Champagne

Champagne, as a sparkling wine, owes its elegance and undisputed class to its region of origin, Champagne. Over the centuries, the “Champenoise” method—defined by secondary fermentation in the bottle—has taken shape in this region and subsequently spread throughout the world, using both different grape varieties and the same grapes found in Champagne. However, the class, elegance, and character of the wines produced in the region of origin remain unmatched to this day. The region known as Champagne is located about 150 kilometers northeast of Paris. It appears that vines were present in the area as early as the Tertiary period; however, the winemaking history of Champagne begins with the Roman Empire. It was not until the 17th century, thanks to a series of factors related to the region’s unique environmental and climatic conditions, that producers began to understand, harness, and control the various stages of production, eventually arriving in the mid-1800s at what we now call “Champagne.”

In practice, the vineyards of Champagne are classified according to a 1911 system known as the Echelle des Crus (scale of crus), which is based on the quality of each individual cru and its distance from the commercial heart of Champagne—namely Reims and Épernay. Essentially, the system classifies the various municipalities of Champagne based on the commercial value of the grapes grown within each municipality, expressed as a percentage.

The three categories are: Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Cru