Wine Region Champagne

The Champagne region, about 160 kilometers northeast of Paris, is known worldwide for their sparkling Champagne.

Champagne is synonymous with elegance, luxury, and celebration. The combination of unique terroir, grape varieties, and traditional winemaking techniques has established Champagne as the most prestigious wine in the world.

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Champagne Regions

The Champagne region spans 5 departments:

• Marne (66% of the wine area)
• Aube (23%)
• Aisne (10%)
• Haute-Marne
• Seine-et-Marne

The vineyards cover approximately 34,000 hectares of land.

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Vallée de la Marne

Famous for its Pinot Meunier-dominant wines, which are often fruity and approachable.

Montagne de Reims

Known for producing Pinot Noir-dominant Champagnes, often with robust and structured characteristics.

Côte des Blancs

Renowned for Chardonnay-dominant Champagnes, known for their finesse, acidity, and elegance.

Côte des Bar

Located in the Aube department, this region has been gaining recognition for its Pinot Noir-based Champagnes.

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Grapes

Champagne is a blended wine. Several grape varieties can be used to make it, bringing their own personal touch to the wine.

The 3 primary grapes authorized for Champagne production is Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Munier.

Chardonnay

Known for its elegance and acidity, Chardonnay is predominantly grown in the Côte des Blancs subregion, contributing to the production of Blanc de Blancs Champagne.

Pinot Noir

Adds structure and body to the wines. It is commonly grown in the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne subregions, contributing to both Blanc de Noirs and traditional blends.

Pinot Meunier

Adds fruitiness and approachability. It is often found in the Vallée de la Marne and other areas.

Other Grapes

The four varieties Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are also authorised for historical reasons, but with less than 100 hectares of planting, they are of little significance.

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Champagne Styles

Non-Vintage (NV)

Blended from wines of multiple years to create a consistent house style.

Vintage

Produced in exceptional years and made exclusively from grapes harvested in that year.

Blanc de Blancs

Made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes.

Blanc de Noirs

Made exclusively from red grape varieties, usually Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier.

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Champagne Production

The traditional method, or Méthode Champenoise, is used to produce Champagne.

After an initial alcoholoc fermentation, a blend of still wines (white and red) is bottled with added yeast and sugar to undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle, that creates the carbonation in Champagne.

The wines then are aged on the lees for an extended period, contributing to their complexity and flavor development.

Wine Region Champagne

Champagne is the region of the most famous sparkling wine in the world.