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Champagne is premium wine. Arguably Champagne is most famous all over the world. The name of the wine Champagne comes from a region called Champagne in France. Technically the name Champagne should be used only in those bottles of wine made in the region Champagne, France but Champagne made in USA or Canada is also named as Champagne. The Treaty of Madrid signed in 1891 enabled the other Champagne producing countries to use the name Champagne.
Mainly three types of Champagne is produced. These are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Producing Champagne is a lengthy process. The process of secondary fermentation makes the Champagne. For the Champagne, grapes are picked early when the grape is not fully ripened. In these grapes the sugar level is relatively low and the level of acid is high. Only for pink Champagne fully ripened grapes are used. After collecting the grapes, the fermentation process of Champagne begins.
The first level of fermentation is a regular process like other wines. The natural sugar of the grapes is converted into alcohol. First level of the fermentation results in the making of the base of the Champagne wine. This basic Champagne wine is highly acidic and not good for consuming. From here the blending process of Champagne starts. Wines from a variety of vineyards are added to this base wine. After the blending process, sugar and yeast is added to Champagne in small quantities. Then Champagne is bottled and stored horizontally in the wine cellar.
The second level of fermentation of the Champagne starts from this stage. In the first phase of fermentation, the carbon di oxide produced because of fermentation was allowed to get away. Now in the second phase the trapped carbon di oxide inside the bottles dissolves with the Champagne during fermentation. This makes Champagne unique. Champagne is aged in the vineyards for one to three years. |
