Everything You Need to Know About Champagne, in Descending Order of Importance

Champagne is one of life’s many miracles—and, as with anything you adore and treasure, it’s even better when you know what you’re doing. And so we present this straightforward guide to getting into Champagne. There are approximately one trillion rabbit holes you can go down in this one category of wine alone, but if you know these seven things (plus four more for extra credit), you are well on your way. The information here is presented in descending order of "importance," which, of course, is subjective, but we think it’s a pretty decent approach: once you know the first thing, it’s easier to wrap your head around the second thing, and so on. The point is to help you buy and drink good Champagne, plain and simple. Ready, go.

1. Champagne can only be spelled with a capital “C”

Champagne is a specific product from a specific region—the word cannot be used correctly in lowercase. A sparkling wine from California can never be Champagne; a Prosecco from Italy can never be Champagne; even Crémant, from another region in France, can never be Champagne. The French fought hard so that Champagne means only two things: the region in France called Champagne, and the sparkling wine that comes from there—Champagne. It is in fact illegal for a producer of sparkling wine from any other region to label their product “champagne,” and even within Champagne there are specific rules for making a product that’s called Champagne.

So, today we’re talking about Champagne—real Champagne—and when you’re out at restaurants and wine shops and wineries, remember that just because you’re drinking or buying sparking wine, it does not mean you’re drinking or buying Champagne.

One key takeaway: “Champagne” only refers to sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France.

2. Look beyond the big brands.

Most people are introduced to Champagne with instantly recognizable brands like Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, and Mumm. Many of these are what’s called négociant Champagnes—they come from big, historic Champagne houses that make wine (often very good wine) that’s consistent year after year. And while these Champagne houses make different labels at different price points, when you buy négociant Champagne, generally speaking, you’re paying for that consistency—and for the brand. A bottle of yellow-label Veuve is always between $50–$60, never less, and only more on restaurant lists, because Veuve did a bunch of market research and marketing to establish it at a price point that feels celebratory, but not so expensive that it’s unattainable. And they price it the same way every year because it’s engineered to be the same every year: négociant Champagnes are made from grapes grown all over the region of Champagne (rarely at the house itself), and blended from several vintages. This ensures a consistent product, no matter the weather or the conditions of a particular season in a particular vineyard.

BUT, ladies and gentlemen, there are other Champagnes to choose from. Specifically, there are two other main designations of Champagne: coopérative Champagnes and grower Champagnes. Coopérative is when a group of growers, usually from a particular region, get together and share their grapes, their wine-making equipment, and their storage space. Sometimes they share a label, other times they have their own. Grower Champagne, on the other hand, is when a winemaker grows the majority of his or her grapes on his or her own property and makes wine from those grapes on that property.

Now, don’t get me wrong: all three types of wines (négociant, coopérative, and grower) can be very good (or very bad). But if you are looking to explore and understand Champagne, both as a product and as a growing region, one very good way to do that is to get into grower Champagne. Grower Champagnes are more variable in quality and style, and more precisely reflect the conditions of the vineyard and the vintage in which they were grown—as well as the distinct winemaking style of the family or the property that made them. This means you can get funky Champagnes, chalky Champagnes, bready Champagnes, and apple-y Champagnes; you can get incredible, once-in-a-lifetime Champagnes, or easy-going Tuesday-night Champagnes—instead of just the same exact Champagne every time.

How to find grower Champagne

The best way: Just ask for it. Any decent wine shop, sommelier, or server will know how to point you to the grower Champagne on their list or shelves.

The harder way: Look at the label. Every bottle of Champagne is marked with its designation as négociant, coopérative, grower, or some variation thereof. On the bottom of every label, in very fine capital letters, you will see two letters that tell you which it is. Here’s a key.

NM Négociant Manipulant / ND Négociant Distributeur: These are producers or distributors who buy all or some of their grapes (and sometimes blended wines) from other growers and winemakers.

CM Coopérative Manipulant: These wines are grown and made in a cooperative, where several winemakers and growers share resources.

RM Récoltant Manipulant: These are the grower Champagnes. Wines labeled RM are made by grower-producers who use at least 95% of their own fruit and make wine on their own property. SR, or Société de Récoltants, is also grower Champagne, but denotes a union of grower-producers who share resources.

You may also see MA, or Marque d’Acheteur, which is a retail operation or restaurant that buys wine and sells it as their own private label.

