Champagne is a white sparkling wine, typically from the Champagne region of France. There are many types of champagne and they all come in ranging degrees of sweetness, from Brut wines, which are dry and not sweet, to Sec wines, which are mildly sweet, and Doux wines, the sweetest.
Types of Champagne
Let’s take a look at the different types of champagne in detail below.
Blanc de Blancs
Blanc de Blancs is a wine made only from white grapes, primarily Chardonnay or Pinot blanc. They tend to be very dry and not sweet, though it may vary from producer to producer. [1]
Blanc de Noirs
Blanc de noirs is a white wine that is produced entirely from black or red grapes. It is typically yellowish in color because of contact with the grape skin pigments, and the resulting wine is more bold and sweet in flavor.
Champagne is often associated with celebration and luxury. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Brut
Brut is the driest style of champagne, with the smallest dosage of sugar added for sweetness. It usually does not contain more than 12 grams of additional sugar, as compared to Doux, which contains over 50 grams of added sugar.
Rosé
Rosé is one of the newest types of champagne and is made by adding a small amount of red Pinot Noir wine to white sparkling wine, thus producing a pink hue. This produces a taste that is still dry, with minimal sugar addition, but with a softer feel.
Prestige Cuvée
Prestige Cuvée is a proprietary blend that is considered to be the top-quality wine that a producer makes. They are a relatively new development, with the first publicly available prestige cuvée, the famous Dom Pérignon by Moët & Chandon, being released in 1939. Before that, prestige cuvée was generally reserved for high-society private stores, such as Louis Roederer’s Cristal, which was made privately for the Russian tsars until 1945. Prestige cuvée can still come in many styles, depending on the producer, but will typically produce the best mousse, or bubbly froth, when the bottle is opened. [2]
