, quince and honey.
Folk wisdom, turned into a newspaper stamp, but remained wisdom: there is no comrade for the taste and color. But if we leave aside the artistic description of the taste of wine, then the taster notes, firstly, whether the drink tastes like vodka or not. If it does, it's not champagne. The second observed flavor attribute is sweetness. Each person has his own measure of sweet, but you will have to choose from at least two options: sweet - unsweetened wine.
After a few sips of the drink, evaluate the aftertaste. What kind of grapes do you remember, do the tannins of the barrels where the wine matured bind the tongue. Classify persistent and unstable, weak and strong aftertaste. Try to evaluate and remember, when forming a collection of champagne wines, it will come in handy.
It's all about sparkling bubbles
Before the New Year holidays, the Russian Quality System and the Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation examined Russian champagne on the shelves of Russian stores. We checked compliance with GOST according to thirty parameters. Critics did not stand 17 product names out of 56 studied. The first remark is about the method of filling the drink with carbon dioxide. Yes, artificial carbonation of wine has been allowed in the country since 2012, which reduces the cost of sparkling wine production by half. But it's not champagne. According to GOST, champagne is filled with carbon dioxide during natural fermentation.
The second non-compliance with the standard is the quality of primary raw materials that does not comply with GOST for samples of the drink from the "popular segment". Unfair, from the point of view of producers, the establishment of excise taxes directly affects the cost of production. We have to get out, according to representatives of wine producers.
The third parameter is the alcohol content. In the rejected samples, the percentage of alcohol is recorded either below the norm, as in "Crimean Sparkling", or above the norm, as in the white semi-sweet "Royal Traditions". The contents did not match the label on the wine bottle.
Consumers called the taste of sparkling wine "Royal Traditions" of the company "Ariant" mediocre. Even the design of the label does not stand up to scrutiny.
The opinion of professional tasters about the unsatisfactory quality of another sparkling wine from the Rostov Champagne Winery: “Too much sugar, you can feel the essence… Too sweet… Taste of plastic… Bitter aftertaste, doubtful smell.”
Degrees - remember the main thing
About. is an abbreviation for the unit of measure of alcohol in a wine drink, "percentage by volume".
The degree measure of wine is determined by the place of manufacture of the drink and its brand.
The parameters of Russian champagne are shown in the table.
Manufacturer and name | White semi-sweet |
|||
Price rubles for 0.75 l | Alcohol, vol. | Sugar, g/l |
||
"Abrau-Durso Russian" | ||||
"Ariant Royal Traditions" | ||||
"Derbent" | ||||
"Moscow" | ||||
We prepare sparkling wine from our own raw materials
Russian white champagne is made from white technical grape varieties chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, sauvignon blanc.
These varieties are acclimatized to the conditions of the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, Stavropol Territory. Wine grape varieties are also grown in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine.
To brut or not to brut, that is the question
Russian sparkling wine differs in degrees and amount of sugar. The classification of wines on the basis of sugar content is as follows:
- Brut zero - 6 g / l.
- Brut - up to 15 g / l.
- Extra dry - from 12 to 20 g/l.
- Semi-sweet - 17-35 g/l.
- Sweet - 33-50 g / g.
This is just what they say - Russian semi-sweet champagne. In fact, 35 grams of sugar is four heaping teaspoons. People who jealously watch their weight and figure know that sweet champagne is a high-calorie product.
According to the strict rules set by the European Union for the control of the name of the product at its place of origin, only drinks produced in a particular French province are entitled to be called "champagne". It is they who carry on their label a sign of their noble pedigree - the letters DOC. All other drinks, even if they accurately copy the blend and production technology, are called "sparkling wines". In some countries they also have their own names. In Catalonia, it is “cava”, in Italy it is “proseco”, in Languedoc it is “blanket”. And these drinks also carry the elite abbreviation DOC. But often the law is not written for manufacturers. And in the old fashioned way, they are called made, more or less according to the technology that Abbé Pérignon invented. Some drinks are a frank burda from waste materials artificially carbonated. But among domestic sparkling wines there are some worthy to be served at the festive table. In this article, we will look at the TOP 10 drinks in the Elite Champagne category.
Veuve Clicquot ("The Widow Clicquot")
As the English say, ladies first. But it is not the courtesy of the gentlemen that compels us to let the lady go first. This drink really deserves to take the first position in the Elite Champagne ranking. Monsieur Clicquot, an unremarkable winemaker, rendered two great services to mankind: he married the young lady Barbe Nicole Ponsardin and died in time to allow the widow to show her abilities.
The lady raised her husband's modest household to unprecedented heights. She invented a method for perfectly cleaning champagne and a bridle on the cork, because the pressure in the bottle is three times higher than in a car tire. 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 shipment of champagne, on the label of which was depicted a tailed star. A gigantic sales market was secured. The whole aristocracy tasted the "wine of the comet", and even Pushkin mentioned champagne in his poems. Now the cheapest products of the Widow Clicquot house cost from two and a half thousand rubles. And the price of some elite bottles is estimated at several tens of thousands of dollars.
Moet & Chandon ("Moet and Chandon")
This company is as old as the "Veuve Clicquot". Who does not know this elite champagne? The photo of a black bow with a gold border, fastened with a round red seal under the neck of the bottle, serves as a standard for the French art of living. Moet and Chandon supplied their champagne to the court of the French king. Louis XV liked it, and Napoleon Bonaparte did not hesitate to pick it up at the wine house himself when he happened to be 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 Chandon" is not limited to royalty. It is their champagne that is poured into glasses at the presentation of the prestigious award in the Golden Globe cinema. Thanks to large circulations, the company's products are sold at more affordable prices. In Russia, a bottle of "Moet and Chandon" can be bought for two thousand rubles.
