Champagne is a sparkling wine made in one delimited region of northeast France, about 90 miles east of Paris, by starting a second fermentation inside the sealed bottle and leaving the wine on its lees for at least 15 months before release. Only wine from this region may be called Champagne. Sparkling wine made the same way elsewhere uses another name.
Three grapes cover nearly all the vineyard area: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Most of the vines grow on limestone, including chalk laid down on a seabed some 90 million years ago. The chalk drains well and stores water, so the vines have a steady supply even in dry summers.
How Champagne is made
In Champagne the method is called the méthode champenoise. Outside the region, EU labeling rules call the same sequence the traditional method.
- Grapes are picked by hand and pressed as whole bunches, as the appellation rules require, so red-skinned Pinot Noir and Meunier give colorless juice.
- The juice ferments into a still, dry base wine.
- The cellar master blends base wines from different villages, grapes and years into a single cuvée. Reserve wines from earlier harvests help a producer keep a consistent style.
- A measured mix of sugar and yeast called the liqueur de tirage goes into the blend, and the wine is bottled under a crown cap.
- The yeast eats that sugar inside the sealed bottle. This is the second fermentation, the prise de mousse, and its carbon dioxide stays in the sealed bottle and dissolves into the wine.
- The bottles age on their lees: at least 15 months in the cellar in total, 36 for a vintage. The spent yeast breaks down, a process called autolysis, which adds aromas to the wine.
- The bottles are turned neck-down, by hand or by machine, so the sediment collects in the neck. The neck is frozen, the cap comes off, and the pressure pushes out the plug of ice and yeast. That is disgorgement.
- The small gap is topped up with the liqueur d'expédition, wine plus a measured amount of sugar. That dosage sets the final sweetness. Then the cork goes in and the wire cage goes on.
What the dosage decides
Before the dosage, Champagne is a dry wine. The dosage sets the final sweetness, measured in grams of sugar per liter: Brut Nature, Pas Dosé or Dosage Zéro under 3 with no sugar added, Extra Brut 0 to 6, Brut under 12, Extra Dry 12 to 17, Sec 17 to 32, Demi-Sec 32 to 50, Doux above 50.
A Brut can hold up to 12 grams of sugar per liter. The driest bottles say Extra Brut or Brut Nature.
What Champagne tastes like
Four notes that come up often in Champagne:
Lemon peel
Citrus. The Comité Champagne describes Chardonnay as floral and citrus
Hazelnut
A nutty note we find in bottles aged longer on the lees
Chalk
A mineral finish the Comité Champagne links to the limestone subsoil
- The second fermentation makes the bubbles
- It leaves 5 to 6 bar of pressure in the bottle. The Comité Champagne puts the count at about 1 million bubbles in a glass.
- Brut can carry some sugar
- Brut allows up to 12 grams of sugar per liter, and the acidity makes it taste dry. Extra Brut and Brut Nature carry less.
- Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs taste different
- Blanc de Blancs comes from white grapes, mostly Chardonnay, which the Comité Champagne describes as floral and citrus and suited to long aging. Blanc de Noirs comes from black grapes: Pinot Noir gives body and structure, and Meunier gives roundness and fruit.
- It changes with time in the cellar
- The rules require 15 months of aging before release, 36 for a vintage. The Comité Champagne says producers nearly always go longer, 2 to 3 years for non-vintage and 4 to 10 for vintage, and the wine gains a wider range of aromas over that time.
How to read a Champagne label
Most words on a Champagne label are defined terms. These are the ones that tell you what is in the bottle.
Scroll the table sideways to see both columns
| On the label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Brut | Under 12 grams of sugar per liter, added after disgorgement. |
| Extra Brut | 0 to 6 grams. |
| Brut Nature | Under 3 grams, with no sugar added. Also written Dosage Zéro or Pas Dosé. |
| Extra Dry | 12 to 17 grams, so it is sweeter than Brut. |
| Sec, Demi-Sec, Doux | 17 to 32, 32 to 50, and more than 50 grams. |
| Blanc de Blancs | White from whites: made only from white grapes, mostly Chardonnay. |
| Blanc de Noirs | White from blacks: a white wine made from black grapes, Pinot Noir and Meunier. |
| Non-Vintage (NV) | A blend of several harvests. Reserve wines help keep the style consistent. |
| Millésime, or a year | Vintage: one harvest only, aged at least 36 months before release. |
| Grand Cru, Premier Cru | A rating of the village the grapes came from. On the old cru scale, Grand Cru villages were rated 100% and Premier Cru villages from 90%. |
| Rosé | Pink Champagne, made by blending in red Champagne wine or by macerating black grapes on their skins. |
| RM, NM, CM in fine print | Who made it. RM is a grower using grapes from their own vineyards, NM a house that buys grapes, CM a cooperative. The code sits in front of the registration number, which every label must carry. |
The four areas the grapes come from
Champagne is one appellation with four main growing areas. The Montagne de Reims, around the city of Reims, is planted mostly with Pinot Noir. The Côte des Blancs, south of Épernay, takes its name from its white grape, Chardonnay. In the Vallée de la Marne, Pinot Noir leads near Épernay and Meunier takes over farther west. The Côte des Bar, southeast of Troyes, is 83% Pinot Noir.
