Champagne 101: Your Simple Guide to Liquid Gold

Champagne 101: Your Simple Guide to Liquid Gold

Champagne is a wine with no peer and from its introduction in the early 17th Century has been synonymous with Royalty and the Nobility, leading to it being called "the drink of the Kings". No other drink captures the imagination quite like Champagne. Champagne (pronounced sham-pan-yah) is sparkling wine but with a unique quality; its grapes are grown within the Champagne region of France. Under EU and World Trade laws only sparkling wine produced in this region can be classed as Champagne, grapes grown anywhere else - even 100 yards from the border are classed as normal sparkling wine. What makes the Champagne region different? Other than the exceptional history and heritage of the region, it predominantly comes down to the regions micro climate and soil. The weather and chalky / limestone soil conditions of the Champagne region are absolutely idea for producing the best grapes for the sparkling wine and thus the Champagne (sparkling wine) grown in Champagne has a superior taste to those grapes grown elsewhere. - Or at the least that is the theory, whether this holds true today is a whole different debate. The three main grape varieties which produce Champagne are; Pinot Noir (red) Pinot Meunier (red) and Chardonnay (white). It may surprise many that most (even the non-rose) Champagne is a blend of two-thirds red and one-third chardonnay, as such most of the vineyards in Champagne region grow the red variety grapes - approx 75%. The spectrum of Champagne styles and taste can be broken down into the following bite-size sections: Vintage Champagne: Only produced in exceptional years and is predominated by grapes from that harvest year. The vintage year is always displayed on the bottle. Non Vintage Champagne: By far the most common and popular Champagne and is made from a blend of multiple years. Prestige Cuvee: Considered to be the Champagne Houses best wine, although mainly a vintage year they can also be non-vintage - as in the case of Krug. Pink / Rose Champagne: Known as for their romantic and seductive nature, rose Champagne are always dry (Brut), making it more full bodied and ideal for main courses. Rose Champagne can be a blend of all the varieties but with a dash extra Pinot Noir during fermentation. Blance de Blancs: Champagne blended from100% Chardonnay grapes. Can have vibrant flavors and they tend to be lighter and more acidic than most Champagnes. Usually age very well. Blanc de Noirs: Considered to be the rarest blend of Champagne and are only blended from the red variety grapes. Tend to be full bodied and very dry. Brut Champagne: Most Champagne tends to be a form of Brut or dry and as a rule must have less than 10g of sugar. Extra Dry Champagne: Not common in Europe and is more for the American market, Extra-Dry is slightly sweeter than Brut. Demi-Sec Champagne: This blend is the sweetest Champagne and is ideal for after-dinner of dessert. The vast majority of the grapes grown in the Champagne region are grown by small independent vineyards, which is then sold to the larger `Champagne Grande Marques` such as; Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Krug, Bollinger and Vuvee Cliquot etc. These large household brands account for approx 70% of sales within Europe, with the remaining 30% made up of `Grower` and `Co-operative` Champagne producers. In recent years, given the often better value and taste, the Grower and Co-operative Champagne producers have been growing in both sales and popularity. As much as ever Champagne is still the aspiration drink of choice. Whether it be with celebrities, politicians or royalty, Champagne as throughout its unique history is the drinks of Champions.

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