Part II · Terroir

Champagne

[sham-PAN-yuh]

The world's benchmark sparkling wine made by méthode champenoise.

The Region

Champagne is the world's benchmark sparkling wine, produced only within a delimited zone northeast of Paris from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. The méthode champenoise — a second fermentation in bottle — creates its fine, persistent mousse, and the region's cool, chalky terroir underwrites its hallmark acidity and finesse.

History

Champagne's bubbles were tamed by 17th-century monk Dom Pérignon and codified over centuries of cellar innovation. The 19th-century industrialization by houses like Moët and Veuve Clicquot built a global luxury brand. The 1927 appellation law fixed the region's boundaries after years of fraud and overproduction.