Toast the Holidays With a Thoughtfully Selected Bottle of Bubbly

The sparkling wines of Champagne, France, are some of the most iconic wines in the world. No one does it quite like Champagne. In fact, no one can even claim to be Champagne, because the name belongs to the region and to the wines produced there. Outside of this regulated area, sparkling wines must go by a different name, even if produced in other wine regions in France.

So, what does it mean to be Champagne?

Champagne is the northernmost winemaking region in France, about a 90-minute drive from Paris. The main city in the area is Reims, where many of its producers are based.

The region has a rich history dating back to ancient times, but most of its early wines were reds, not the bubbly we know.

Though Champagne was not the first region in France to produce sparkling wines (that was Limoux in the 1500s), Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon is credited with the accidental discovery of carbon dioxide gas creating bubbles in fermenting wine. The story goes that he told his fellow monks to quickly come taste the new sparkling creation; it was like “tasting the stars.”

The Champagne Method

Making Champagne is a layered process. The method of creating sparkling wine by a second fermentation in the bottle is called “méthode champenoise,” or champagne method, in Champagne, and “méthode traditionnelle,” or traditional method, outside the region.

Champagne is not the only place in the world using the traditional method of making bubbly. Wines like cava in Spain, franciacorta in Italy and crémant in other parts of France are also made in this way – with slightly different aging requirements in each region.

Though the process can seem quite complicated, it starts just like any other winemaking with a base wine fermentation. The second fermentation in the bottle is what ultimately leads to the beloved bubbles. The base wine is added to the bottle along with the “liqueur de tirage,” or wine, sugar and yeast (to aid with fermentation). The bottle is sealed with a crown cap or cork and placed on its side in the cellar.

When the second fermentation is complete, the dead yeast, or “lees,” in the bottle create a creamier mouthfeel and aromas such as brioche that are so common with Champagne. In Champagne, the wine must spend a minimum of 12 months on its lees. Non-vintage Champagne (NV) must spend 15 months from bottling to release, and vintage Champagne (indicated by a year) must spend at least three years in the cellar.

Disgorgement is when the cap of the bottle is removed, and the pressure from inside expels the yeast. The wine lost in this process is replaced with a “liqueur de dosage,” which includes sugar and reserve wine. It is the amount of sugar added to Champagne at this time that determines the style from brut nature to doux.

Understanding the Labels

So, you need Champagne for a holiday party. How do you decide which bottle to grab?

Champagne has several different styles, from blanc de blancs to blanc de noirs and rosé. Then, there is vintage or non-vintage and all of the sweetness levels. It can be confusing! Here is a basic Champagne label primer.

Rosé Champagne gets its coloring from the addition of a bit of red wine to the white base wine, or it can be made like other rosé wines with just a shorter maceration period to extract a little color from the skins.

A blanc de blancs is a white sparkling wine made only from white grapes, like chardonnay. Blanc de noirs is a white sparkling wine made from only black grapes like pinot noir and/or meunier.

Most Champagne is non-vintage, meaning it is made with wines blended from several years to maintain a consistent overall characteristic. However, some bottles show a vintage year on the label. These wines are rarer and are made with grapes harvested during a single year. They are often more expensive.

The most common style on a Champagne label is brut. This means that the wine can have up to 12 grams of sugar per liter. Brut nature wines have less sugar from zero to three grams per liter, and extra brut can have up to six.

For sweeter styles, look for “dry” or “sec” on a label. This means the wine has 17-32 g/l of sugar. “Demi-sec” or medium dry has 32-50 g/l. And the sweetest wines – with 50+ g/l of sugar – are labeled as “doux.”

A lot of the bottles we see on shelves here comes from Champagne houses such as Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Pommery, Moët & Chandon, Delamotte and Taittinger. These houses may be independently owned, but most are part of larger corporations. The larger houses source most or all of their grapes from vineyards around the region and make their wine in-house. You’ll see “NM” (Négociant-Manipulant) on the back label of these wines.

Grower Champagne producers, such as Maurice Grumier, not only make their own wines, but they also grow their own grapes. You can tell which bottles are grower champagne producers by the “RM” (Récoltant-Manipulant) on the back label.

Regardless of which Champagne you choose to mark this holiday season, it’s always great to get everyone in the celebratory mood with the most iconic of bubbles. Cheers!