Champagne 101
By Allrecipes Staff
Vintage vs. Non-Vintage Champagne
All Champagnes are made from grapes grown in France's northeastern region, the Champagne province. Most Champagnes are non-vintage: that is, they are made from a blend of grapes from different years, aged in the bottle for 18 months. Vintage Champagne is made with high-quality grapes from the same year; they must be aged three years before they are released.
Champagnes from Dry to Sweet
In addition to classifying Champagne as vintage or non-vintage, 6 classifications are used to refer directly to the Champagne's sweetness:
Brut: dry, less than 1.5% sugar
Extra Sec: extra dry, 1.2 to 2% sugar
Sec: medium sweet, 1.7 to 3.5% sugar
Demi-Sec: sweet, 3.3 to 5% sugar (Served as a dessert champagne)
Doux: very sweet, over 5% sugar (Served as a dessert champagne)
Other Wines with Bubbles
Sparkling wines made by the same process can't be called Champagne unless they're made in their namesake French region. Chardonnay and pinot noir grapes are the main varieties used to make Champagne, and they're grown all over the world; many regions produce fine sparkling wines that are somewhat less expensive and more widely available than French Champagne. Italian Prosecco and Asti, Spanish Cava and German Sekt are all delicious varieties of sparkling wine.
As a side note: the small clusters of grapes sold in the supermarket as "champagne grapes" are just using the cachet of the name: they're actually fresh zante currants.
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