Champagne is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, specific grape-pressing methods and secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to cause carbonation.
The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term "champagne" exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine-producing districts within the historical province: Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. The city of Reims and the town of Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. Reims is famous for its cathedral, the venue of the coronation of the French kings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
Pinot Meunier, also known as Meunier or Schwarzriesling, is a variety of red wine grape most noted for being one of the three main varieties used in the production of Champagne. Until recently, producers in Champagne generally did not acknowledge Pinot Meunier, preferring to emphasise the use of the other noble varieties, but now Pinot Meunier is gaining recognition for the body and richness it contributes to Champagne. Pinot Meunier is approximately one-third of all the grapes planted in Champagne. It is a chimeric mutation of Pinot: its inner cell layers are composed of a Pinot genotype which is close to Pinot noir or Pinot gris; the outer, epidermal, layer is, however, made up of a mutant, distinctive, genotype. Pinot Meunier was first mentioned in the 16th century, and gets its name and synonyms from flour-like dusty white down on the underside of its leaves.
Sancerre is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine produced in the area of Sancerre in the eastern part of the Loire valley, southeast of Orléans.
Louis Roederer is a producer of champagne based in Reims, France. Founded in 1776, the business was inherited and renamed by Louis Roederer in 1833. It remains as one of the few independent and family-run maisons de champagne. Over 3.5 million bottles of Louis Roederer champagne are shipped each year to more than 100 countries.
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and inventing the riddling table process to clarify champagne in 1816. In 1818, she invented the first known blended rosé champagne by blending still red and white wines, a process still used by the majority of champagne producers.
Gosset, founded in 1584, is the oldest wine house in Champagne. In 1584, Pierre Gosset, alderman of Aÿ and wine-grower, made still, mostly red, wines from the grapes he harvested from his own vines. In those days, two wines vied for pride of place at the table to the Kings of France: the wine of Aÿ and, from some hundreds of leagues further South, the wine of Beaune. Then, in the 18th century the wine made in around Aÿ began to bubble and the Gosset family turned naturally to the production of champagne.
Krug Champagne is a Champagne house founded by Joseph Krug in 1843. It is based principally in Reims, the main city in France's Champagne region and is one of the famous Champagne houses that formed part of the Grandes marques. Today the house is majority owned by the multinational conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.E. whose portfolio includes other well known wine brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Château d'Yquem and Ruinart. Despite LVMH's majority ownership, the Krug family is still actively involved in all the key decisions of the house but does not manage the day-to-day operations.
Bollinger is a French Champagne house, a producer of luxury sparkling wines from the Champagne region. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Grande Année and R.D. as well as the non-vintage Special Cuvée. Founded in 1829 in Aÿ by Hennequin de Villermont, Paul Renaudin and Jacques Bollinger, the house continues to be run by members of the Bollinger family. In Britain, Bollinger Champagnes are affectionately known as "Bolly".
The traditional method is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines, in Spain to produce cava, in Portugal to produce Espumante and in Italy to produce Franciacorta. The method is known as the méthode champenoise, but the Champagne producers have successfully lobbied the European Union to restrict the use of that term within the EU only to wines produced in Champagne. Thus, wines from elsewhere cannot use the term "méthode champenoise" on products sold in the EU, and instead the term "traditional method" or the local language equivalent. South African wines from the Western Cape are labelled with the term Methode Cap Classique. Some wine producers in countries outside the EU may disregard EU labeling laws and use méthode champenoise or even "Champagne" on labels for products not exported to the EU, but this usage is decreasing.
Pol Roger is a producer of champagne. The brand is still owned and run by the descendants of Pol Roger. Located in the town of Épernay in the Champagne region, the house annually produces around 110,000 cases of Champagne.
Armand de Brignac, known colloquially as Ace of Spades, is a French Champagne owned by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and LVMH. The brand is produced by Champagne Cattier and sold in opaque metallic bottles. The brand's first bottling, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, is identifiable by its gold bottle with French pewter Ace of Spades labels.
Champagne Lanson is a Champagne producer that is based in Reims in the Champagne region. Since 2006, it has been owned by the Lanson-BCC group that is headed by Bruno Paillard.
Ruinart is the oldest established Champagne house, exclusively producing champagne since 1729. Founded by Nicolas Ruinart in the Champagne region in the city of Reims, it is currently owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.
Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck on 16 July 1785 in Reims, France. Heidsieck joined with Piper in October 1839. In the late 1980s, Piper-Heidsieck became part of the Rémy Cointreau wine and spirits group. It was sold in 2011 to Européenne de Participation Industrielle, a privately owned holding company of French luxury brands.
Meslier Petit is a rare white wine grape that is a minor component of some Champagne blends. It is valued for its ability to retain acidity even in hot vintages. In the very rare cases where it is not blended, it makes crisp wines tasting of apples. The Traminer family of grapes can be difficult to grow, with poor disease resistance and low yields.
Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 22 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 5 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) and at least 13 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia. The region annually produces around 1.3 million hectolitres of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.
Purcari is a brand of wine distributed in Central and Eastern Europe. The winery is located in Purcari Wine Region, within the Ștefan Vodă District of Moldova. Through the years, Purcari Winery has won over 250 medals at international contests like Decanter World Wine Awards, International Wine & Spirits Competition, International Wine Challenge and many other competitions.
Duval-Leroy is a Champagne producer based in Vertus, a village in the Côte des Blancs region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1859, produces both vintage and non-vintage cuvées as well as a line of organic wines. The house of Duval-Leroy is also known for its pioneering role in promoting a sustainable development model for its viticulture.