Another way: Join a club. Our friends at Fatcork offer grower Champagne in quarterly shipments. It’s a great way to learn about Champagne—and comes in mighty handy when you need a bottle of bubbles at a moment’s notice.

One key takeaway: When you’re buying bubbles, ask for “grower Champagne,” and pick from those bottles instead of the big-label wines. (Unless of course you already know you want a big-label Champagne, in which case, go for it!)

3. The sweet spot is between $30 and $60.

One popular misconception is that Champagne is inherently expensive. That is not necessarily true. What makes Champagne potentially more expensive than other wines is that, according to the rules of making Champagne, it can be more labor-intensive and require more equipment than it may to make other wines. (Though that is not always true.) However, there are great Champagnes under $50. Some of the great vintage grower Champagnes hover in the $30–$60 range (note that this is wine-shop pricing; they will be more expensive in a restaurant), and some of the great négociant wines hover in this range, too.

When you get above $60, you need to think about what you’re paying for. Are there excellent Champagnes over $100? Yes, there are. Ruinart and Krug are two great négociant Champagne houses that command higher prices, and some grower-producers also charge a premium for their best vintages and their most interesting, unique, or limited bottlings. And, if you’re celebrating—or you’re deeply into Champagne—you can and should splurge from time to time. But for most celebrations, and more importantly, for daily consumption, you can get some excellent wines in the $50 range. Which brings us to the next point: Champagne is not just for celebrating.

One key takeaway: 90% of the Champagne you buy you should be around $40. The other 10% of the time, you can splurge on something nice. But be sure to think about what you’re buying so you get something interesting and special, not something generic and overpriced. (And when in doubt—we can’t say this enough when it comes to wine—ask an expert.)

4. Champagne is not just for celebrating.

Yes, bubbles are pretty and sparkly and good for celebrations. And here at I’d Rather Be Meryl, we absolutely, 100%, drink Champagne to celebrate special occasions. But we also think it’s a little sad that sparkling wine—and Champagne in particular—has been relegated to special occasions only. There are so many different kinds of wine to try within the category of Champagne—they pair with all different kinds of food, they make great substitutions for weeknight cocktails, and they’re wonderful to bring along to any old dinner party, any night of the week.

And, related: We get it, popping a cork out of a bottle is loud and fun and joyful. And while we won’t try to stop you from doing so in celebration from time to time, it is true that Champagne should generally be opened as gently and as quietly as possible. The bubbles contained inside a bottle of Champagne (or other sparkling wine) are very carefully crafted for a certain fizziness. When you rocket a cork across the room with a loud and celebratory bang, you’re triggering a sudden drop in pressure that, for one, can release some of your precious wine onto the floor, and for two, will disrupt the delicate bubbles within. (On that note, here’s how to open a bottle of bubbles the right way.)

One key takeaway: Drink Champagne at the holidays. Drink it for birthdays, and promotions, and weddings. But also, drink Champagne on Tuesday night after a long day at work. Drink it on Sunday with a nice salad and a roast chicken. Drink it in the bathtub on Friday night. Drink it for absolutely no reason at all. (And when you do, open it quietly.)

5. There are vintage Champagnes and non-vintage Champagnes.

Many of the most popular big-brand Champagnes are non-vintage, which is noted as “NV” on the label. This means simply that they blend grapes from several different vintages to produce a single wine. Non-vintage winemaking is a time-honored practice in Champagne, and it’s done to ensure consistency from year to year.

Vintage wines—wines that are made from grapes that were grown in a single season—are not at all categorically better than NV wines, but may potentially be more unique. Simply put, vintage wines are made from the grapes grown in a single year, and are therefore more expressive of the time and place in which they were produced. They can be delicious or not delicious depending on the vintage, the place, and your personal taste.

2008, 2012, and 2015 are some good recent vintages to look for. Check out Jancis Robinson’s quick guide for more information on specific vintages.

One key takeaway: Wines labeled “NV” are blends from several years; wines with a particular year were made from grapes that were harvested that year. Both are good; vintage wines are sometimes more interesting.

6. Terms like “brut,” “dry,” and “sec” indicate sweetness.

Many kinds of sparkling wine—from André right on up to Krug—use terms like “brut,” “dry,” and “sec” to denote the sweetness of the wine. In Champagne, those terms have a very specific meaning, and they range from “Brut nature” (the driest) to “doux” (the sweetest). In the champinoise method of making sparkling wine, sugar is actually added to a bottle before it is corked, to balance the natural acidity of the wine. These terms indicate the precise amount of sugar in a given bottle. (In other, non-Champagne, sparkling wines, the terms are used more loosely and can vary from producer to producer.) The overarching term for the amount of sugar added to a bottle is called dosage, and the driest wines, with no added sugar, are known as “zero dosage.” Here’s a key, from driest to sweetest. (Note: “Added sugar'“ is not a bad thing in winemaking as it may be considered in commercial food production. It’s a natural and time-honored part of the process.)

