Sparkling Wines and Cheeses from Switzerland

Combinations of subtlety and exceptional flavors for the holidays with bubbly, sparkling wine, such as champagne, sparkling wine, Crémant, Prosecco or cider!

Learn more about sparkling wine

Sparkling wines have been around since the origins of wine production. An Egyptian papyrus mentions it as early as 522 AD. The phenomenon is due to a second fermentation, explained by the incomplete fermentation of the must. The phenomenon was poorly mastered for a long time and it was considered to be an accidental flaw in the wine.

Generally speaking, we will speak of sparkling or “sparkling” wines, according to the official terminology. These wines undergo an overpressure of the carbon dioxide generated by the fermentation, the gas being kept dissolved in the wine thanks to the hermetic closure of the bottle. Except for very small formats, the bottle must be glass and closed with a mushroom-shaped stopper.

There are many types of sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are defined by an overpressure of between 1 and 2.5 bars at 20 °. A pearling wine contains more than one gram of carbon dioxide per liter of wine. The bubbles form when the bottle is opened at 20 °.

The methods of producing a sparkling wine

There are different methods to produce a sparkling wine. The traditional method follows three steps. First, the vinification of a still wine. Then, after assembly and tartaric stabilization, the prize de mousse. And finally the breeding on slats. This is the method followed to produce most sparkling wines and crémants. The Champagne method is strictly the same as the traditional method, but the expression can only be used in Champagne. The ancestral method (or artisanal or rural) is the original method, which is done by spontaneous fermentation, without adding yeast. It is a very delicate method to master, which is still used in Gaillac, in Bugey in Cerdon and Limoux. The Dioise method is specific to Clairette de Die: it consists of draining the yeasts after the foam has set. And finally, the closed tank method, invented in 1907 in Montpelier, allows the fermentation to be obtained not in bottles but in pressurized steel tanks that can contain several hundred hectoliters.

To all honor, Champagne is obviously the star of sparkling wines. It was at the end of the 17th century that production began to be mastered. But it was not until a century later that the Champagne winegrowers perfectly mastered the second fermentation. They invented new, stronger bottles, corking with string and then wire, the addition of bottled sugar and the elimination of the deposit by disgorging ... techniques which were then imitated in France and elsewhere.

Sparkling Wines and Swiss cheeses, make the taste buds dance!

We cannot repeat it enough: the most harmonious marriages for cheese always take place with white wines, and not red wines. And like Champagne, Crémant, Prosecco belong to this great family, this association boils the taste buds and captivates the most delicate palates. The Bubbles and Swiss Cheese duo will win over the end of the year celebrations!

Some ideas:

With a brut champagne, an Appenzeller® Surchoix, or a Swiss Reserve Emmentaler AOP or a Vacherin Mont-d'Or AOP.
A vintage champagne for a subtle combination, offer Rosettes de Tête de Minus AOP or a small Tomme Vaudoise.
With a rosé champagne, a typical alliance with a Le Gruyère AOP Reserve, a Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP or a Sbrinz AOP.
With a vintage blanc de blanc, a delicate alliance with an Etivaz AOP or a Le Gruyère AOP Alpage.
With a Procecco, an alliance for an original aperitif, serve Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP.
With a cider you will serve an Appenzeller®, a gourmet combination for a brunch.
Serve a Crémant with a Le Gruyère AOP for a classic but subtle pairing.