Champagne is one of the most iconic drinks around, so it’s no surprise that so many of our customers use ourchampagne delivery service to help them celebrate a special occasion in style. Light, bubbly and elegant, there’s nothing like sharing a toast over a glass of fizz. And if you’ve ever wondered about its history, champagne drinking etiquette, or how to store and serve your bottles, we’re sure you’ll find the answers within these common champagne FAQs.
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region in northeast France. Though it shares similarities with other sparkling wines like Italian prosecco and Spanish cava, a wine can only legally be labelled as champagne if it comes from its namesake French appellation, and is made under its rules. These regulations apply to everything from how the grapes are planted and grown, to the way bottles are labelled and packaged.
The three most common grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, though Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane, Petit Meslier are also approved and used in small quantities.
There are also a few different kinds of champagne. For example, blanc de blancs are made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes (or Pinot Blanc in rare instances), while Blanc de Noirs are produced entirely from black grapes, even though they are white wines.
Another example is rosé champagne — the only French wine where Rosé is created by adding a small amount of red wine during blending.
Champagne can be expensive because of the time and intense effort it takes to produce it. However, the high prices also reflect its status as a luxury tipple, as champagne was popular with royalty between the 17th and 19th centuries. It, therefore, became associated with celebrationsamongst the upper classes.
The monk Dom Pérignon is often thought to be the inventor of the beverage, though this has been widely contested. In 2019, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, head of Taittinger Champagne, toldLe Figaro that champagne was actually invented in England — by mistake. “The English left these inexpensive still white wines on the London docks and the wines got cold so they started undergoing a second fermentation [causing them to become carbonated],” he explained.
To complicate matters further, the oldest recorded sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux, supposedly invented by Benedictine monks in 1531. While in 1662, English physician Christopher Merret presented a paper on the addition of sugar to a finished wine to create a second fermentation. Both of these pre-date when Pérignon is said to have ‘invented’ champagne, in 1697.
Though it’s questionable whether the monk was the true founder of champagne, he certainly made very important contributions to the industry. For example, he developed the technique to create white wine from red grapes, and blended grapes from multiple vineyards. His impact was so profound that champagne house Moët & Chandoneven named its prestigiousDom Pérignon champagne after him.
While many fine wines can be stored for decades, champagne’s lifespan is far shorter. A non-vintage — which contains grapes harvested over several years and is aged for 18 months — will typically last three to four years unopened. Vintage champagnes — made from grapes harvested originating in a single year, and aged for a further three — can last between five and ten years. Check the label to see what type of champagne you have and, if there is a date listed, it is vintage.
Of course, champagnes will only last this long in the right conditions. So, store your champagne in a cool, dark place, where temperatures stay fairly constant, and rest bottles horizontally to keep the corks moist. You should also ensure they are far from any vibrating appliances like fridges and washing machines. Vibrations can disturb the sediment in the bottle and cause chemical reactions that speed up the ageing process.
Once your champagne is open, it will keep its mousse for three to five days in the fridge — provided you seal it with a proper sparkling-wine stopper, which clamps over the lip and holds the pressure in. The old trick of dangling a teaspoon in the neck does not work; testing has repeatedly shown it makes no measurable difference. What actually preserves the fizz is keeping the bottle cold, because carbon dioxide stays dissolved more readily at low temperatures.
A standard 750ml bottle pours six flutes at the standard 125ml measure, or about five if you pour generously. Note that a flute's brim-full capacity is larger — often 180 to 300ml — but it is never filled to the top, which is why the bottle stretches to six servings rather than three. For a toast, where glasses are filled less full, one bottle comfortably covers six to eight people.
According toDrinkaware, there are 1.5 units in a 125ml glass of 12% ABV champagne. Consuming nine glasses over the course of a week would take you over the UK Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of 14 units at most.
Drinkaware also notes that there are 86 calories in a 125ml glass of 12% ABV champagne. This is roughly equivalent to a small banana, and you would need to run for roughly nine minutes to burn those calories off. However, this is still significantly less than a pint of lager (180 calories), a shot of dark spirit with mixer (106), or an alcopop (171 calories).
The correct way to hold a champagne flute is to pinch the stem of the glass between your thumb and fingers. Your thumb should rest on one side, and your fingers on the other. Don’t hold the top of the glass, as the heat from your hand will warm the champagne up. Tilt the flute at a 45-degree angle when you want to drink it, as this allows you to enjoy small sips without any spillages.
Champagne doesn’t go bad in the sense it would be dangerous to drink. However, over time it will lose its fizz, which isn’t what you want from a glass of sparkling wine.
That said, though it will taste different, that won’t necessarily mean it will taste bad. In the worst-case scenario, bad champagne may develop a sour smell and flavour. If your champagne has lost its bubbles and turns a deep yellow or gold colour, these are signs it has probably gone off.
If you're unsure which champagne to choose, why not take a look through our bestsellers?
Planning quantities for an event, or wondering what temperature to serve at? See how much champagne you need per guest and our questions answered page.
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