Virginia Fizz could be the name of a comic book superhero—a corkscrew-curled, bespectacled librarian by day and electrifying crime fighter by night. In fact, it’s the name of a new sparkling wine from Champagne maker Claude Thibaut, who, with his quiet manner and extraordinary ability to craft great bubblies from Virginia grapes, seems to have hidden magical powers of his own. Frequent readers of this column know Thibaut’s name for Thibaut-Janisson, the Virginia blanc de blanc (all Chardonnay) sparkling wine he makes in the Champagne style, as well as the sparklers he makes for Veritas Vineyards and King Family Vineyards. His namesake wine, which also bears the name of his French business partner Manuel Janisson, was one of four domestics served at the White House State Dinner in November.
|
Claude Thibaut’s Virginia Fizz, due in the spring, will be a fruitier, creamier, less expensive offering from the man who brought the Monticello AVA sparkling wine to the Obamas’ first State Dinner. |
Making wine in the Champagne style… (and here we break off to explain why we use this labored terminology: Only sparkling wine made in the méthode champenoise in the actual French region of Champagne can be designated “Champagne.” Those are the worldwide enological rules and we here at The Working Pour follow them.)…anyway, it is a slow, deliberate, expensive process. It involves lengthy aging, specially shaped bottles, and delicate machinery. The aging and bottles, in particular, drive up the price.
But drinking bubbly wine should be a joy reserved not just for elites, so Champenoise winemakers also developed a quicker process for producing sparkling wines—known as Cremant. That’s where Virginia Fizz comes in. “With the Fizz, I am much more efficient,” Thibaut says, referring to the regular-shaped wine bottles that require less stacking room as the wine ages. That efficiency—along with about half as much time for the secondary fermentation in the bottle that gives Champagne its distinctive volume of tight, tiny bubbles—will keep costs below $20 per bottle. Thibaut-Janisson sells locally for closer to $30 per bottle.
Expect changes in texture and flavor, too. “The way I make the Fizz, I choose Chardonnay that has a little bit less acid than the grapes I choose for Thibaut-Janisson,” he says. “A little more ripe, more fruit.” The Fizz will call less on the sharp flavor of yeast, and, Thibaut says, “when you taste it you should perceive the creaminess.” Adding to that sensation: a lower volume of bubbles, compared to the traditional sparkler.
By April, Thibaut plans to release about 500 cases of Virginia Fizz, compared to his 1,000 annual cases of Thibaut-Janisson.
Thibaut is not the first Virginia winemaker to find a route to lower-priced wines that still bear quality. Lovingston Winery, White Hall and Breaux in Loudoun County are a few examples of wineries that have done something similar.
But Thibaut is aiming beyond just the bottle-buying consumer. As part of his four-year effort to get his wine recognized and revered in the foodie haven that is the D.C. market, he’s been working with, pardon the expression, mixologists. (In backwater regions, they’re still know as bartenders.) “I’m talking to one of them who is popular in D.C. area to see if that particular [Cremant] style works with their cocktail. They use some sparkling wine bases and they need a product that is not too expensive but not too cheap.”
Indeed, the French winemaker says that restaurants in Arlington and Alexandria, as well as in the District, have given his signature wine comparatively more attention. “I find much more support up there than in my local town sometimes,” he remarks. Perhaps with the release of his entry-level wine in the spring, more Charlottesville eateries will add Thibaut-style fizz to their wine lists.
