What are the different types of Champagne?
20th July 2020
Champagne, a drink for special moments, celebrations, birthdays, weddings and for whenever you damn well feel like it, but do you know all the types of Champagne? The ones with no sugar added, to the ones made for a sweet tooth?
Champagne is Champagne, they’re all made from grapes, all fermented twice and all contain bubbles, but other from the different grape varieties they can contain, there is another important process that will determine the Champagne’s flavour and that is the dosage.
In case you are interested, here are the main 3 grape varieties used in making Champagne
What is the Dosage? Simply put, it is the sugar that is added to the Champagne, this is done right before the cork is inserted into the bottle.
Here is an easy to understand infographic you can use, with Brut Nature being the dryest and Doux being the sweetest, it can be a bit confusing when someone says dry, you automatically think that the wine is going to be dry, but it ends up being rather sweet.
So when it comes to different Champagnes, grape varieties and dosage play the lead roles, here is a list of what you will find on a bottle of Champagne.
- Champagne Blanc de Noirs (Made completely from red grapes)
- Champagne Blanc de Blancs (Made completely from green grapes)
- Champagne Brut Nature (No sugar added)
- Champagne Extra Brut (0-6 grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Brut (Less than 12 grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Extra Dry (12-17 grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Dry (17-32 grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Demi-sec (33-50 grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Doux (50+ grams of sugar added)
- Champagne Rosé (Made with short red skin contact)
All these factors can cross over with each other, for example, you could have a Brut Nature Rosé or an Extra Dry Blanc de Blancs, and that’s not even going into vintage Champagnes, where ageing the bottle will allow the flavours and aromas to develop even further.
Oliver Walkey
WSET 2 Journalist focused on sharing Champagne and Sparkling Wine reviews and cocktails to the world.