French Champagne

Champagne is a sparkling wine that originates from the Champagne region of France, approximately 100 miles off Paris. The region encompasses Marne, Haute-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Aisne and Aube, and the towns of Reims and Epernay; this region has been producing wine for years, but it was only in the nineteenth century that sparkling wine became Champagne's key product.

Today, by law, only sparkling wines made following the local appellation laws and originating in the viticultural region of Champagne are allowed to use that name. In fact, the ?champenois? (wine producers) have been known to take legal action against anyone who uses the name improperly; they feel that if a bottle has ?Champagne? on the label, it should act as a guarantee that this wine has been produced in the northern French region.

Further, the term ?methode champenois? on the label certifies that the sparkling wine was made using the traditional French process. In this process, the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, followed by years of the bottles lying on their sides to age. The bottles are then angled in large racks so the sediment collects in the cap. Subsequently, the neck is frozen in brine, and the caps then swiftly removed so the sediment blows right out of the bottle. This procedure is followed by another few months of aging.

Sparkling wine made anywhere else in the world, even if the traditional ?methode champenois? is used, is just sparkling wine. Interestingly, everybody is manufacturing sparkling wine these days. The Spanish call it ?Cava?. The Germans use the term ?Sekt?. In Italy, Champagne is known as ?Spumante? or ?Frizzante?. Hence the term ?French Champagne?.