About Champagne

Champagne-making is the highly refined art of blending base wines into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. These component wines come from different grape varieties (the white grape Chardonnay and the red varieties Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and from different villages and vineyards. And because only four or five harvests per decade in this marginal climate northeast of Paris provide the raw materials to make balanced, complete Champagne wines--that is, vintage-designated Champagnes, which must be entirely from the year indicated on the label--most Champagnes also combine juice from two or more vintages.

Blending across vintages is the way Champagne producers are able to maintain the house styles their customers have come to expect. As nonvintage wine accounts for about four-fifths of total Champagne production, it is hardly surprisingly that the reputations of most major houses hinge on the quality and consistency of their non-vintage blends. Not only that, but the better nonvintage Champagnes on the market today are often every bit as satisfying as the typical vintage bottling--and a lot cheaper to boot.

Two districts of Champagne are considered best for high-quality grapes: the Cote des Blancs, whose chalk and limestone soils are ideal for Chardonnay, and the Montagne de Reims, which is ideally situated for growing the red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The Vallee de la Marne, which stretches in a narrow band across most of the region and is planted to both red and white grapes, is the largest area aside from the Aube district, which lies far to the south, disconnected from the other Champagne vineyards by almost 50 miles and generally producing fruit destined for anonymous blends.

Two districts of Champagne are considered best for high-quality grapes: the Côte des Blancs, whose chalk-and-limestone soils are ideal for Chardonnay, and the Montagne de Reims, which is ideally situated for growing the red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The Vallée de la Marne, which stretches in a narrow band across most of the region and is planted to both red and white grapes, is the largest area aside from the lesser Aube district, which lies far to the south.

Champagne making is extremely labor-intensive, even if many producers have largely mechanized what were formerly manual processes. After the Champagne wine maker creates what is referred to as the base wine from a blend of still wines, sugar and yeast are added to induce a second fermentation that takes place in the bottle. The carbon dioxide that forms during this secondary fermentation eventually dissolves in the wine in the form of tiny bubbles, which remain in the bottle until you pop the cork.

Champagne gains in texture and complexity by remaining in contact with its dead yeast cells after this secondary fermentation occurs for between two and six years, and sometimes even longer. Shortly before the wine is to be sent to market, it is disgorged; that is, the sediment is frozen in the neck of the upsidedown bottle and popped out by hand. At this point, the wine is bone-dry, with high acidity and an effervescence that would make it too harsh for most consumers. So the producer adds a small amount of sugar dissolved in wine, known as the liqueur d’expédition, before the permanent cork is inserted in the bottle. The amount of this dosage is consistent with the house style. Even the category called brut, which technically means “raw,” can in practice range from fairly dry to bonedry, depending on the producer (and in some cases the particular export market).

Virtually all Champagnes fall into one of the following categories: brut, rosé, blanc de blancs, and blanc de noirs (all of which are typically dry), and slightly sweet to moderately sweet (labeled extra-sec—or “extra dry”—sec, demi-sec, and doux, in roughly ascending order of sweetness). The overwhelming majority of Champagnes are brut. Rosé Champagne, which comes in varying shades of pink, is most often made by adding a small percentage of red wine to the clear juice. Blanc de blancs Champagne is made entirely from Chardonnay, while the much rarer blanc de noirs is made from only “black” (that is, red) grapes.

Champagne bottlings can also be categorized as nonvintage, vintage, and deluxe. Deluxe bottlings include wines like Moët & Chandon’s Dom Pérignon and Roederer’s Cristal, and are usually but not always vintage-designated. These always expensive prestige cuvées are typically made from the best grapes, benefit from labor-intensive traditional methods at every step of the winemaking process, and are aged longer before being put on the market. And they are always expensive, some selling for $200 or more for a standard 750 ml. bottle.