Champagne wine

History

Wine has been made in Champagne since at least Roman times, and the coronation of Hugh Capet at Reims in 987 started a long royal link with the region's wines. Sparkling wine came later: in 1662 the English scientist Christopher Merret described how added sugar made wine sparkle. Dom Pierre Pérignon, appointed to the Abbey of Hautvillers in 1668, is often credited with inventing Champagne, but he actually worked to perfect still white wine from black grapes. In the early 19th century Madame Clicquot's cellar developed riddling to clear sediment. Riots in 1911 led to the legal delimitation of the region in 1927, the creation of the interprofession (CIVC) in 1941, and UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2015.

Terroir and appellations

The appellation covers about 34,200 hectares across 319 villages in five départements, farmed by more than 16,000 growers and sold by around 400 houses and 120 cooperatives (champagne.fr figures). The main districts are the Montagne de Reims, known for Pinot Noir in villages such as Bouzy and Verzenay; the Vallée de la Marne, home of Aÿ and much of the Meunier; the Côte des Blancs, planted with Chardonnay in Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; the Côte de Sézanne; and the Côte des Bar in the Aube. The cool climate, with about 630 mm of rain a year, gives acidic base wines suited to sparkling wine.

Grapes and wine styles

Three grapes account for almost all plantings: Pinot Noir (38%), Chardonnay (32%) and Meunier (30%). Most Champagne is a non-vintage blend of grapes, villages and years, aged at least 15 months before release; vintage Champagne must age at least three years. Blanc de blancs is made only from white grapes, usually Chardonnay, while blanc de noirs comes from Pinot Noir and Meunier. The region also makes still wines under the Coteaux Champenois appellation. For how Champagne compares with other sparkling wines, see Champagne vs Prosecco vs Cava.

Grand cru and premier cru villages

Champagne rates whole villages rather than vineyards. The échelle des crus began in 1911 as a percentage scale used to set grape prices and was formally agreed in 1919. Until 2003 it rated 17 villages at 100% (grand cru), 44 at 90 to 99% (premier cru) and the rest at 80 to 89%. The price-setting system was later abandoned to comply with competition law, but the grand cru and premier cru names remain on labels. The 17 grand crus include Ambonnay, Avize, Mailly-Champagne, Sillery and Oger.

Champagne wine: questions and answers

Other wine regions of France

• Bordeaux
• Burgundy
• Alsace
• Rhône Valley
• Loire Valley
• Beaujolais
• Provence
• Languedoc-Roussillon
• South West France
• Jura