Dom Pérignon ("Dom Pérignon")
It's time to talk about the inventor of champagne as such. "House" is not a name, much less a building. Perignon's name was Pierre. Because he was a Benedictine monk, he was respectfully addressed as the clergyman of Dom. Perignon lived in the seventeenth century, and in his spare time from prayer he experimented in his abbey of Ovilliers with young frothy wine. He was the first to think of re-fermenting soft drinks. He kept them in bottles of very thick glass, stoppered with oak cork. Elite champagne of the Ovillier Abbey brand was very quickly appreciated by the French aristocracy. Soon they began to deliver it to the Sun King Louis XIV at Versailles. The firm "Moet and Chandon" bought the vineyards of the abbey. The manufacturer continues to create drinks using the old technology. This brand is called "Dom Perignon". Since the vineyard area is small, this drink automatically increases in price. A bottle of the usual "Dom Perignon" costs from eight thousand rubles. Dom Perignon Oenotheque - the elite brand of the wine house is estimated on the market at twenty-two thousand.
Louis Roederer ("Louis Roederer")
In Russia, this is the most expensive elite champagne. Its name has become known in our country since the reign of Alexander II. And no wonder: "Louis Roederer Crystal" was made in 1876 specifically 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 Louis Roederer wine house went to Russia. And now our compatriots have remained true to tradition. Champagne "Louis Roederer Brut Premier" is the most sought after of the French brands. Its average price is four thousand three hundred rubles per bottle. The exclusive drink "Louis Roederer Crystal" is much more highly valued. Its cost varies from ten to thirty-five thousand rubles (depending on the year of harvest).
Piper-Heidsieck ("Piper Heidsieck")
The owners of this wine house promote their products through Hollywood stars. Piper Heidsieck Champagne was Marilyn Monroe's favorite. And at all the Oscars, the products of this house are invariably present. The company's PR managers seem to have discovered a "gold mine". Now the names "Piper Heidsieck" and Hollywood are inseparable. In 1965, the company released a bottle 1.82 meters high, in the growth of the Oscar winner actor Rex Harrison (for his role in the film "My Fair Lady", played in tandem with Audrey Hepburn). And last year, Christian Lobutin became the designer of the Piper Heidsieck house. This is how elite brut champagne appeared, released in a gift set with a shoe with a crystal heel. This PR move refers us to the fairy tale of Cinderella. But at the same time, it brings to mind the old wedding tradition, when the groom drinks champagne from the bride's shoes. It is not possible to find a gift set in wine boutiques in Russia. But the usual Piper Heidsieck Brut champagne can be found for one and a half thousand rubles.
G.H. Mumm ("Mumm")
The first owner of the company in the eighteenth century adorned the label of his products with the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor. Now the company advertises itself through sports. The slogan of the wine house is "The desire for accomplishments and courage." The firm is a sponsor of many sports competitions and scientific achievements. In 1904, this elite champagne was uncorked by the crew of the Le France ship in Antarctica. They are watered by the winners of the Formula 1 competition. Mumm is the third largest manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. A bottle of champagne from this company costs an average of two and a half thousand rubles.
Krug ("Circle")
Can sparkling wines be aged? Yes, if they are produced in the Krug cellars. This house initially put on the quality of the drink, and not on the volume of sales. The company has only twenty hectares of its own vineyards! The must of the best blend is fermented in small wooden barrels, and then aged in bottles for at least six years. Thanks to this method, champagne has not only 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, in order to profitably sell it later. Why not an investment? For example, at a Hong Kong wine auction in April 2015, a 1928 bottle of Krug fetched $21,200. But the usual champagne of this company costs about twenty thousand rubles.
It is generally considered that drinks of the Prestige Cuvée category should be dry: ultra, extra, still and sauvage brut. But lately, dessert wines have become more and more fashionable. This trend is also reflected in champagne. They began to produce dessert Prosecco and Cava, German sparkling wine Sekt. Then came the sweet Cremant. This is also, but it was produced outside the elite province. Very famous "Krement" from the 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, on his estate near Sudak, produced the first bottles of a drink made according to the champagne method. In 1804, a school was even opened in the Crimea. There they began to conduct experiments on the creation of champagne wines. Prince Lev Golitsyn made a great contribution to winemaking. 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 banks of the Durso River and Lake Abrau in the Kuban, he, together with French specialists, grew vineyards and equipped a champagne factory. The first batch was released in 1897. But Abrau-Durso and Novy Svet were not the only brands of sparkling wines in Russia. Among the domestic names in the years of the USSR, “Moscow elite champagne” arose and now firmly holds its position.
Is it possible to produce such wine in northern latitudes?
There would be production capacities corresponding to the technological process. In the suburbs there are mushrooms, berries, flowers, but not grapes. But the berries of the Pinot, Riesling, Aligote and Chardonnay varieties are delivered to the capital of Russia from the southern regions. At the MKSHV plant, grapes are turned into a drink called Moscow Elite Champagne: brut, semi-dry and semi-sweet. The amount of sugar in wine is regulated not by the addition of crystals, but exclusively by assemblage. The must is aged for about six months. As a result, a drink of saturated light-straw color is born, with a harmonious taste and an interesting bouquet.
