Vacation in Paris Blog

Champagne 101...

Places To Visit - Posted on Nov 20,2025 by Hampton*Jan

Everything you always wanted to know about Champagne…just in time for year-end festivities! Champagne is without a doubt the world’s most glamorous and festive wine. But beyond being a delicious bubbly, what exactly is Champagne? How and where is it made? How should it be best enjoyed? We hope we’ll answer all your questions about this fabulous wine…and encourage you to sample some.

Where is Champagne made? In the Champagne region of France, about 144 km (90 miles) east-northeast of Paris—and only there. The major Champenois cities are Reims and Epernay. If Champagne appears on an American wine label, the word must always be qualified, e.g., California Champagne, but most reputable American producers of sparkling wine don’t use Champagne on their labels anyway.

Is all Champagne French? Yes. Period. End of story.

Is all wine made in Champagne sparkling? Almost. The Champagne region makes small quantities of still (i.e., non-sparkling) white, rosé, and red wines, but an overwhelming percentage of Champagne is sparkling.

Isn’t Champagne expensive? Not really. A lot of Champagne sells for under $50—not Bud Light prices to be sure, but nonetheless a steal for the world’s best wine of its kind, especially compared to the prices of top-notch Bordeaux and Burgundy and cult California Cabernets.

Isn’t Champagne only for festive occasions? Definitely not. Champagne is not only a fabulous all-season apéritif, but also one of the most versatile, food-friendly wines of all. Try it with dinner (or lunch!) anytime, with just about any dish, even red meat.

How is Champagne made? Champagne is made using the four-step Méthode Champenoise process: (1) Grapes are pressed, and the grape juice undergoes primary fermentation, just like any other wine, in which yeast turns the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol. (2) The resulting still wine is bottled with more sugar and yeast to produce a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which produces the all-important bubbles. (3) Then the sediment formed during the secondary fermentation is expelled from the bottle via a process called disgorgement. (4) Finally, dosage (a sugar/wine mixture) is added, the finished wine is corked, and a wire capsule is added to secure the cork. The amount of sugar in the dosage determines the sweetness (or lack thereof) of the finished wine.

How many bubbles are there per bottle? About 50 million. No joke.

What grape varieties is Champagne made from? Almost all Champagne is made from one or more of Chardonnay (white), Pinot Noir (red), and Pinot Meunier (red); five other grape varieties are permitted but rarely used.

How do you open a bottle of Champagne? It’s not difficult. Remove the foil wrap and loosen the wire capsule holding the cork. Keep the bottle pointed away from people and grandma’s Baccarat. Assuming you’re right-handed, grasp the cork in your left hand (never let it go), and the bottom of the bottle with your right hand. Gently twist the bottle, re-adjusting your grip on the bottle and not on the cork, until you feel the bottle pressure helping you out. Easy does it. The cork should ease out quietly with a pffffft sound and not with a pop!

How do you serve Champagne? Chill it and pour it gently into regular wine glasses. Those thin, tall, tapering, flutes are popular and look pretty, but they make it difficult to appreciate the wine’s aroma. Even worse, though still in use, are the flat, saucer-shaped coupes used in old movies like Casablanca. Those were supposedly based on the shape of Marie-Antoinette’s breast, but they allow too many bubbles to escape too quickly.

What are some different kinds of Champagne? Most Champagne is brut non-vintage (or, more accurately, multi vintage), meaning that the wine is dry, and assembled from wines from different vintages; producers strive for consistency year after year with their multi-vintage bottlings. Other kinds of Champagne are:

●Vintage: Made exclusively from grapes harvested in that year. Vintage Champagne is made only when a producer “declares a vintage” because of favorable conditions, and is thus generally an indication of quality—and a higher price.

●Blanc de Blancs: Literally “white [wine] from white [grapes]”. A Champagne made from Chardonnay only. Can be either vintage or multi-vintage. Generally lighter bodied and more acidic than most blended (multi-grape) Champagnes; in the wine world, acidity is considered a favorable attribute.

●Blanc de Noirs: Literally “white [wine] from black (i.e., red) [grapes]”. A Champagne made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier only (no Chardonnay). Can be either vintage or multi-vintage. Less common than Blancs de Blancs.

●Rosé: I.e., pink. Typically made by blending a small quantity of red (Champagne) wine with white wine; other rosés are made by simply fermenting red grapes with their skins, usually resulting in a darker and more robust wine. Rosés tend to be more expensive, simply because of additional labor required. Can be either vintage or multi-vintage.

●Extra Brut: Dryer than brut because less sugar is added in the dosage.

●Brut Nature/Brut Zéro: The driest of all; no sugar is added in the dosage.

●Sweeter Champagnes: A small quantity of Champagne is Extra Dry, meaning, ironically, semi-sweet; more sugar is added in the dosage. Sweeter still is Demi Sec (“half dry”). Doux champagne is the sweetest of all. These are delicious with many Asian dishes and desserts and should not be overlooked.

●Houses vs. Growers: Large Champagne producers who often spend lavishly on advertising and celebrity endorsements (e.g., Veuve Clicquot, Moët et Chandon, Roederer, Taittinger) are referred to as houses; these large producers purchase grapes to make their wines. By contrast, grower champagnes are typically made by smaller estates that grow their own grapes; grower Champagnes have become increasingly popular of late.

●Tête de Cuvée: A producer’s most prestigious (and expensive) offering; always vintage. Those three words won’t appear on the label, but the price (around $200) will generally identify a Tête de Cuvée. Some examples are Veuve Clicquot’s La Grande Dame, Moët & Chandon’s Dom Pérignon, Roederer’s Cristal, and Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne. If you want to splurge on a Champagne, this is one place to look in order to impress. As with all high-end wines, you’ll get what (you think) you’re paying for.

What foods does Champagne pair well with? Just about anything. Lighter Champagnes like Blanc de Blancs are perfect with oysters and most seafood, as well as fried chicken and popcorn (seriously). More robust Champagnes like vintage bottles, Blanc de Noirs, and Rosés can pair well with heavier dishes—even with red meat because their acidity and bubbles will balance the richness of the meat. Sweeter Champagnes like Extra Dry and Demi Sec pair well with Asian cuisines and, of course, dessert.

Photo ©George Desipris
*********************************************************************************
Our latest guest blogger - 
François Lang is a dual French/American citizen and lives in Washington DC. After earning two Ivy-League degrees with honors, he served as an IT director at Fannie Mae for a decade, and recently retired after 20+ years as a scientific systems developer and data scientist at the NIH. He is an avid wine collector, home chef, and bon vivant who enjoys spirited repartee. He especially loves French wine (it's no accident that Chauvinism was named after a Frenchman); his favorites wines are from Burgundy, Loire and Champagne. He also leads a group of wine aficionados who meet at local restaurants for BYOB dinners.

-----------------