The Champagne Vineyards
The Champagne vineyards span five departments, with three main ones producing the majority:
- Marne: over 20,000 hectares and home to all Grand Cru vineyards.
- Aube: 5,000 hectares with wines comparable to Marne's quality.
- Aisne: 2,000 hectares of vineyards.
Seine-et-Marne and Haute-Marne have just over 10 hectares each. The entire Champagne vineyard covers less than 30,000 hectares—only 2% of France’s total vineyard area.
Major Wine Regions
- Montagne de Reims
- Marne Valley
- Côte des Blancs
Terroir
The chalk and limestone soil ensures good drainage, retains moisture, and stores heat during the day to aid grape ripening.
Champagne Winemaking Process
Main steps:
- Harvesting and grape sorting
- Pressing (Cuvée, Taille, Rebêche)
- Settling (débourbage)
- Fermentation at low temperature
- Racking and storage in barrels
- Blending (the Cuvée)
- Second fermentation (sugar + yeast)
- Aging on lees (1 to 3 years)
- Riddling (bottles turned to collect sediments)
- Disgorgement (freezing method or manual)
- Dosage (Brut, Demi-Sec, etc.)
- Bottling, aging, labeling
Non-vintage Brut champagnes should be consumed within 1–2 years. Vintage bottles can age much longer.