10 brands - 10 champagne houses, the most famous of all. Robert Parker lists eight of them in his book on the great wines and great farms of the world, and we added two brands to this list at our own discretion, one - "the most Hollywood brand", and the other - "the most sports-adrenaline".
1. Widow Clicquot (Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin)
Women go ahead. The world's most famous "feminine" champagne brand is Veuve Clicquot. At the beginning of the 19th century, the heroic 27-year-old widow Clicquot, nee Barbe Nicole Ponsardin, inherited a medium-sized winery from her husband - and raised it to unprecedented heights. She filled 18 km of dungeons with her wonderful product, buying them from the city and turning them into wine cellars. She owns the authorship of the method of cleaning champagne to crystal transparency, which is still used by all winemakers in the world.
She also invented a wire bridle that is worn on a cork - the liquid in the bottle is under pressure, 3 times the pressure in a car tire.
She even took… space as her allies. The “Comet of 1811”, which visited the solar system, gave the widow an excellent idea - to send a ship with a batch of 10,000 bottles of “comet wine” - champagne harvested in 1811, with a tailed star on the label, to Russia that defeated Napoleon. And this was the beginning of a long successful commercial relationship between the widow and the far northern empire.
This woman lived for 88 years and deprived her relatives, indifferent to winemaking, of their inheritance, transferring her prosperous business to the one who worked with her to the very end - her manager and friend, Eduard Verde, whose descendants strengthened the fame of the brand after her death - today this brand is one of the most known, it is drunk in 150 countries of the world.
PRICES
In Moscow, a bottle of 0.75 liters. Veuve Clicquot Brut costs from 2500 rubles.
Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame - with an orange branded label on a black bottle - already costs around 10,000 rubles. According to legend, the flashy color of the label was personally invented by the widow herself.
And today, this champagne house attracts the best designers, such as Kerim Rashid, to design the brand, so the cost of the best wines in exclusive packaging can amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
2. Moet and Chandon (Moët & Chandon)
Everyone knows this black bow with a gold border, fastened with a red round seal under the neck of the bottle. It was coined in 1886, and since then has remained an unchanged recognizable detail of the design of Moet & Chandon branded products.
For 250 years, this company has been producing one of the most famous and prestigious brands of champagne. From the very beginning, Moet & Chandon has been one of the main official suppliers of the royal courts. At one time, his wine was supplied to Louis XV, and Napoleon Bonaparte himself called on the estate when he found himself in Champagne.
Among the clients to whom Moet and Shandon supplied their wines was Thomas Jefferson, and King Edward VII of England fell in love with this champagne so much that he went everywhere accompanied by a servant who carried behind him a basket with a couple of bottles. And today the house of Moet and Chandon has a Royal Charter as a supplier of champagne to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
In the modern age of pop culture stars, Moet and Chandon champagnes are actively exploring the world of cinema. For nearly two decades, Moët has been the Official Champagne of the Golden Globe Awards,
and in the spring of this year, the company held a sensational action in the press with the choice of "the face of the champagne house of Moet and Chandon" - it was the rising Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson.
PRICES
champagne house Moet & Chandon- the largest producer of champagne in the world. It produces up to 30 million bottles a year, which is twice the volume of its closest competitor, Veuve Clicquot. Due to the large "circulation" it is quite democratic in terms of prices.
Main wines of the house:
Moet & Chandon Imperial, first released back in 1860, in honor of Napoleon - 2000-6000 rubles, depending on the year of harvest (in Moscow),
Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon- an exclusive vintage champagne produced since 1936 in honor of the "inventor" of sparkling wines Dom Perignon - from 7000 rubles.
3. Dom Pérignon
This "shield" label is known all over the world. Moet & Chandon has been producing this exclusive vintage champagne since 1936.
The brand is named in honor of the famous person in winemaking - the Benedictine monk Pierre Perignon, who lived in the 17th century. The house is an appeal to a clergyman in France. He is credited (by the French, the British think differently) with the glory of the invention of a sparkling frothy drink - no one thought of how to turn ordinary fermented wine into a new wonderful drink.
Probably, he was not absolutely the first, but, of course, he stood at the origins of the technology for the production of champagne, which, in general terms, was inherited by our contemporaries. He owns the ideas of secondary fermentation of still wine, selection of a mixture of white wines and aging it in thick-walled bottles, as well as capping bottles with a cork stopper. In his thirties, Pierre Pérignon took over the wine cellars of the Benedictine Abbey of Ovilliers, declaring that he would create the best wine in the world. And he succeeded - rumors about the excellent quality of the effervescent monastery drink reached Versailles. Wines from Dom Pérignon began to be supplied to the royal court of Louis XIV, the "Sun King".
Modern Dom Perignon, from Moet and Chandon, is produced in accordance with the tradition laid down by the legendary monk - to create the best wine in the world. Its quality is such that the wine, perhaps, does not need additional advertising.
Nevertheless, the manufacturing company has recently attracted Karl Lagerfeld to work on the image of the brand. The action was extremely successful and brought the brand to a new level of popularity. It also became an exemplary example of wine branding, and - a kind of cult event in the world of fashion and lifestyle - Lagerfeld attracted catwalk stars - Eva Herzigova and Claudia Schiffer - to photo shoots with Dom Pérignon. The idea behind the campaign: Dom Pérignon is a magical drink that liberates sexual fantasies.
PRICES
There are three wines:
Dom Perignon - Dom Perignon, Dom Perignon Rose and Dom Perignon Oenotheque
Dom Pérignon is somewhat cheaper, it can be found for 7000-9000 rubles. for a bottle.
