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Home Wine and Drinks Champagne and Sparkling Wine
Champagne

Champagne versus Sparkling Wine

Many wines can be made using the Méthode Champenoise developed by Dom Perignon, however only producers in the Champagne region of Northern France can legally use the name Champagne. The Champenois, as the producers are known, are extremely protective of the name, and will take legal action against anyone who uses it incorrectly. Because of this, if you see a bottle with the word 'Champagne' on the label, it acts as a guarantee that this wine has been produced in this region and nowhere else. Unfortunately the term does not act as a guarantee of quality and many other vineyards are producing excellent sparkling wine without the expensive price of Champagne.

 

Making Champagne

In essence only three varieties of grapes are used to make Champagne. They are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. There are small quantities of a few other grape varieties included, but for our purposes we shall concern ourselves with the three important ones.

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History of Champagne

Dom Pierre Pérignon was a 17th Century, Benedictine monk and is frequently credited with the invention of Champagne. Dom Perignon was the chief winemaker of the abbey and discovered that by blending the wine from several of the abbey's best vineyards, he could produce an exceptional wine. Intrigued by its naturally sparkling tendencies, he developed the méthode champenoise, allowing the wine to ferment in individual bottles.

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