Champagne is something special to drink, no daily beverage for most of us. It is a symbol of luxury and celebration, praised all other the world. This magic is created thanks to the “method Champenoise” which turns a blend of grape juice into an invigorating, bubbly and festive - some would say sexy - wine.

It was during the 17th century that the monk Dom Pérignon, the famous cellar-master of the Abbey of Hautvilliers, taught the wine growers the secrets of Champagne. He did not create, but perfected, the method by making a choice of grape varieties and blending vintages from various vineyards.

The Champagne region

Champagne is a region located on the northeast of Paris. The production area is mainly located over the departments of Marne, Aube and Aisne. There are five production areas : Montagne de Reims (Reims Mountain), the Marne Valley, the Côte-des- Blancs, the vineyards of Aube, the Coteaux du Sézannais.

Champagne is the most northerly wine-growing region in France. The winters are relatively mild, the summers and falls rich in sunshine. This weather is the most beneficial for this type of wine. The growing season is longer than in other areas. It contributes to increase the acidity - an important factor for sparkling wine.

Soil of the Champagne region

3 different AOC (Appellation d’origine controlee) identify the wine produced in Champagne:

• Champagne
• Coteaux champenois
• Rose des riceys

No other sparkling wine can carry the name of Champagne. You may see “methode champenoise” on some sparkling wine. It means that it follows the same process as the one used to produce Champagne but the wine is coming from another area.

In the small print, you may see a number prefaced by two letters. It tells you who bottled the champagne. The most common letters codes are:

Négociant-manipulants (NM) are large organizations which would typically buy or harvest large quantities of grapes and process them in their cellars into Champagne. A “Négociant” is someone who is negociating. “Manipulant” means “Manipulating”

Récoltant-manipulants (RM) are smaller groups of growers who make and sell their own wine. “Récolant” means “harvester”. If you ever go to the Champagne region, you will see quite a few “récoltant-manipulants” in each small city and even village. Typically, it is not possible to visit unless you set up an appointment in advance.

Récoltant-cooperateurs (RC) This wine producers would use the service of a cooperative to process the grapes, but he would get the end result back to sell it to his own clients.

Co-opératives-manipulants (CM) are the co-operatives, where growers bring their harvest. The co-operative would press and mature the champagne in its own cellar.

Marque-auxiliaire (MA) – literally auxiliary mark- that term describes champagne that was produced on the behalf of a reseller who is going to put his own label on the bottle

Production process

There are three different varieties of grapes used in the elaboration of Champagne: Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

Every step of the production is based on a wide range of rules. It is important that at any step during the process, the grapes should not be crushed to avoid coloration from the skin of the black grapes.