Champagne is a variety of red wine, and it is also a necessary wine for many celebration banquets or some wedding banquets and parties. Wine is also a variety of red wine, but it is more common in ordinary meals. In this issue of Wine Culture, we will learn about the difference between champagne and wine.

Champagne is a sparkling wine.

The first difference is obvious: champagne has bubbles, while wine is "quiet" without bubbles. But the bubbles in champagne are not obtained by injecting carbonic acid gas into the outside. They are produced by secondary fermentation according to the "Champagne Brewing Method". This technology is also used to make champagne wine and other types of sparkling wine. In marketing, champagne is promoted by using special production technology, but it is not. Of course, champagne is really a high-grade sparkling wine.

Champagne has no year index.

The second difference is related to the year. The quality of wine is related to the year, that is to say, the grapes used to make wine must be picked in the same year. Some years produce good grapes, and some years the quality of grapes is not satisfactory. In the field of champagne, year is not an important concept. Champagne producers can brew high-quality champagne from grapes of different years. So they don't have to emphasize the uniqueness of year and place of origin, but focus on brand promotion. Brand promotion has become a means for champagne wineries to emphasize their own characteristics. If there is a bottle of champagne with a year, it means that it is a good year. Because the climatic conditions do not allow the grapes to reach the ideal mature state, champagne growers plan ahead and generally reserve 20% of the grapes for the next year's brewing work.

Grape varieties

The third difference is related to grape varieties. The only grapes used to make champagne are white grapes and rose red grapes. With exceptions, champagne is usually a mixture of three kinds of grapes: Pinote Noel, Pinote maunier and Chardonnay. Some wineries use a single grape variety to brew champagne: due to the limitations of champagne characteristics, this practice is not common.

Chardonnay is the only white grape variety in Champagne Province. Champagne brewed by a single Chardonnay will be marked with "blancdeblancs" on the label of the bottle. The most famous Chardonnay champagne is Deutz, Domruinart, ComtesDechampagne Taittinger or Blancdesmillé Nairesdechareshiesieck.

It is even more rare to brew rose champagne with a single Pinot Noir grape. The most legendary is East Perignon rose champagne, because East Perignon itself is a legendary name.