How Champagne compares to Prosecco and pét-nat
Scroll the table sideways to see all three columns
| Champagne | Prosecco | Pét-Nat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fermentations | Two, the second in the bottle | Two, the second in a pressure tank | One, finished in the bottle |
| Method | Traditional, or méthode champenoise | Charmat method, the tank method | Méthode ancestrale |
| Time on lees | At least 15 months in the cellar, 36 for vintage | A second fermentation of at least 30 days in tank, then filtered | No legal minimum |
| Pressure | 5 to 6 bar | 3 bar or more as a spumante, 1 to 2.5 bar as a frizzante | Usually 1 to 3 bar, with no legal rule |
| Sugar added | A dosage at the end, except Brut Nature | Set by the label term, from Brut Nature to Demi-sec | None |
| Grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier | Mainly Glera | Any grape |
The Prosecco figures are for Prosecco DOC. One bar is close to one atmosphere. We have separate guides for the other two: what is a pét-nat and what is Prosecco col fondo.
How to open and serve Champagne
- Chill it to 46 to 50°F (8 to 10°C). The Comité Champagne suggests a few hours at the bottom of the fridge, or 30 minutes in a bucket of half ice, half water.
- Keep a firm grip on the cork. Remove the foil, untwist the metal loop to loosen the wire cage, and hold the cork from then on.
- Turn the bottle and hold the cork. Tilt the bottle to 30 to 45 degrees, point it away from people, and rotate the bottle so the cork slides out without a pop.
- Pour into a white wine glass rather than a flute. A tulip or a standard white wine glass leaves room for the aroma.
- Pour on an angle, in two goes. Pour down the side of the glass, let the foam settle, then top it up.
Serve it with fried food, oysters, roast chicken, hard cheese or potato chips. Its acidity and bubbles cut through fat.
Common questions about Champagne
- Why can only France call it Champagne?
- Champagne is a protected designation of origin: the name belongs to the delimited region in France. In the EU, sparkling wine made by the same method elsewhere uses another name, such as Crémant, Cava, Franciacorta or traditional method.
- Why does Champagne cost more to make?
- The appellation rules require hand harvesting, and every bottle ages at least 15 months in the cellar before sale, 36 for a vintage. Each bottle is riddled and disgorged. The Comité Champagne counts about 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg) of grapes per bottle.
- Is Brut dry?
- Brut allows up to 12 grams of sugar per liter. For the driest bottles, look for Extra Brut or Brut Nature.
- Can Champagne age?
- Producers age it before release: the rules require 15 months for non-vintage and 36 for vintage, and the Comité Champagne says producers nearly always go longer, 2 to 3 years for non-vintage and 4 to 10 for vintage. At home, store bottles cool, dark and lying down.
- What is grower Champagne?
- Champagne made by a grower from grapes from their own vineyards, rather than by a house that buys grapes. The letters RM on the label mark one. Houses ship more than two thirds of all Champagne, according to the Comité Champagne. We wrote it up in full: what is grower Champagne.
- What is the difference between Champagne and Crémant?
- Region and grapes. Crémant is French sparkling wine made by the traditional method outside Champagne: Crémant de Bourgogne, d'Alsace, de Loire, de Limoux and four more. Crémant must spend at least 9 months on its lees, and it cannot use the Champagne name. We wrote it up in full: what is a crémant.
Sources
- Comité Champagne: the Champagne region
- Comité Champagne: grape varieties
- Comité Champagne: soil
- Comité Champagne: maturation on lees
- Comité Champagne: frequently asked questions
- Comité Champagne: the appellation fact sheet (PDF)
- Comité Champagne: the Champagne-making process (PDF)
- Comité Champagne: how to read a Champagne label (PDF)
- Comité Champagne: key figures (PDF)
- EU Regulation 2019/33, Article 53: traditional method and crémant terms
- EU Regulation 1308/2013, Annex VII: sparkling and semi-sparkling wine categories
- Consorzio Prosecco DOC: how Prosecco DOC is made
Try a Champagne
We carry Champagne from small family estates in Bouzy, Chigny-les-Roses, Ecueil and Vertus. Each listing names the village, the grapes and the dosage, so you can read a bottle before you buy it.
Food pairing guides: Oysters, Chicken.
Shop sparkling wine Read the pét-nat guide Natural wine glossary