Dom Pérignon Rose and Dom Perignon Oenotheque are highly valued and are considered among the finest and most expensive wines in the world. Prices in Moscow - from 17,000 to 22,000 rubles
4. Louis Roederer
The whole world knows this brand by its most famous wine - Louis Roederer Crista l. “Luxurious wine”, “stunning quality” - such epithets are used by Robert Parker. And of course, this is the most prestigious in Russia and the most expensive of champagnes in general. "Royal drink" - it was first produced in 1876, especially for Alexander II.
Until the revolution, the house of Louis Roderer was the official supplier of wine to the court of the Russian Emperor. More than 60% of its products were sent to the Russian Empire. It got its name - Crystal because it was supplied in crystal bottles specially made by order of Alexander II.
In today's "golden" design of the appearance of the bottle, with an elegant ligature of the font and monograms on the label, the association with the royal crown, aristocracy, sophistication and wealth is supported. Around the world, it is considered a luxury drink that is designed for winners and leaders. The policy of champagne house Louis Roderer is also distinguished by aristocracy and independence - not a single international corporation has yet succeeded in attempting to take over it - it is almost the only house in Champagne that remains in family ownership.
The value of the house's champagne products was once again confirmed in July of this year - at an auction in the USA, a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Rose 2002 champagne was sold for $12,000. Funds from the auction were used to support contemporary art. What is symbolic is that a wine with such a history, a level of prestige and such a price is no longer so much a wine as such, but an object of high art.
PRICES
Champagne house produces not so little wine for the family business - up to 3 million bottles per year, which, however, is 10 times less than Moet and Chandon. And Louis Roederer Cristal - only 500 thousand bottles for the whole world.
The limited volume of production, as well as the extraordinary quality and prestige of the brand determine rather high prices for wine, including in Moscow:
Louis Roederer Brut Premier - from 4300 rubles.
Louis Roederer Cristal - from 10,000 to 35,000 rubles, depending on the crop year.
This wine is known as the wine of Hollywood. Almost from the very beginning of the Oscar ceremonies, it accompanies these festive events.
It was Marilyn Monroe's favorite drink, and she was photographed more than once with a glass of champagne in her hand. And this champagne was most often Piper-Heidsieck.
In 1965, Piper-Heidsieck created the largest bottle of champagne in the world - 1 m 82 cm, which corresponds to the growth of the American film actor Rex Harrison. The bottle was intended to celebrate Harrison winning an Oscar for his role in My Fair Lady opposite Audrey Hepburn. The giant bottle contained the volume of 64 ordinary bottles of magnificent vintage Piper-Heidsieck Brut 1959 champagne.
Piper-Heidsieck distinguished himself with a new design and PR move - together with Christian Louboutin, he released a limited edition gift set - a bottle of his wine, accompanied by an elegant lady's shoe with a crystal heel, which simultaneously refers us to Cinderella and to the romantic custom of drinking champagne from a shoe ladies of the heart.
Piper-Heidsieck made festive red and gold colors - recognizable and memorable colors of its brand, and very successfully uses them in the design of its corporate identity - and the label of the wine itself, and all related advertising products, and the company's official website.
PRICES
Naturally, you will not find a gift set with a shoe in Moscow, the entire limited edition is made to order.
But the usual Piper-Heidsieck branded champagne is sold annually in the amount of 5 million bottles, and it is quite affordable with us, at low prices for such a level of promotion of the brand:
Piper Heidsieck Brut -
from 1500 rub. per bottle
6. Mumm (G.H. Mumm)
The style of the MUMM label is easily remembered by the diagonal red ribbon - this is the symbol of the Legion of Honor - with which one of the first owners of the champagne house adorned his wine back in the 18th century. This trademark of the brand is immediately recognizable on the shelves of wine boutiques, and on commercials. And on the balloons that the company so loves to launch for promotional purposes.
In general, MUMM is the wine of adrenaline, extreme sports, travel and discovery. Throughout its history, G.H.MUMM has been a sponsor of all kinds of events related to technical breakthroughs and sports achievements of mankind. The company's slogan is "Courage and the desire for extraordinary discoveries."
At the beginning of the last century, the company implemented its first sponsorship project: the famous traveler Captain Charcot "christened" his ship "Le France" by breaking a bottle of MUMM Cordon Rouge champagne on its side. On July 14, 1904, on an ice floe in Antarctica, Captain Charcot and his crew celebrated Bastille Day with a glass of MUMM champagne.
When you see a Formula 1 broadcast, pay attention to how the winners pour champagne on each other. This year, the company announced the release of the GH Mumm F1 box “Limited Edition”, which is part of the Formula 1 Champagne collection from Mumm, the official sponsor of the race.
And recently, this champagne received a kind of artistic advertising support - unusual glass Mumm-balloons were produced - something in between champagne bubbles and airship balloons in size.
PRICES
MUMM is the world's third largest brand in terms of product sales, after Moet and Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.
About 8 million bottles are sold annually in more than 100 countries around the world.
Prices are at the price level of the leading competitors.
In Moscow - from 2500 rubles for a standard bottle of 0.75 liters. MUMM Cordon Rouge
7. Circle (Krug)
Quality and endurance - this is how the creed of the Krug champagne house could be formulated. “Their strict and very conservative policy of aging wine for many years before releasing it to the market seems almost incompatible with the pace of the modern world,” Robert Parker is shocked, “but fortunately, this ensures their highest quality, maturity and complexity.”
