Wine 101: The Champagne Series (Part 3)

Now that you know what goes into making Champagne and the different classifications & terminology used, let's take a look at some of the types of Champagne and producers you may come across when shopping for Champagne!

TYPES OF WINES:
BLANC DE BLANCS: Made from 100% Chardonnay

BLANC DE NOIRS: Made from 100% Pinots, mostly Pinot Noir.

ROSÉ: Produced by adding a small amount of still Pinot noir red wine to the sparkling wine cuvée.

ROSÉ DE SAIGNÉE: Saignée = bleeding. Made from 100% Pinots, produced by leaving the clear juice of black grapes to macerate on its skins for a brief time – more tedious work than a regular Rosé is required, so they will often be more expensive.


TYPES OF PRODUCERS
Because of the scale of production and availability of grapes, wineries are classified according to the way they source their grapes and produce Champagnes. Many land owners in Champagne do not actually produce wines, but are simply growers, and sell the grapes to producers which need the volume. They work as contracted growers, and have a certain limit of volume per hectares to not go over, depending on where they are based.

NM - Négociant manipulant:
These companies own some vineyards, but also buy grapes to make their wines. For example, Veuve-Clicquot, Moet and Bollinger. They buy grapes from across the regions and showcase the house style with their various blends.

RM - Récoltant manipulant:
Also known as Grower Champagne. A grower that also makes wines solely from its own grapes, very often coming from a single village. For example, Salon, Jacquesson & Jacques Selosse

CM - Coopérative de manipulation:
Co-operatives that make wines from the growers who are members, with all the grapes pooled together. For example, Blin, Nicolas Feuillate & Jacquart).

SR - Société de récoltants:
An association of growers making shared Champagne but who are not a co-operative.