Champagne winners

Everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask about... Champagne winners. - IMAGE + TEXT EDITORS

Champagne winners

1. The grapes

The trio of pinot noir, (pinot) meunier and chardonnay thrive. You'll find them in most champagnes. White arbanne, petit meslier, pinot blanc and pinot gris are also permitted, but are less than one per cent of plantings. Chardonnay is the most expensive paid for, ideal for storage bottles. 

2. The monks

It was a monk who invented sparkling wine in Saint-Hilaire in 1531: Blanquette de Limoux. In 1688, Dom Pérignon did the same, 800 kilometres north in the Champagne region, as cellar master of Épernay abbey. Fellow monk Ruinart started the first champagne house in 1729.

3. The bubbles

They used to be a mistake. In the bottle, the wine spontaneously started fermenting again, causing explosions. Since the strong bottle and iron muselet around the cork, carbon dioxide is generated on purpose by adding sugar. Indeed, the bubbles were found to give a delicious mouthfeel.

4. Best champagne 2022

The Dom Ruinart Rosé 2004 in magnum format was named Supreme World Champion in the 2022 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. View all gold and silver medals from 1,000 entries worldwide, including outside Champagne, at CHAMPAGNESSPARKLINGWWC.CO.UK 

5. The economy

16,100 farmers on 90 per cent of Champagne vineyards, 130 cooperatives, 360 houses, 120,000 seasonal workers, 322 million bottles shipped by 2021. The marketing machine was running at full speed early on, culminating in the appropriation of the name. The price of the wine doesn't lie either.

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Want to know more about champagne winners? You can read it in WINELIFE 80. Order this one here or read here also more on champagne.

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