“Pleasure without Champagne is purely artificial.” – Oscar Wilde
"Champagne! In victory one deserves it, in defeat one needs it.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Champagne, synonymous with luxury, royalty and celebration, is the world's premier region and appellation for sparkling wine. Despite the colloquial use of the term to mean any sparkling wine, 'Champagne' is a protected term referring only to a wine which is made in the Champagne region in France, using the méthode champenoise, and with grapes grown in the region, the three most important of which are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
Champagne comes in a range of styles, from the house style 'NV" or non-vintage, to single vintages, often only released in good years, from dry 'brut' styles, to semi-dry ('demi-sec') or even sweeter, from blanc de blanc (made only from white, typically Chardonnay, grapes) to blanc de noir (made from either pinot noir or meunier), to rosé.
