If you’ve been to a wedding, anniversary party, or any other toast-worthy event, you’ve probably seen sleek flute glasses holding one of the most popular special occasion drinks — Champagne. This common celebratory drink wouldn’t exist without its secret ingredient — Champagne yeast.
What Is Champagne?
Champagne is a sparkling wine named for the Champagne region of France, where its signature grapes are grown. It has a distinct bubbly texture, which is where its nickname “bubbly” comes from. The drink has a characteristic golden tint, and that color is often referred to as Champagne after the wine. Champagne is typically a white wine, but there are also rosé varieties with a more pink color.
Since Champagne is often served at special celebratory events like weddings, this beverage is accompanied by a toast given to commemorate something.
Champagne is served in a tall, narrow glass called a flute. The smaller opening of a flute means the surface area of the drink is smaller, allowing fewer bubbles to escape and keeping them sparkling for a longer time. It might also be served in a shorter, wider glass with a long stem called a coupe. The bubbles escape from this glass faster, but they also have a particularly unique, elegant look.
The Origins of Bubbly
Champagne seems like it’s been around forever, and it definitely has been a minute. Its origin actually dates back to the first century CE, when grapes were first grown in northern France’s Champagne region. The drink didn’t really take off until the 9th century, but it was a local specialty even then. This early version of Champagne had a cloudy texture, unlike the crisp, clear texture we know today.
In the 13th century, Champagne finally gained international success thanks to trade fairs held in the area. But it wasn’t until the 17th century that winemakers’ experiments led them to clear up the cloudiness and produce the version of Champagne we know today.
Even back in those days, Champagne was considered an expensive drink to produce, and it became associated with special events, cementing its status as the go-to drink for toasts.
What Does Champagne Taste Like?
Champagne can come in a few different varieties, but generally, the underlying white wine is enhanced with fruity or floral notes, such as peach, citrus, or jasmine. You might also notice notes of biscuit or even bready flavors.
Champagne can be either dry or sweet and is usually served at room temperature or slightly chilled since colder temperatures can nix its signature bubbles.
So, What Is Champagne Yeast, and How Is It Related?
Of course, we wouldn’t have Champagne without the ingredients that make it possible. We’ve already mentioned the special grapes that grow in the Champagne region, but there’s another important ingredient that sets this drink apart — Champagne yeast.
Like most fermented hard drinks, Champagne needs some kind of yeast to convert sugars into alcohol. It’s not the same type of yeast you’ll use to raise bread or other baking projects; that’s baker’s yeast, which you’ll typically find at a grocery store. For drinks, you’ll use brewer’s yeast, which is better suited for fermenting drinks to perfection.
A few different yeasts can be used for fermentation, and it’s important to choose the right one for the type of drink you’re making. For sparkling wines like Champagne, Champagne yeast is the way to go. Champagne yeast is special because it’s the best at producing the sparkling, bubbly texture you expect to feel while drinking Champagne.
The Many Types of Champagne Yeast
Champagne yeast is not one-size-fits-all. There are a few different strains of Champagne yeast, and each is ideal for different sets of conditions.
What Is Premier Curvee?
Premier curvee is the most commonly used strain of Champagne yeast. Sometimes called prise de mousse, this strain is low-foaming and features a strong acid, making it ideal for barrel-aged Champagnes.
Pasteur Champagne: What Is It and How Is It Used?
Pasteur Champagne yeast is the next most common strain after premier curvee. This yeast strain can withstand higher alcohol by volume levels and ferments quickly, making it a go-to choice for many sparkling wines.
Epernay: Ideal for Bottle Fermenting
Another yeast variety is Epernay, which, like Champagne, hails from France’s Champagne region. This strain ferments slowly and can endure colder temperatures. These features make it a popular choice for Champagnes fermented in a bottle.
Hard Kombucha and Champagne Yeast: A Match Made in Heaven
Champagne isn’t the only drink brewed with the bubbly benefits of Champagne yeast. In fact, Champagne yeast is one of the key ingredients that we use in our hard kombucha to make it as wildly delicious and refreshing as it is.
Like Champagne, kombucha is known for its naturally fizzy, bubbly texture. We want to celebrate that unique quality in our hard kombuchas, and Champagne yeast is the perfect ingredient to enhance it.
Craft Kombucha Brewed With Botanicals and Adaptogens
We only choose the best ingredients for our hard kombuchas, because we’re serious about our craft.
Along with Champagne yeast, we start each kombucha brew with organic cane sugar and black tea steeped with an adaptogen blend of turmeric, ginger, and ginseng. This mixture serves as the base of every kombucha flavor we make.
Rather than adding extra sugar to create our flavors, we rely on whole plant botanicals, superfruits and adaptogens to give our kombuchas their inspired flavors, like Orange Passion Mimosa and Wild Berry. Botanicals can be any plant-derived substance, from herbs to floral extracts, and they’re the key to creating our innovative, full flavors with a subtle sweetness.
Our ingredients are also USDA certified organic, so you can feel confident that only the best ingredients are going into your drink.
Hard Kombucha That’s Keto-Friendly, Gluten-Free, and Vegan
Have you ever been at a party where everyone spends more time reading drink labels than actually enjoying the drinks? Us too. Drinks like beer, wine, and even some hard kombucha brands may contain ingredients that exclude people with different lifestyles, so we wanted to create a drink that dared to be different.
Our hard kombuchas are hard to make but simple to enjoy. Skip the hassle of checking labels and pick up some of our booch for your next get-together. All of our drinks are gluten-free, vegan, and keto-friendly, so everyone can enjoy them together. That’s why we don’t use any wheat, honey, added sugars, or anything else that might kill your vibe.
The Perfect Summertime Sipper — Without the Sugar Bomb
If you’re looking for the perfect Champagne-inspired drink for summer, look no further than our kombucha Bubbly. Bright, elegant, and silky, this drink blends everything you love about kombucha and Champagne into one delicious brew. This crisp, dry drink is aged in our Chardonnay wine barrels and fermented with — you guessed it — Champagne yeast, along with a blend of whole plant botanicals.
Bubbly can be mixed into cocktails or enjoyed on its own as a delicious, convenient alternative to Champagne. Our drinks are ready for toasts right out of their photogenic, rose-pink cans, so there’s no need to bring along a bottle opener or dust off your Champagne flutes. (Unless you really want to, of course.)
The best part? Unlike other sparkling wine drinks, there’s no sugar or carbs in Bubbly, so you can enjoy the celebratory taste you love without the sugar you don’t. Now that’s something worth toasting to.
Sources:
What Is Champagne | Organic Facts
The History of Champagne | World History
What Is the Difference Between Brewer's Yeast & Baker's Yeast? | Livestrong