Champagne

Key Datas: 

• Location: East of Paris, and West of Alsace
• Size of the vineyards: 35,000 hectares (85,000 acres)
• Soil: Chalk
• Weather: Continental, cool winter, sunny summer and fall
• Grapes in Champagne:Chardonnay (26%), Pinot Meunier (36%), Pinot Noir (38%)
• Production:250 million bottles
• Type of Wine:Sparkling wine

Champagne is one of the most well known wines in the world. Champagne is definitely a festive wine. The champagne region spreads in the North East of France, around the cities of Reims and Epernay.

Champagne wine, as we know it today, was created by a monk called Dom Perignon during the 17th century. He managed to understand the typical fermentation, mix the grape varieties, invent the cork and add sugar which dissolve the carbonic gas in the wine.
Summer and fall are quite sunny. The grapes in Champagne benefit from a lot of light. The soil made of chalk reflects the sunlight into the the grapes.
The chalky soil is ideal for Champagne wine. It absorbs water during winter and gives it back to the vine's roots during summer. The other way around, it absorbs heat during summer to give it back during winter. The soil of Champagne is very famous for the cellars winemakers have built. They are about 200 kilometers of cellars dig in the chalk soil. They use these cellars to store the bottles at the perfect temperature and humidity level.

Winemakers use 3 types of grape to produce Champagne. Chardonnay is a white grape. Chardonnay is the typical grape used in great Burgundy white wines. Pinot Noir is a red grape traditionally used in Burgundy to make their famous red wines. Pinot Meunier is a red grape mostly used in Champagne. Pinot Meunier gives a less delicate wine and is mostly used to make second grade Champagne.

- Chardonnay provides freshness and elegance
- Pinot Meunier brings fruitiness and aromas
- Pinot Noir gives body and structure

The three main areas in Champagne area :

- Montagne de Reims : south of Reims city, where the best Pinot Noir grow
- Cote des Blancs : south of Epernay city, where the best Chardonnay grow
- Vallée de la Marne : west of Epernay city, where the best Pinot Meunier grow

It is one of the main reason why winemakers blend grapes from these 3 different terroirs to come up with the best grape juices.

Champagne History :

The first wine was made in Champagne about 2,000 years ago.
Champagne was already famous in the middle-age. But it was not the same wine we use to drink these days. At that time, wine was red or white not sparkling, quite similar to wine from Burgundy.
People used barrels to ship their wines. They noticed that the next Spring season following the harvest, the wine tended to foam. It was not good for business.

The first Champagne was made in the 17th century. A monk called Dom Perignon was the first to understand the process of Champagne fermentation and to elaborate the process. He managed to mix red and white grapes from different villages and therefore perfected the way winemakers at that time used to produce sparkling wine.
Nowadays, Champagne is a festive wine.

Other types of Champagne:

Blanc de Blancs :

This Champagne is made only with Chardonnay (white grape). There are only a few bottles made and there are quite expensive. The wine is more delicate than regular Champagne. It is the best aperitif wine available in France.

Blanc de Noirs :

This Champagne is made with black grapes, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Most of the time, there is only Pinot Noir. Very few bottles are available, even less than Blanc de blancs.

Champagne Rosé :

Pink Champagne is made with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Winemakers add a little bit of red wine during blending. Red wine is usually coming from Bouzy, a typical Pinot Noir still wine from Champagne.