Champagne
Champagne (French: vin de Champagne) is a sparkling wine, grown and pressed in the Champagne wine-growing region of France under strictly defined rules. The carbonic acid dissolved within the wine emerges during the second fermentation in the bottle ('Méthode traditionnelle' or 'Méthode champenoise'). The name 'Champagne' is trademarked.
Sparkling wines attained by bottle fermentation are called vin mousseux or crémant in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg; cava in Spain; spumante in Italy; winzersekt in Germany; and hauersekt in Austria.
For champagne, only three types of grapes are used: the red Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the white Chardonnay. The mixture of these types decides upon the character of the champagne. About 80% of the overall quantity of champagne produced, is blended as a cuvee of several vintages and brought to the market without any vintage designation.
To savour the freshness of a champagne, it should be drunk while it is young. Champagne keeps on ageing in the bottle. The carbonic acid pressure sinks slowly but steadily, and at the same time the taste becomes more harmonious and the aromas more intensive. Simple champagnes without vintage usually reach their peak within two years. In contrast, fine vintage champagnes can be stored for ten years or longer. Whether the considerably higher price of champagne is always justified, is open to conjecture. The fact is, champagne is subject to the strictest production regulations of all sparkling wines, the observance of which is supervised by independent authorities.