{"id":201726,"date":"2017-05-05T23:23:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T03:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/?p=201726"},"modified":"2021-02-07T20:52:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T01:52:13","slug":"how-to-read-a-champagne-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/2017\/05\/05\/how-to-read-a-champagne-label\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO READ A CHAMPAGNE LABEL"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Champagne labeling laws differ from other parts of France because the entire region falls under a single AOP, the protected term \u2018Champagne\u2019 and the wines are categorized according to styles rather than designations. Here the status of the producer is more important than the vineyard sites.<\/p>\n

To distinguish between the numerous different styles, Champagne labels use a range of terms as described below.<\/p>\n

* Level of sweetness:
\no Ultra Brut \u2013 Bone dry or very dry
\no Brut \u2013 Dry
\no Sec \u2013 Literally dry but has higher sugar level than Brut
\no Demi-sec \u2013 Medium dry
\no Doux \u2013 Sweet<\/p>\n

* Non-vintage: A Champagne made from a blend of wines from different years.<\/p>\n

Some Champagne houses may use up to hundred reserve wines from previous years to produce a consistent house style.<\/p>\n

* Vintage: A champagne made from a single year\u2019s harvest. The label must show the year of the harvest.<\/p>\n

* Blanc de Blancs: This term on the label means that the Champagne has been produced entirely from white grapes, in other words, Chardonnay.<\/p>\n

* Blanc de Noirs: Refers to Champagne made from black grape varieties (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier).<\/p>\n

* Ros\u00e9: This is often made by blending a little red wine with whites.<\/p>\n

* Grande Marque: Means \u2018Great Brand\u2019. A producer may use this term but according to AOP rules does not guarantee quality or any style.<\/p>\n

* Cuv\u00e9e de Prestige: These are the top-of-the-range releases from the Champagne houses and may come with a vintage on the label. Some examples include \u2018Dom P\u00e9rignon\u2019 from Mo\u00ebt et Chandon, \u2018Cristal\u2019 from Louis Roederer and \u2018La Grande Dame\u2019 from Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.<\/p>\n

* Marque d\u2019Acheteur: Means \u2018Buyer\u2019s Own Brand\u2019. These are often seen on Champagnes sold within a retail or supermarket chain that sells them using their own brand name.<\/p>\n

Apart from these there are other non-mandatory terms that may appear on the label that specify type of Champagne producers, maturation time etc. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

wine-searcher.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Champagne labeling laws differ from other parts of France because the entire region falls under a single AOP, the protected term \u2018Champagne\u2019 and the wines are categorized according to styles rather than designations. Here the status of the producer is more important than the vineyard sites. To distinguish between the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203305,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201726\/revisions\/203305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metroactive.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}