What is the difference between a Sparkling Wine and a French Champagne?
Strictly speaking, it refers to the district in France named Champagne, and to the unique process invented there called “méthode champenoise,” for producing sparkling wine. France’s northernmost winemaking region encompasses only about 85,000 acres. Champagne stands for gaiety, celebration and festivity, for wealth and splendor, for love. It means New Year’s Eve, the launching of ships, toasts to Kings and Presidents. Its reputation has spread farther than that of any other wine. In fact there are lots of other bubbles out there, some of it very good, but it is technically not Champagne. Wines that bubble like Champagne, but are made somewhere else, are called “sparkling wines,” even if they are made by the méthode champenoise. Sparkling wines are often less expensive than true Champagnes. If you don’t feel like investing in a bottle of the French stuff, we’ve got some good sparkling wine from other parts of France, California, Spain and Australia to choose from. The sparkle is what se
