Beginner's guide to Champagne

Many of us will have sipped Champagne at a wedding or party and waxed lyrical about the quality or otherwise of what has been served up. However, if we're honest, there's probably very few of us genuinely qualified to make such judgements. Here is a basic introduction to Champagne to help you get clued up.

Champagne (pronounced 'shahm-pah-n'yah') is wine which undergoes a second fermentation process within the actual bottle rather than in large barrels, for a minimum period of approximately 16 months (for the least expensive Champagne).

The CO2 produced during this stage is trapped within the bottle, thus creating the bubbles which make sparkling wine. In order to be classed as Champagne it must have been made within the French region of La Champagne, which lies about 90 miles northeast of Paris.

If it is made outside of this region, under EU law, it can only be known as sparkling wine; even if it has undergone exactly the same production process.

So what makes the region of La Champagne so unique? In short, it can be attributed to the following major factors:

1. Cool Climate & Limestone Soil

The French use the term best 'Terroir' to best describe La Champagne. It can be briefly translated as saying that the region has the best natural environment/micro climate to produce grapes of the highest quality.

2. Diversity of the vineyards

The region has over 300 villages or 'Crus' which grow a diverse number of grape verities for the Champagne. It is the blending of all these individual and distinctive grapes/wine (in some case as many as 50 or more) that contribute to the delightful complexity of flavours you find in Champagne.

3. The cold, deep and chalky cellars

Another secret ingredient of the La Champagne region. Many of these labyrinthine cellars are miles long and can date back over 2000 years to the Gallo-Roman period. The unique properties the cellars in the region create the optimum environment in which to age/ferment the wine into Champagne.

4. Over 300 years of experience

Vast experience and natural instinct is required to create quality Champagne, knowing which blends to use and how to create the complex mix, and nowhere does this experience and ability come in more abundance than in La Champagne.

The Grande houses and vineyards have been in operation for over 300 years with knowledge passed through the generations. By contrast, many of the new world producers of sparkling wine have only been in operation over 25-30 years.

All of the above and many more factors go into making Champagne the most prestigious and sought-after drink in the world.

Check back next week for an insight into the Champagne vintages, grapes and variations on Champagne.