Brut nature (bone dry) 0–3 grams/Liter — These wines are intentionally made in a lean, very dry style, with no sugar added. When they have zero grams/Liter, they’re sometimes referred to as zero dosage.

Extra brut (bone dry) 0–6 grams/Liter

Brut (dry) 0–12 grams/Liter — You’ll notice that all three of the categories above can include zero grams/Liter of sugar—the winemaker can choose which style best matches the bottling, or how he or she wants to market it.

Extra dry (balanced) 12–17 grams/Liter — Why is “extra dry” less dry than “extra brut”? Because brut literally means “raw” in French, denoting the style of wine with less sugar added. Confusing? Yes indeed. It gets worse.

Dry (off-dry) 17–32 grams/Liter — OMG, why is wine labeled “dry” actually “off-dry”?!?! We know, it’s BRUTal. (!) But it’s the way it is.

Demi-sec (sweeter) 32–50 grams/Liter — Guess what “sec” means in French? Dry. Yikes. Luckily we Americans can remember that “sec” sounds like “sweet”—wines labeled “demi-sec” are sweeter than those labeled “dry,” and less sweet than those labeled “doux.”

Doux (sweet sweet) 50+ grams/Liter — “Doux” means “soft” in French, which, fine. There is an argument to be made that “soft” and “sweet” go hand-in-hand, right?

OK, now that your brain is broken, here’s the good news: all these styles are delicious and you generally won’t find the super sweet ones on the shelf next to the other styles. So you don’t have to purchase wine specifically from one category or another—just notice what you’re drinking when you’re drinking it, so you can buy what you like (or what pairs well with food) once you’ve figured it out.

One key takeaway: For wines that pair well with food and appeal to a general audience, look for brut nature, extra brut, brut, or extra dry. The other categories are also lovely, but are less approachable overall.

Extra Credit

Stuff you absolutely do not need to know, but can be fun to learn about.

7. There are 3 main grapes.

The three main grapes of Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Most wines from the region are made from one of these three grapes, or a blend of them. The lesser-known Pinot Meunier is a black grape that often contributes a nice funkiness. You will often see Blanc de Blancs on a Champagne label—those wines are made from 100% Chardonnay. Blanc de Noirs is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, in any ratio of one to the other.

8. There are 5 main regions.

The viticultural regions of Champagne are legally divided into five main districts: Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. Each has its own distinct history, terroir, predominant grape(s), and styles of winemaking. The town of Reims is the cultural center of the region. You can go deep into the details of each region and develop Strong Opinions about which ones are best and worst and most special, and so on. We’ll save that can of worms for another day, but it may be helpful to know what these words mean when you see them on a label. When a wine is labeled Côte des Blancs, it’s like saying “Napa Valley” or “Sonoma Coast”—it’s indicating the region where the grapes were grown.

9. The cru system indicates quality—and price.

Within the five regions, there are classifications that indicate the quality of a particular vineyard. This system was developed by the French to control the pricing of wines from particular regions and vineyards that adhere to certain viticultural standards and practices. This is also a can of worms, but here’s what you need to know: Grand Cru is the highest rating in this system, then Premier Cru, then Douxième Cru. However, these three designations still indicate the supposed highest quality of wines in Champagne—in other words, it’s not like Grand Cru is good and Douxieme Cru is bad. All three are good, and wines that are none of these are also good, but may generally be less expensive.

10. Last but not least: how to pick glassware.

There are a few different types of glassware intended specifically for sparkling wine. Flutes are the classic tallguys that are most commonly associated with sparkling wine; coupes are the low, shallow glasses that they carry around in the Great Gatsby. You’ll also see tulips, which are narrower on the bottom and wider at the top. All of these glasses are great for Champagne, but here’s the thing: so is a regular old white wine glass. In fact, I prefer it. Just like any other wine, Champagne is good to swirl and smell before sipping. Flutes, tulips, and coupes—though pretty and celebratory and lovely for lots of reasons—don’t let you do that. A regular wine glass does.

Cheers!