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Now, many of us drink wines like cabernet sauvignon, cab franc, pinot noir, and chardonnay several times a week, which makes it easier to understand the nuances in these still red and white wines.
Because Champagne is more of a special occasion wine, most of us are not drinking it every week – though wouldn’t it be great if we were! To help you pick out the best bottle of bubbly, no matter the occasion, we decided to put together an easy-to-follow Guide to Champagne for all of your Champagne needs.
Let’s start with the basics. While any grape variety can be used to make sparkling wine – you will find Pétillant-Naturel wines, for example, made with everything from albarino to riesling, and sangiovese to syrah – Champagne is made with just three grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier.
It goes without saying that only sparkling wine from France’s Champagne region can be called Champagne.
Blanc de Blanc
The first thing to know about Blanc de Blanc Champagne is that it is made entirely with white grapes. Blanc de blanc translates to ‘white of white.’ These chardonnay-based wines have notes of citrus fruit and creamy lemon tart.
Blanc de Noirs
Unlike Blanc de Blanc, which is made with white grapes, Blanc de Noirs Champagne is made with red grapes, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. Because Blanc de Noir wines experience some skin contact, these sparkling wines tend to be fuller bodied. The inclusion of pinot meunier provides nice notes of acidic red fruit, while pinot noir adds notes of bruised apple, honey, and brioche.
Prestige Cuvée
What is Prestige Cuvée Champagne? A Prestige Cuvée is a Champagne house’s super premium bottling. These vintage-only bottles are considered ultra-special occasion Champagnes, and there is no guarantee a brand will produce a Prestige Cuvée every year. It all comes down to the quality of the harvest that season.
Exemples of Prestige Cuvées are: Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Champagne 2006 ($220) and Billecart-Salmon, Cuvée Nicolas François, Champagne, 2002 ($150).
Rosé Champagne
Knowledgeable and casual wine drinkers love rosé Champagne for its beauty in the glass and its taste on the palate. Rosé Champagnes can be made with any combination of the region’s grapes because it’s not the grape variety that affects the color of these sparkling wines; it’s a step in the winemaking process.
Just before the wine is bottled, a touch of still red wine, either pinot noir or pinot meunier, is added back to the “white” Champagne juice. And voila! You have pink Champagne.
The process of making Champagne makes these sparkling wines naturally pretty acidic. Sugar, in the form of grape, must, is sometimes added to Champagne just before it’s bottled to mellow out this acidity. When you see the word ‘brut’ on a label, this indicates the amount of sugar added to the bottling.
Everyone has a preference when it comes to sweet vs. dry Champagne. Here is a breakdown of what to look for on the bottle to help you select the perfect Champagne every time.
Brut Nature (also called Brut Zero or Zero Dosage)
Love ultra-dry Champagne? Brut Nature is the driest Champagne of all. This style of Champagne has a noticeable acidity and less than 3 grams of sugar.
Extra Brut
Extra Brut Champagne contains 0-6 grams of sugar and is considered a “bone-dry” Champagne. Bottles of Extra Brut Champagne include Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut and Pannier Egerie Extra Brut Champagne.
Brut
Brut Champagne is the most popular style of Champagne. With just a touch of sweetness, these Champagnes appeal to a wide range of palates. Sugar in Brut Champagne is capped at 12 grams per liter.
Extra Dry
Similar to Brut Champagne, Extra Dry Champagne is just slightly sweet. The balanced acidity, dryness, and sweetness make these Champagnes perfect as aperitifs or pre-dinner drinks. Extra Dry contains between 12-17 grams of sugar.
Off-Dry (Champagne Sec)
If you’re used to brut-style champagnes, then champagnes labeled ‘off-dry’ will taste on the sweeter side to you. Dry Champagne can have up to 32 grams of sugar per bottle. This style of Champagne is relatively rare in today’s sparkling wine market.
Interested in trying an off-dry Champagne? Tattinger’s special ‘Nocturn’ bottling has a pretty nice design and makes a great gift bottle.
Demi-Sec
With 32-50 grams of sugar per standard bottle of Champagne, demi-sec Champagne will taste pretty sweet if you’re used to sipping drier versions of sparkling wine. Interestingly, one glass of demi-sec Champagne has less sugar than a gin & tonic, a latte, and a margarita.
Doux
Doux Champagnes are the sweetest Champagnes. With more than 50 grams of sugar per liter, these wines are usually served as a dessert wine or with after-dinner cheese plates.
Vintage Champagnes must be aged a minimum of three years, and non-vintage Champagnes must be aged a minimum of 15 months.
Non-vintage Champagnes are made with grapes from multiple harvests – usually three to five different harvests. Blending grapes from multiple harvests over time gives the winemaker the ability to replicate what is called a “house-style” Champagne. This is why you will find people who consistently gravitate towards brands like Dom Perignon or Krug, or Pol Roger.
Vintage Champagnes, on the other hand, are made with grapes from single vintage harvests. These Champagnes have unique flavor profiles that will vary from vintage to vintage. It’s also worth mentioning that Champagne houses do not make vintage Champagnes from every harvest. Only the most exceptional harvests are used in these sparkling wines.
This is why you won’t see vintage Champagnes on the market every year.
