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Trying to master the terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language.<\/p>\n
What does brut mean? Is that different from brut nature? What\u2019s the difference between Spumonte and Champagne? What do the little tiny initials on a Champagne label, like NM, mean?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n
The word Champagne can be used only on sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in France. In 1891 the Treaty of Madrid was signed, declaring that only wines made in that region could legally be called Champagne, and this was later reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles. There are a few U.S. producers who use \u201cChampagne\u201d on their labels, because the U.S. never signed that treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, in the midst of Prohibition, and apparently lawmakers didn\u2019t feel signing an agreement like that was necessary, thus allowing some producers to take advantage of the loophole.<\/p>\n
As a result the wine is known elsewhere by different names. In Italy it\u2019s Prosecco or Spumonte, in Spain it\u2019s known as Cava, in Germany it\u2019s called sekt, and in the U. S. we know it as sparkling wine. But inside the bottle, it\u2019s the same basic product, although the quality range is significant. It can cost from $2 or so up to a few hundred dollars for a current release, and much more for past releases.<\/p>\n
The French word for dry is \u201csec,\u201d but if you see \u201csec\u201d on a bottle of Champagne, the wine inside is likely to be on the sweeter side. Confusing?<\/p>\n
There are many variations on the amounts of residual sugar in Champagne. \u201cBrut nature\u201d is the driest, with fewer than 3 grams of residual sugar per liter, and next is \u201cextra brut\u201d with residual sugar levels of 0 to 6 grams per liter. <\/p>\n
\u201cBrut,\u201d one of the most popular styles, has less than 15 grams per liter, then comes \u201cextra dry,\u201d at 12 to 20 grams, \u201cdry\u201d or \u201csec\u201d at 17 to 35 grams, \u201cdemi sec,\u201d at 33 to 50 grams, and finally, the sweetest, \u201cdoux,\u201d at more than 50 grams.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll often see \u201cblanc de blancs\u201d on a label, which means the Champagne in that bottle was made entirely from chardonnay grapes, or \u201cblanc de noirs,\u201d indicating that it was made from either pinot noir or pinot meunier grapes, although the juice was taken from the skins very quickly. There are some \u201cros\u00e9\u201d Champagnes, which can be made from all three grapes, but the color obviously comes from the reds.<\/p>\n
Most Champagnes are non-vintage, meaning that they a blend, or \u201ccuvee,\u201d from wines of different vintages, usually at least three but often more. This allows the \u201cchef du caves,\u201d or cellarmaster and winemaker, more flexibility in choosing wines to create a consistent product. But occasionally you\u2019ll see \u201cvintage Champagne\u201d on the label, which indicates all the juice came from the same harvest.<\/p>\n
The label also contains much more information: The name of the producer and where it was made, alcoholic content, bottle volume and the type of producer. The latter can become complicated, because there are several producer types, which are identified by initials in tiny print, followed by a number which identifies the brand owner. <\/p>\n
NM signifies it\u2019s a N\u00e9gociant Manipulant, or a firm or person who buys grapes or juice or finished wine and makes Champagne on its premises.<\/p>\n
RM is a R\u00e9coltant Manipulant who grows grapes and produces Champagne from those grapes on its own premises.<\/p>\n
RC is a R\u00e9coltant Coop\u00e9rateur who grows grapes as part of a cooperative, then sells the wine.<\/p>\n
CM is a Coop\u00e9rative de Manipulation, a cooperative that makes wine from the grapes of its members. <\/p>\n
SR is a Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de Recoltants, a family business that makes wine solely from grapes grown by members of the family.<\/p>\n
ND is a N\u00e9gociant Distributeur, who buys finished Champagne and labels it himself.<\/p>\n
MA is a Marque d\u2019Acheteur. The producer\u2019s name appears on the label, but the brand name belongs to a restaurant, wine shop or other re-seller \u2014 in other words, a private brand.<\/p>\n
R is a R\u00e9coltant, a grower whose grapes are made into Champagne by someone else, usually a N\u00e9gociant Manipulant who then returns the bottled wine to the grower.<\/p>\n
The bottom line, though, is to find a Champagne or sparkling wine that you like, pop the cork and enjoy it. No need for a special occasion \u2014 sparkling wine is good anytime. Natalie MacLean, a wine writer whose Web site, nataliemaclean.com, features a Food & Wine Matcher pairing guide, indicates that sparkling wine can go with just about anything \u2014 even potato chips and nachos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trying to master the terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language. What does brut mean? Is that different from brut nature? What\u2019s the difference between Spumonte and Champagne? What do the little tiny initials on a Champagne label, like NM, mean? Let\u2019s take a look. The word Champagne can be used only on sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in France. In 1891 the Treaty of Madrid was signed, declaring that only wines made in that region could legally be called Champagne, and this was later reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles. There are a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grapes-regions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}