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Champagne
Champagne is one of the best known wines in the world. Champagne is definitely a festive wine. The Champagne region is located in the northeast of France, around the cities of Reims and Epernay. There are basically three different areas in the Champagne wine region:
- Montagne de Reims
- Côte des Blancs
- Marne Valley.
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Location: |
East of Paris, and West of Alsace |
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Size: |
25,000 km2 (size of the Champagne Ardennes region) |
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Size of the vineyards: |
35,000 ha
99 wine appellations |
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Grapes in Champagne: |
Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir |
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Production: |
250 million bottles
Champagne wine making |
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Type of Wine: |
Sparkling wine |
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Champagne wine and food: |
Oysters, caviar, foie gras, smoked salmon |
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The first wine was made in Champagne about 2,000 years ago, and although it was famous in the Middle Ages, it was not the same wine we drink now. At that time, wine was red or white not sparkling. People used barrels to ship their wines and they noticed that in the spring after harvest, the wine tended to foam. This was not good for business. But some experimentation 17th Century turned it into the wine we know and love today. A monk called Dom Perignon was the first to understand the process of champagne fermentation and experiment with it. He mixed red and white grapes from different villages and perfected the way winemakers at that time used to produce sparkling wine. Nowadays, Champagne is a festive wine, but a few traditional wines from Champagne are still available.
There are two different types of Champagne. One is vintage, where the bottle of Champagne wears a vintage year on the label. Vintage champagnes are not made every year rather they are mage only when the wine is good enough. The best champagnes are Tête de Cuvée or Premium vintage such as the most famous Dom Perignon. Before they are sold vintage champagnes can be matured in a cellar for up to 8 years, and you can keep them for a year or two before drinking.
The other type is non-vintage. More than 80 percent of all champagne is non vintage. To make non vintage champagne, winemakers mix different harvests from different places and mature them in a cellar for 2 to 3 years before they are sold. These champagnes should stay in your cellar for one to two years before you drink them.
To get the best from your champagne don’t leave an opened bottle in the frig for more than 3 days, even with a teaspoon inside.
There are several different styles of champagne:
- Doux (sweet), 4% and more sugar content
- Demi-sec (fairly sweet), 2.5 to 5% sugar content
- Sec (sweet/dry), 1.75 to 2.5% sugar content
- Extra sec (medium dry), 1.5 to 2% sugar content
- Brut (dry), 0.5 to 1.5% sugar content and the most common Champagne these days
- Extra brut (very dry), 0 to 0.5% sugar content.
And the best way to taste champagne?
Champagne is traditionally served in a flute or in a tulip shaped glass. This kind of glass allows the bubbles to rise to the surface and keep a constant temperature. Don’t pour your champagne to the top of the glasses, rather only two thirds full. Champagne is always served cold and chilled. But not too cold, otherwise the wine is not able to release its aromas. A non-vintage champagne should be drunk at 8 °C (46 °F). A vintage champagne at 10 °C (50 °F).
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