These people are not after quantity. The house produces only about 100 thousand bottles a year, which is 300 (!) times less than the production volumes of the mastodon of the champagne market - Moet and Chandon.
The company's own vineyard area is extremely limited - only 20 hectares, and it buys the best grapes from another 56 hectares of the best Champagne vineyards. The mixture is fermented in small wooden barrels, and then aged in bottles for at least 6-8 years. This provides the wine with a unique recognizable complex taste and the ability to further noble aging in the bottle.
The wines of this champagne house are among the most "long-playing", their quality remains unchanged or even improves with time. This is the fault of the so-called "late sale", as they can be aged for 30 or 40 years. This is an excellent object for long-term investment in wine. Robert Parker, after tasting the 1947 Krug vintage, said that this is the most outstanding champagne. that he ever tried.
At a wine auction in Hong Kong, a 750ml bottle of an even older 1928 champagne from the Krug Collection fetched $21,200, making it the most expensive champagne ever sold. According to the expert of the auction house Sotheby's Serena Sutcliffe (Serena Sutcliffe), this wine is one of the best champagnes in the history of winemaking.
PRICES
Despite the small volumes of production, Krug can be found in Russia. Not in every wine boutique, but it is, and this is not a cheap drink, in Moscow - from 12,000 to 25,000 rubles for a bottle of 0.75 liters.
8. Paul Roger
Founded in 1849 by Paul Roger, the Champagne house Pol Roger is still family-owned, resisting the general process of mergers and acquisitions of small family businesses by large holdings like LVMH. And today the house is managed by two great-grandchildren of its founder, who even changed their surname in honor of their great-grandfather - now it is written with a hyphen - Paul-Roger.
This is one of the best Champagne companies and one of the best champagnes in the world. Robert Parker, the world's top wine critic, is extremely enthusiastic: "If there is one vintage Brut champagne that can clearly claim to be one of the world's greatest wines, it is Pol Roger."
The exceptional quality of this vintage wine is its ability to keep for 30 years or more, which even many of the great red wines of Bordeaux can not. This circumstance makes Pol Roger very attractive for wine collectors and for reliable and profitable wine investments.
Paul Roger is known as Sir Winston Churchill's favorite champagne. He once said: “I can't live without champagne. After winning, I deserve it, and after losing, I need it.” And this was not a general remark about all champagnes - Churchill was a loyal fan of this particular brand. Pol Roger even supplied him with their wine in a unique container - specially made bottles of 1 imperial pint (0.57 l). Such champagne was served to Churchill by his butler at 11 am when he woke up.
Later, in honor of Churchill, the company included in its line of wines a special brand, Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill, which is made from grapes from the best vineyards of the best years, and which Robert Parker appreciates exceptionally highly.
PRICES
One of the best champagne houses, being a local family business, nevertheless, operates at the level of the mastodons of the champagne market - it produces about 1.5 million bottles of wine per year. And keeps world-class prices.
Pol Roger champagne can be found in Moscow, although not in every boutique.
Paul Roger Brut -
starting from 3000 rub.
Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill - about 10,000 rubles.
9. Bollinger
Bollinger is another wine from Olympus from the best Champagne wines. Specialists - Robert Parker, Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson and many other world-famous wine critics - include it in top five leaders in quality, along with Dom Perignon, Louis Roederer, Pol Roger and Krug.
And especially critics highlight the brand Bollinger Grande Année (Bollinger of the Great Harvest Year), ranking it among the most elite brands, with impeccable quality.
All other fans of champagne, paying tribute to the taste of Bollinger, know and remember this wine also as a favorite drink of James Bond, which he sips with a very aristocratic look in almost half of the twenty-odd Bond films.
On the eve of the premiere of a new film with Daniel Craig, Bollinger decided to support this association - "Bollinger - James Bond" - by releasing a limited edition of champagne, only 207 bottles. A bullet-shaped steel case engraved with “Bollinger 007″ contains a 1999 Bollinger Grande bottle.
And one more fact from the history of the brand, bringing it closer to the brand of Veuve Clicquot. Surprisingly, in the history of winemaking there is such a phenomenon - the "famous Widows of Champagne". The widow Clicquot-Ponsardin, the widow Laurent-Perrier, the widow Pommery, the widow Enriot... Their names have become trademarks. This list includes the legendary Lily Bollinger.
Widowed at 42, Madame Lily Bollinger devoted all her extraordinary energy to improving the technology of champagne production, maintaining the tradition of the highest quality of the brand, which was admired even by Thomas Jefferson.
Today's heirs of the house of Bollinger maintain these traditions of quality - the house is known for its famous "Charter of Ethics and Quality", which he promulgated in 1992, and which follows at the expense of production volumes. However, this is bearing fruit - the demand for elite Bollinger champagne exceeds supply so much that it is distributed across countries in accordance with the quotas established by the company.
PRICES
The company produces 1 million bottles a year, which is quite a lot for a family business. Some of these products are also in Moscow:
Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut - from 3000 rubles.
Bollinger Grande Annee - from 6000 rubles.
Bollinger Grande 1999 in the form of a bullet for agent 007, in a wooden box weighing 22 kg - $ 5765.00 - you are unlikely to find in Moscow.
10. Salon
Salon is one of the smallest great champagne houses that started with a 1 hectare vineyard purchased in 1911 by a charismatic personality named Eugene Aimé Salon. Having managed to be a teacher, a fur trader and many others before, having made a million-dollar capital, the Salon decided to become a winemaker, to produce wine that had never been before.
