Champagne is primarily based on three grape varieties that thrive on calcareous soils: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. The terms Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Non Dosé, Extra Brut etc. illustrate the diversity of this multi-faceted product commonly known as champagne.
To make champagne, the wine is bottled cloudy and unfiltered, ie with its own yeast. In the first fermentation, which now takes place, the sugar is converted into alcohol by living organisms, in the second, the so-called bottle fermentation, carbonic acid is produced, which puts the wine under pressure. Different Champagnes require different aging times: at least 15 months for a non-vintage Brut, at least 3 years for a Millésimé, etc. Because of these long aging requirements, more than a billion bottles of Champagne are now stored underground in Champagne chalk tunnels.
The long storage and shaking on desks, the disgorging (removal of the yeast deposits on the crown cap) and dosing is specific to the so-called "Méthode Champenoise".
