What Makes Champagne True French Champagne

There is nothing like popping the cork off a bottle of bubbly during a special occasion, but what’s in your bottle, is it real French champagne or is it a sparkling wine? Sparkling wine is made all over the world, but a true champagne is much more sophisticated, and creating it is a true craft. But what makes champagne French? How do you know you're serving the real deal?

True French Champagne:

Authentic French champagne is only made from grapes grown, fermented, and bottled in the growing regions of Champagne, France. When producing a genuine champagne, French growers must adhere to strict practices in their vineyards. For economic reasons, they must also meet a set of requirements set by the government before their products can be truly labeled as champagne. When it comes to making champagne, the methods used involve stringent regulations revolving around how the growers’ grapes are grown and harvested. All grapes used to make French champagne must be handpicked and pressed in a covered environment, at that point they undergo the primary fermentation and bottling. Next, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding several grams of yeast and rock sugar to the bottle. All champagnes are classified either as vintage or non-vintage. A wine is considered vintage when it is made with grapes of a single year’s batch and non-vintage when the wine is made with batches of grapes of differing years.

Grapes Used in Authentic Champagne:

Only specific types of grapes may be used to produce real champagne. The grapes primarily used are black or red grapes, such as Blanc de Noir, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, or white chardonnay grapes known as Blanc de Blanc. Rosé, or pink, champagne is made by using a hint of red wine to tint the color.

Dry Versus Sweet:

French champagne is usually dry with a high acidity. Your champagnes’ label will inform you of how dry or sweet your champagne is. Champagnes are generally described as extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec, demi-sec or doux.

Most Popular Champagne

Brut champagnes seem to be the most popular of all the champagnes. In French, brut means dry, raw, and unrefined. It has a beautiful pale, translucent gold color, with a balance of fruity and buttery notes that add a hint of sweetness. Brut champagne pairs well with a variety of foods, such as caviar, ham and swiss quiche, and smoked salmon. Club Jeroboam offers a variety of brut champagnes for you to choose from, such as Sacret Brut and Mathieu-Gosztyla Brut Tradition Magnum.

The Best Champagne:

Cuvée is considered one of the best champagnes money can buy. It is made from select blends of grapes and bottled after a single, gentle pressing, which gives it a significant level of quality. You can enjoy this highly desired champagne with a Club Cuvée membership from Club Jeroboam. Sourced from our exclusive partner growers in Champagne, France, you can now have this elegant champagne shipped directly to your door on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

Makes a great gift:

Champagne also makes a great gift. Surprise someone you love with a monthly membership of one of one of our rosé champagnes, such as Champagne Sacret Rosé or our Pierson-Cuvelier Rosé Magnum. Visit our gift page to learn more about how to make gift arrangements.

Champagnes at Club Jeroboam

At Club Jeroboam every bottle of our exclusive French champagne is made by our independent growers who only produce it in small batches. You will not find our traditionally made champagnes in your local grocery stores or on mass merchant websites. Head to our private tastings page today to arrange a visit to our tasting room and select your perfect champagne membership package.