It is not difficult to reconstruct his motivation - as a frequenter of restaurants and a connoisseur of the best French wines, Salon felt that there was a niche for him in winemaking - he could create something completely unique, a wine of unsurpassed quality and extraordinary properties. The idea was to create wine, firstly, on the basis of Chardonnay alone and, secondly, only in the years of the best harvests. In not very brilliant years, he did not want to make wine.
And thus, for almost a century, the house he founded in 1921 in the period up to 2006 produced only 37 vintage wines. Which, of course, from the very beginning made them famous as a luxury drink - extremely rare, prestigious and expensive. Already his first vintages made him a name, in the 1920s his Salon was the “wine of the establishment” in the legendary Maxime restaurant, a meeting place for the Parisian elite.
After Salon's death, his property was resold twice, and today it belongs to the Laurent-Perrier group. The new owners are trying to maintain the Salon brand, the wine is still made only from grapes of the best years, over the past 30 years only one of three vintages has been embodied in wine. Robert Parker, characterizing the quality of all Salon wines as "indisputable", especially highlights his favorite vintage - the 1990 vintage.
PRICES
The volume of production of Salon champagne is extremely small - about 50,000 bottles per year, and this, as was said, is not every year.
Naturally, such a rare wine is not a frequent visitor to Moscow boutiques and online stores, and it can be found with great difficulty.
Prices, however, are relatively low for such an exclusive - starting from 13,000 rubles for a bottle of a standard volume of 0.75 liters.
Christmas without champagne is like Santa Claus without presents. It seems to be - but something is not right. However, it is not easy to choose good champagne in Russia. The market is saturated with different brands, some of which are ordinary bottled carbonated wine. With real sparkling wines, such “champagne” was just next to it.
So that your New Year's holiday is not overshadowed by an unpleasant taste, we have compiled top 10 best champagnes of 2018 according to Roskachestvo. The total score is indicated (on a 5-point scale). All the studied samples underwent a rigorous selection according to the rules specified in the regulations of the World Vine and Wine Organization and in the relevant Russian GOSTs.
| A sparkling wine | Total score | Assessment according to GOST 32051-2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Abrau-Durso (pink brut) | 4.24 | 84.9 |
| Chateau Tamagne (brut white) | 4.23 | 84.74 |
| 4.22 | 84.35 | |
| Chateau Tamagne (Select rose brut) | 4.2 | 84 |
| FANAGORIA (semi-sweet white) | 4.19 | 83.8 |
| ZB (semi-sweet white) | 4.19 | 83.78 |
| Kuban-Vino (brut white) | 4.17 | 83.46 |
| FANAGORIA (brut white) | 4.16 | 83.23 |
| Winery "Yubileynaya" (semi-dry rose) | 4.16 | 83.2 |
| INKERMAN (semi-sweet rose) | 4.15 | 83.11 |
| Aristov (brut white) | 4.14 | 82.91 |
| Chateau Tamagne (semi-dry white) | 4.14 | 82.86 |
| Chateau Tamagne (brut white) | 4.14 | 82.86 |
| FANAGORIA (semi-dry rose) | 4.08 | 81.66 |
| Aristov (brut pink) | 4.08 | 81.61 |
| Taman (brut white) | 4.08 | 81.61 |
| Golden Beam (brut white) | 4.07 | 81.36 |
| Chateau Tamagne (semi-sweet white) | 4.04 | 80.74 |
| INKERMAN (brut white) | 4.04 | 80.73 |
| Aristov (semi-dry white) | 4.03 | 80.55 |
| INKERMAN (semi-sweet white) | 4.02 | 80.43 |
| ZB (semi-sweet rose) | 4.02 | 80.4 |
| Golden Balka (semi-dry white) | 4.02 | 80.4 |
| Zolotaya Balka (semi-sweet white) | 4 | 80.02 |
| ZB (dry white) | 4 | 80 |
| New World (semi-sweet rose) | 4 | 79.99 |
| Kuban-Vino (semi-dry white) | 3.99 | 79.85 |
| ZB (semi-sweet red) | 3.99 | 79.77 |
| Zolotaya Balka (semi-sweet rose) | 3.97 | 79.49 |
| ZB (semi-dry rose) | 3.94 | 78.9 |
| Winery "Jubilee" (semi-sweet white) | 3.94 | 78.88 |
| New world (brut pink) | 3.93 | 78.86 |
| Chateau Tamagne (brut pink) | 3.93 | 78.86 |
| Zolotaya Balka (semi-sweet pink nutmeg) | 3.93 | 78.73 |
| Abrau-Durso (semi-dry white) | 3.92 | 78.34 |
| Manor Perovsky (extra brut white) | 3.91 | 78.23 |
| Zolotaya Balka (semi-sweet white nutmeg) | 3.9 | 78.1 |
10. INKERMAN - 4.15
Variety - semi-sweet pink.
The price is 352.8 rubles.
The specific grape varieties from which this sparkling wine is made are not indicated in the Wine Guide. However, it is known that the vineyards are located on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Champagne itself has a light pink color with a sheen, a large amount of bubbles and a well-balanced taste. Berry tones are felt in the aftertaste. Experts have not identified any shortcomings.
9. Winery "Jubilee" - 4.16
Variety - semi-dry pink.
The price is 518 rubles.
The second most expensive champagne on our list. For this money you will get a pink drink with a raspberry tint, an intense play of bubbles in the glass and a fruit and berry aroma. The taste will also be fruit and berry, with a rich, but not very long aftertaste.
