Champagne is any sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region around Reims in France. It can get pretty pricey as demand often outstrips supply and it is a premium product - many Champagne houses use hand production techniques, which haven't changed much in 200 years.
Different styles of Champagne
There are many different styles of Champagne; what you buy is down to personal preference and budget.
Here’s a quick guide to the key styles:
NV
This means the Champagne is Non Vintage. As Champagne is grown in the far north of France – they can have good years and bad years weather wise. A proportion of what’s called based wine is mixed with the wine from the recent harvest to maintain a consistent quality.
VINTAGE
Vintage Champagne’s are only produced in the best vintages. As the grapes are grown in what is deemed, good conditions, the quality of the Champagne should be higher than the NV. Generally Vintage Champagne is more expensive, but will have a fuller flavour and will generally have been aged longer (between 3 and 5 years) before being released.
BRUT, SEC, DEMI-SEC
Brut - Brut means extra dry. Most Champagnes are Brut style, unless otherwise stated. Sec - A bit sweeter than Brut Champagne but not as sweet as Demi-Sec. Demi-Sec - A sweeter style of Champagne.
ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE
Hugely popular Champagne style over the last 5-10 years, most the big houses now make a pink Champagne. Generally, by adding a little red wine to the white base wine. Interestingly, it is the only place in France where you are allowed to create rosé In this way.
GRAND MARQUES
The Grand Marques are the more famous names that you may have heard of: Bollinger, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot, Pol Roger, Laurent-Perrier to name a few. These top brands are often slightly more expensive but they should be of higher quality, each with it’s own house style.
PRESTIGE CUVÉES
These are the top wines of most Champagne houses, and as such are usually, very expensive! Dom Perignon was the first, created by Moet & Chandon. Other famous Prestige Cuvées include; Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, Taittinger Comtes des Champagne, Krug and Cristal. Prestige Cuvées are more like a special wedding gift, than a Champagne to use at your wedding!
MAGNUMS
Magnums are a double bottle of Champagne, so contain 150cl as opposed to 75cl in a regular bottle. They look great at weddings or events, and come with the added bonus that you won’t need as many thus bringing any corkage bill down.
GRAND CRU
Grand Cru, which translates literally as 'Great Growth', means the grapes have come from the top sites across Champagne. The 319 villages of Champagne are graded for their grape-growing potential - only the 17 villages which score 100% qualify as Grand Crus.
PREMIER CRU
Premier Cru means all the grapes have come from the next 41 best villages in Champagne, which have scored at least 90% on the 'Echelle des Crus' (Quality Ladder) for their grape-growing potential. All Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages of Champagne are located within the Marne Départment.
BLANC DE BLANCS
Champagne can only be made from any mix of three grapes; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. It is up to the Champagne house to decide on what their own mix will be. A Blanc de Blancs means they have chosen to use only Chardonnay grapes. This is an elegant style which is becoming increasingly more fashionable.
BLANC DE NOIRS
Not seen as commonly as Blancs de Blancs it means that the blend consists of white juice from only red grapes; Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. This tends to mean the Champagne is richer and fuller in flavour.
GROWERS CHAMPAGNE
This is usually a small scale Champagne made from grapes grown and produced by the same Champagne house. They are usually more quality focused as opposed to brand focused, but you can find a lot of value here.
