Top 10 Champagne tips

What is champagne?

With champagne, it's all about the grapes and also where those grapes are grown. Champagne can only be made in the Champagne region of France, using a blend of white and red grapes. The skins of the red grapes are not pressed, ensuring a finished wine of light colour. To produce authentic champagne, only three grape varieties can be used:

Pinot Noir
A black grape variety that contributes aromas of red fruits and adds strength and body to the blend.

Meunier
A supple and spicy black grape variety with white juice. It gives champagne roundness and fragrance.

Chardonnay
A white grape giving wines finesse, adding floral and sometimes mineral overtones to young wines.

Blanc de Blancs champagne wines are made using only white (Chardonnay) grapes and Blanc de Noirs is made using only red grapes (Meunier, Pinot Noir).