8. FANAGORIA - 4.16
Variety - brut white.
The price is 369 rubles.
This effervescent wine is created using the assemblage method from popular wine grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Gray and Cabernet Sauvignon). It is characterized by transparency, pronounced and pleasant taste and a clean, albeit short aftertaste.
7. Kuban-Vino - 4.17
Variety - brut white.
The price is 199 rubles.
This is the most inexpensive champagne in the ranking of the best champagnes. However, in terms of quality, it is no different from more expensive counterparts. The experts of the "Wine Guide of Russia" spoke positively about both the color of the drink and its taste properties. It has a floral-fruity range, and the aftertaste is refreshing and long-lasting.
The grapes from which Kuban-Vino is made (and these are the Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Riesling varieties) are grown in Russia.
6.ZB - 4.19
Variety - semi-sweet white.
The price is 348 rubles.
This champagne, made from Crimean grapes, has a transparent color without foreign inclusions, and there are so many bubbles that any fizzy bath salt would envy.
Fruity and nutmeg nuances are felt if you inhale the aroma of ZB. And if you also try this drink, your taste buds will delight the shades of flower honey and juicy fruits. What else can I say, rather put it on the New Year's table!
5. FANAGORIA - 4.19
Variety - semi-sweet white.
The price is 508 rubles.
The top 5 of the best champagne wines in Russia opens with sparkling wine made from Kuban Muscat Ottonel grapes.
The drink has a golden straw color with a greenish tint, a clean aroma with characteristic fruity notes and a harmoniously balanced taste. And the aftertaste is sweet and fruity.
4. Chateau Tamagne - 4.22
Variety - Select rose brut.
The price is 470 rubles.
A pleasant pink color with a raspberry tint, an intense aroma, in which Roskachestvo researchers felt fruit and berry notes, as well as an impeccable taste with a long aftertaste, allowed this drink to be included in the list of the best sparkling wines of 2018.
The product is made from technical grades of Kuban grapes - Saperavi, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, etc.
3. Chateau Tamagne - 4.22
Variety - semi-dry white.
The price is 287 rubles.
Third place was given by the experts of Roskachestvo to champagne of golden-straw color, with an intense "play" of bubbles and a clean, rich aroma inherent in Muscat grape varieties. The taste is balanced in sweetness and good enough that you don't have to regret wasted money.
White semi-dry champagne Chateau Tamagne is made from Muscat varieties grown in the vineyards of the Kuban.
2. Chateau Tamagne - 4.23
Variety - brut white.
The price is 349 rubles.
In second place in the ranking of the best champagne is a clear, transparent sparkling wine with a greenish tint. Its aroma has fruity and floral notes. The taste of Chateau Tamagne is long and rich, with a pleasant, if not too long aftertaste.
The drink is made using various technical grape varieties, including Pinot Blanc and Aligote. Vineyards are located on the territory of the Taman Peninsula.
1. Abrau-Durso - 4.24
Variety - pink brut.
The price is 750 rubles.
Roskachestvo experts named this champagne the best in 2018. They especially liked such parameters as the transparency and quality of the color of the drink, its clean and fresh aroma with pronounced berry-fruit notes, and the harmonious taste with a pleasant aftertaste.
This Champagne is made from wine grapes such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Franc and Chardonnay. All of them are grown in the Kuban, so we can say that by buying Abrau-Durso you are supporting a domestic producer.
Any celebration is rarely complete without champagne. And for the New Year, this drink is simply irreplaceable! But to enjoy this wine, you need to choose it correctly. And here you should take into account both qualitative characteristics and your own preferences. After all, the best champagne is one that is not only made correctly, but also you personally like it.
To make it easier to decide, it is important to know some secrets and features of sparkling champagnes.
Choosing the best
Let's start with the fact that we call any sparkling wine champagne. All over the world, this name can only belong to those drinks that are produced in France in the province of Champagne. It is believed that grapes exclusively in this area have all the necessary properties to obtain the desired flavor bouquet. Only 3 varieties of wine berries are used for production - Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 
But this does not mean at all that sparkling wines made not in Champagne are worse. If the manufacturing technology was followed and high-quality raw materials were taken for production, then the taste and aroma of such a drink is in no way inferior to real champagne.
For example, back in 1900 in Paris, wine produced at the factories of Prince Golitsyn was recognized as one of the best and won the Grand Prix. By the way, it is believed that it was after this event that Russian sparkling wines began to bear the proud name of champagne.
Criterias of choice
So, what to look for when buying a bottle of champagne.
First of all - on the price. Remember that cheaper than 200 rubles. it doesn't happen!
Also look at the appearance: the label must be glued evenly, neatly. The inscriptions are made clearly and without grammatical errors. Manufacture dates and expiration dates are required, all ingredients are written, etc.
No flavorings, dyes in the composition can not be! Also, there is no artificially added gas in real wine.
The bottle itself is necessarily dark, the liquid inside is without sediment.
When buying expensive copies, try to buy those that are made and sold by one company. They are usually marked “N.M.”
How real champagne is made
A real champagne is one that is produced in accordance with all the strict rules of manufacturing technology. The classic process looks like this:
- dry wines are made from grape raw materials;
- depending on the desired result, the resulting drinks are mixed in certain proportions;
- poured into special thick-walled bottles and add the so-called circulation liquor (sugar, yeast and some other ingredients);
- the bottle is well corked and laid horizontally;
- liqueur provokes the beginning of fermentation, carbon dioxide appears, which saturates the wine.
