Champagne is sparkling wine. Many people use the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine but in some countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under the rules of the appellation. Where EU law applies, this alcoholic drink is produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France following rules that demand, among other things, secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation, specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from specific parcels in the Champagne appellation and specific pressing regimes unique to the region.
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, EU countries legally reserve that term 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, Spanish wine Cava, Australian sparkling Shiraz, and Azerbaijani "Pearl of Azerbaijan" made from Madrasa grapes. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
Moët & Chandon, or Moët, is a French fine winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. Moët et Chandon was established in 1743 by Claude Moët, and today owns 1,190 hectares of vineyards, and annually produces approximately 28,000,000 bottles of champagne.
Louis Roederer is a producer of champagne based in Reims, France. Founded in 1776, it was inherited and renamed by Louis Roederer in 1833. It remains today as one of the only still 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.
E & J Gallo Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo, and is the largest exporter of California wines.
Bollinger is a Champagne house, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France. 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".
B.R. Cohn Winery is a winery in Sonoma Valley, California in the United States.
The Mountain Winery, formerly the Paul Masson Mountain Winery, is a winery in Saratoga, California, United States, North America. It was founded by Paul Masson, a pioneer of the California wine industry. The winery became famous for its slogan, voiced by Orson Welles in television commercials: "We will sell no wine before its time."
Yountville Domaine Chandon is a winery located in Napa Valley in the town of Yountville, California. Established in 1973 by Moët et Chandon, by businessman John Wright and was the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in Napa Valley.
Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck on July 16, 1785 in Reims. 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.
Duckhorn Vineyards is a winery outside St. Helena, California, specializing in Merlot wines.
The Mendocino County wine is an appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown mostly in Mendocino County, California. The region is part of the larger North Coast AVA and one of California's largest and most climatically diverse wine growing regions. Mendocino County is one of the northernmost commercial wine grape regions in the state with two distinct climate zones separated by the Mendocino Range. Ten American Viticultural Areas have been designated within Mendocino County. Mendocino is one of the leading wine growing regions for organically produced wine grapes. Nearly 25% of the acreage in Mendocino County is grown organically. In 2004, the residents of the county voted to become the first GMO-free county in the United States in an initiative that was supported by many of the county's largest wineries. The county's widespread focus on organic viticulture has inspired journalists to describe it as "California's organic wine Mecca".
Dominus Estate, is a California wine estate producing Bordeaux style blends, owned by Christian Moueix. The winery is located in Yountville within the Napa Valley AVA.
Deutz, formerly known as Deutz & Geldermann, is a Champagne producer based in the Aÿ region of Champagne. The house was founded in 1838 by William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann and has since been run by successive generations of the Deutz and Geldermann families.
George Rose is an American photographer and writer whose career has included work for the National Football League, Rolling Stone, Time, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. He spent 20 years in the California wine industry, holding prominent public relations positions while amassing a significant body of award-winning food and wine photography.
J Vineyards & Winery is a California winery located in the Russian River Valley AVA of Sonoma County, California, owned and operated by E&J Gallo since 2015. J Vineyards & Winery includes nine distinct estate vineyards located on over 254 acres (1.03 km2), where Pinot noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot gris varietals flourish. The vineyard is named after the founder, Judy Jordan. When the estate was first founded in 1986 as a partnership between Jordan and her father, the emphasis was on producing sparkling wines. Today, the estate capitalizes on great conditions for cool climate grapes and produces high end sparklers as well as varietals. J Vineyards is known for sparkling wine, a notable food and wine program, and pinot noir and pinot gris.
Carol Shelton is an American winemaker and entrepreneur. She has been called the most awarded winemaker in America and was the San Francisco Chronicle's Winemaker of the Year in 2005.
Boll & Cie is a Champagne house based in Reims, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France, founded in 1853. With the exception of the Brut Rose, all Champagnes from Boll & Cie are blanc de blancs. Boll & Cie specializes in Brut Champagne, including a Grand Cru from the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.
Jackson Family Wines is a family-owned wine company headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. It is one of the world's largest wine producers. The Jackson Family Wines portfolio includes 40 brands from vineyards and wineries in California, Oregon, the Bordeaux region in France, Tuscany, Italy, Australia, Chile and South Africa. It holds over 30,000 acres in the United States and is the largest owner of coastal vineyards in California and Oregon.
