Champagne (433)

The Wine Styles of Champagne

With three percent of the French vineyard area, the region is among the smaller wine-growing areas of the country. Approximately 320 Crus (locations) with over 275,000 parcels produce an incredible variety of delicious sparkling wines - from the elegant Champagne Extra Brut (Champagne Irroy) to the fruity-balanced Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru (Champagne Lallier) to the multiple award-winning vintage Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2007, a top product of the Taittinger house. Here are a number of criteria you can consider when selecting a Champagne:

Cuvée or Vintage:

Non-Vintage Champagnes (without vintage; usually marked as NV on the label) reflect the style of a Champagne house over the long term. In contrast, a Champagne millésimé (also vintage or aged Champagne) characterizes a specific harvest year.

Grape Varieties: Cuvée or Single Variety

Most Champagnes are cuvées made from two or three grape varieties. The red varieties Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and the white Chardonnay take up almost the entire cultivation area. A Blanc de Blancs, on the other hand, consists solely of Chardonnay, while Blanc de Noirs is made only from red grapes.

Color: White or Rosé

In Champagne, grapes are exclusively hand-harvested - a process that allows for a pre-selection and prevents the skins of red berries from bursting during harvest and mixing with the light pulp. This way, sparkling base wines can be produced ranging from pale golden to intense yellow. There are two methods for producing rosé Champagne (see below).

Dosage: from Brut Nature to Doux

The final step in Champagne production is the dosage, which is the addition of a sugar solution in equivalent wine, modifying the strong acidity of the fresh Champagne. For high-quality Champagne, a carefully selected, often aged sweet reserve wine (Réserve) is frequently used instead of the sugar solution, giving the sparkling wine its final touch. The dosage for Champagne "Brut Zéro" or "Nature" contains no added sugar; the liquid loss during disgorging is compensated with dry still wine. For the sweetness level "Doux," up to 50 grams of sugar solution per liter is permitted.

The Climate of Champagne - Perfect for Slow Maturation

The Champagne owes its location in northeastern France, relatively close to the English Channel, to a complex mix of continental climate and oceanic influences. Maritime air currents regularly provide the AOC with sufficient rainfall and largely balance the otherwise extreme continental temperature fluctuations. The cool climate favors the slow growth process of the predominantly grown grape varieties Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling), and Chardonnay.

Slopes with Chalky Soils for Drainage, Water Storage, and Subtle Minerality

The vines on the predominantly south, southeast, and east-facing slopes of the Paris Basin benefit from even and optimally dosed sunlight. Chalk soils made from fossil microorganisms, partially interspersed with marl, clay, and sand, form the basis of the larger cultivation areas Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. Like a sponge, chalk absorbs water from the surface and stores it as a natural reservoir. Even during the long, hot drought of 2019, the vines of Champagne were "full of sap."

Interesting Facts about Champagne

What is the Basis for the Division into Grands Crus, Premiers Crus, and Other Locations?

The AOC Champagne includes over 300 wine-growing municipalities. 17 of them are allowed to carry the designation "Grand Cru," and another 43 are "Premiers Crus." All others are classified as "terroir non classé." Grapes from places that are not part of these groups are not allowed for Champagne production. Relevant criteria for classification include, among others, terroir (location, soil composition, climate, planting, viticulture, and harvest) and technical factors (pressing, wine-making, labeling).

Who Invented Champagne?

The first well-meaning mentions of sparkling wines date back to the 13th century. Champagne, as we enjoy it today, developed in many individual steps over several centuries. Some pioneers in the development of the "Méthode champenoise":

• Christopher Merret (1614 - 1695), an English physician and inventor, presented the Royal Society in London with the first recipe for the controlled production of sparkling wines in 1662. 
• The Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715) perfected the assemblage by adding red grape varieties to the exclusively used white varieties at the time.
• The secret of the optimal sugar quantity in the dosage was discovered by pharmacist Jean-Baptiste François (1792-1838).
• Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (née Ponsardin; 1777 - 1866) took over her late husband’s business as a young widow and was the first woman to run a Champagne house. Veuve ("Widow") Clicquot transformed delicious, but previously cloudy sparkling wine into a drink of noble clarity by developing the "Méthode classique" - the riddling and disgorging of bottles to remove the yeast sediment from the wine.

How is Rosé Champagne Made?

Both white and red grape varieties used for Champagne naturally have colorless flesh. The more or less intense color of a red wine is created by color pigments that dissolve from the grape skins during fermentation and tint the must. In the production of white Champagne, hand harvesting, quick yet gentle pressing, and a swift removal of the must prevent dyes from darker grape skins from bleeding and coloring the base wine red.

Rosé Champagnes owe their delicate hues to one of two approved methods: Either some red wine is added during the assemblage, or a small proportion of the skins from Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier remains in contact with the must during fermentation, giving the base wine a rosé tone.

Discover Wines from Champagne Online at VINELLO

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Another advantage at VINELLO: Our sommeliers are available by phone for detailed consultations to bring you closer to the world of Champagne wines. This way, you can more easily and quickly find your favorites, whether for a special occasion, an evening with friends, or your own private enjoyment.