In this state, the future champagne lies for several months or even years. When the fermentation process ends, a precipitate falls out - it is he who gives those notes to the drink for which gourmets appreciate it so much. By the way, the flavor can vary from bready and fruity to nutty and even cheesy. 
After that, the contents of the bottles are cleaned of sediment, if necessary, sugar syrup is added and the champagne is ready for sale.
An alternative to this method is tank fabrication. All processes are the same, but they take place in large containers (barrels, tanks). And the period of such production is shorter. This is how most of the sparkling wines that are sold on the shelves of our stores are made. But this does not mean that "reservoir" champagne is worse - the average person will not even feel the difference when tasting. But experts say that the bouquet of such a drink is always poorer than that made using classical technology. The difference between a classic and such a wine will be visible only on the label - domestic producers will write "seasoned" or "classic", and foreign ones, for example, "Metodo Classico".
Much worse if you come across a saturated champagne. In general, this drink can be called lemonade rather than sparkling wine. Bubbles appear in it after forced gassing with a siphon. If the label says “sparkling”, “effervescent”, “saturated”, then there is nothing from champagne. Most likely, there is no natural wine there - dyes, flavors, etc. Prices for such a product, of course, are low.
Types of champagnes
When choosing, it is important to remember that any champagne is distinguished depending on the sugar content:
- extra brut (Extra-Brut) - sugar not more than 6 g / l;
- brut (Brut) - up to 15 g / l;
- dry (Dry) - 20-25 g / l;
- semi-dry (Semi-Dry) - 40-45 g / l;
- white semi-sweet (Semi-Sweet white) - 60-65 g / l;
- red semi-sweet (Semi-Sweet red) - 80-85 g / l.
In French terminology, sweet is anything in which sugar is more than 50 g / l.
Each type of champagne is good in its own way. But true connoisseurs believe that the less sugar, the brighter and more refined the bouquet. In general, there is an opinion that sugar drowns out the real taste and even masks flaws in production. But if you do not consider yourself a gourmet, then you are unlikely to like sour brut, and even more so extra brut. The best option is semi-dry.
French manufacturers
We figured out the terminology, let's move on to trademarks. If you want real champagne, then, of course, you should look at the producers of France. It is only important to understand right away that such a purchase will definitely not be cheap. However, it is also affordable - not everywhere you can buy real products from the Champagne region. If you decide to try, then choose only the best brands. 
Perhaps the most famous brand, leading the ranking of the best wines in France for more than one hundred years, is Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The founder of this brand was obsessed with winemaking and improved the manufacturing technology to the maximum, reaching unprecedented heights in business. What is especially surprising for a woman, since all this happened at the beginning of the 19th century. The simplest champagne will cost from $80. 
The closest competitor is Moet and Chandon (Moë [email protected]). This champagne was loved by Louis XV, Napoleon Bonaparte. And now it is he who is preferred by the Queen of England. But thanks to the serious volumes, the prices for such royal luxury are quite democratic - from 70 USD. It is this company that has been producing the legendary Dom Pérignon champagne since 1936. 
Piper-Heidsieck is a sparkling wine without which no Oscar ceremony takes place. Marilyn Monroe loved him. The cost starts from 50 USD.
By the way, this brand of champagne is the most expensive in the world. We are talking about Hiedsieck Diamant bleu from 1907 - the cost of one bottle is more than 275 thousand dollars! This wine was sent to Russia, but the ship sank. A few decades later, the bottles were taken from the bottom of the sea, and Russian businessmen bought them at an auction.
Paul Roger is one of the best champagne houses. This brand produces excellent vintage wine, that is, one that does not lose its qualities even after 30 years. Prices start at $80. 
Demand for champagne Bollinger (Bollinger) exceeds supply. Interestingly, the brand also owes its fame to the widow. Lily Bollinger did everything to make this champagne one of the best.
Which Russian champagne is better
And we make quite decent champagne. I am glad that the prices for it do not start with such exorbitant figures. Among the huge number of manufacturing companies, it is worth highlighting these:
- Agrofirm Abrau-Dyurso (awarded with various medals, received the Grand Prix more than once);
- JSC "Kornet";
- JSC "Moscow plant of sparkling wines";
- CJSC "Sparkling Wines";
- RISP LLC.
Crimean wines are very tasty - unique weather conditions make it possible to obtain grape raw materials, which some connoisseurs consider even better than French. For example, I always try to buy Brut from the Novy Svet champagne factory. This is a delicious Crimean champagne, one of the best.
With what and how to serve
It is also important to serve this noble drink correctly. Be sure to choose glasses made of glass or crystal of the correct shape. Ideally - high "tulip" or "flute". It is these glasses that allow you to "play" for a long time, presenting brighter and giving you the opportunity to feel the fullness of the taste and aroma of champagne. 
According to etiquette, goblet glasses are also allowed, but such dishes are not suitable if it is taste that is important to you, and not aesthetics. Due to the large surface area and shallow depth, the bubbles escape very quickly.
Champagne is served with almost any dish, but the variety and type of wine are taken into account. Desserts are sweeter. And with seafood, cheeses, and some meat dishes, brut or dry goes well.
By the way, it is believed that fruits and chocolate are a great addition to champagne. Actually, this is not entirely true. For example, dark chocolate should not be combined at all - it interrupts the exquisite taste of this wine.
At the end, some tips from an experienced sommelier:
