‘Blanc de Blancs’ (White of White) and ‘Blanc de Noirs’ (White of Black) are French terms, used mostly to describe sparkling wines, but you may find it occasionally used for some regular wines.

These terms represent the type of grapes used to make the wines. ‘Blanc de Blancs’ are ‘classic’ white grapes with ‘white’ skins and ‘white’ juice (they are called so even if colors go from yellow to green. It's a simpler way to term them). Champagnes, for example, that are made solely with Chardonnay grapes.

On the other hand, ‘Blanc de Noirs’ Champagnes are made from black grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier mostly). They are produced using grapes with black skins, but white juices! So after harvest, the grapes are directly pressed, extracting the ‘white’ juice. To obtain classic red Pinot Noir, the juices and skins will be macerated together for the color to be extracted from the skins. This is why Pinot Noirs are very often lighter in colour compared to other red grapes (Cabernet, Shiraz), which have a darker colour and more tannins.

Classic Champagnes are a blend of both ‘white’ and ‘black’ grapes, to create a balance of aromas and a recognizable style. Meanwhile, Grand Cru Villages and areas have different soil types, and some are solely planted with a single type of grape. Wines from the Côtes de Blancs sub-region for example with Grand Cru villages like Avize, Cramant or Oger would be made solely from Chardonnay, and would offer fresh, crisp, lighter Champagnes. Wines coming from the Vallée de La Marne sub-region like Ambonnay Grand Crus would be done mostly from black grapes, offering fuller bodied Champagnes. Some white wines are made from 100% Pinot Noir, but they are very hard to come by, as production is very sparse with only a handful of wineries making it rather than ‘classic’ red wines, which would sell more easily.

Check out our range of Champagnes and see if you identify the blancs from the noirs!

I often hear this misconception that red wines should be served at room temperature. Yes, they are the best at ‘room-temperature’, but do note that this is a ‘Westerner’ term. The room temperature in France is not exactly the same than that in Malaysia!

To be specific,the term is used to advice wine drinkers to bring a wine up to room temperature, for serving and not for storing. Let me give you a personal example: back home in France at my parents place, the wines are stored in the garage, in a dark corner. Not the most optimal place but we don’t have a wine fridge. However in my region it rarely gets as hot as it does here. There people complain of it being ‘very hot’ at 25 degrees! In winter (outside temperature will be around 3 to 8 degrees), the bottles are stored at about 10 degrees in the garage.

If we want to open one (or 6!) for dinner, we have to bring it inside a few hours before dinner, to bring it ‘up’ to room-temperature, for better enjoyment. In fact, I would usually open the bottle, and leave it close to ( but not directly in front) of the fireplace to slowly ‘wake’ it up.

Similarly, here in Malaysia, it is recommended that you serve white wines around 8 to 12 degrees and reds at 16 to 20 degrees (which is well below the Malaysian room temperature of 23 to 26 degrees. Too cold and the aromas will be numbed. Too warm (as I often encounter here unfortunately) and the wines won’t be at its optimal enjoyment level. It might be too acidic or the alcohol might be too ‘aggressive’.

For red wines, if you don’t have a wine fridge, I would recommend that you put the bottle in the fridge a couple of hours – it may be a tad too cold when you first take it out. However it will quickly increase and arrive at a perfect temperature of enjoyment! If you really like your wines and want to be sure they are at the perfect temperature, I would highly recommend that you to invest in a good wine storage unit, it is worth it.

 Take a look at Wine Talk's selection of wine cabinets designed in Denmark by Vintec. Oh and we're giving away a bottle of Moët for every cabinet purchased this month so you can officiate your new wine cabinet with quality bubbly!

Champagne has a great reputation mostly due to the high-quality and strong characteristic of its wines. Creating Champagne includes techniques, which are actually forbidden in other parts of France, in order to have the AOC classification. For example blending wines from different vintages, or mixing red and white wines to create Rosé Champagnes.

One other specificity of the region – and of other wines using the similar méthode Traditionelle is the DOSAGE. To understand how this works, you have to go back to the roots of how Champagne is made.

In short, once grapes are harvested, a regular wine is made, with a lower alcohol level (8-10%). Then, this wine is blended in Reserve wines from the previous years, in order to create the trademark flavors of the Champagne House (except for Vintage wines, which have to come from a single year, and is done only if the quality is exceptional).

At this point, a bit of sugar and yeast are added into the wine, which will bring about the 2nd fermentation in the bottle, creating the bubbles! After a minimum of 15 months, the bottle can be moved to the next process, the ‘Remuage’ (Riddling). The bottle neck is inserted in a wooden rack, and progressively lifted and turned daily to bring up all the sediments to the top of the neck across a period of 4 to 6 weeks.

Then, the cork (actually a simple metal cap) is removed, either as it is or after being dipped into liquid nitrogen (to freeze the sediments). The pressure within the bottle will naturally expel these sediments. 

Here, the ‘liquide de dosage’ is added, to create a balance to the wine. It is usually made with Reserve wine, which has added sugar. Depending on the amount of sugar, the classification will be different:

BRUT ZERO: No sugar added
EXTRA-BRUT: less than 6 grams of sugar per liter
BRUT: less than 15 grams of sugar per liter
EXTRA-DRY: 12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter
DRY: 17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter
DEMI-SEC: 33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter
DOUX: more than 50 grams of sugar per liter

If you love champagnes, you can enjoy Moët & Chandon at only RM190 (usually RM268). Or for a more premium option, try Pol Roger Brut Vintage at RM351. Dom Perignons are at RM552 (usual RM588) at www.winetalk.com.my