Champagne Blends

Considered the Cadillac of sparkling wines, Champagne is produced in Champagne, France. In fact, to legally be called Champagne, the winery must be located in this area of France, and the grapes grown in the region as well. A variety of grapes—both red and white wine grapes—are used to make the Champagne, ranging from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay.

Among the most valued Champagnes are Moet & Chandon, Taittinger, Louis Roederer, Krug and Boerl, and Kroff. At auction, it is common to pay more than $1,000 per bottle. While the reasons vary, in most cases it’s due to limited production of a winery’s certain vintage or the wine’s sheer credibility.

The care taken to produce Champagne should be noted. In the end, each bottle will have 49 million bubbles, proof to its artisanship. In the cellars, riddlers are employed to turn the bottles by hand on a very strict schedule as they are in the racks.

Quick Facts

• Royalty’s love for bubbles goes way back, but in recent years it was poured at Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding (a 1961 bottle of Dom Perignon from Moet & Chandon)
• James Bond drinks Champagne at least 35 times on screen
• Each bottle of Champagne has more than 90 pounds per square inch of pressure, so it’s recommended to open with caution