That is not Champagne!

I recently saw an Instagram post where a friend of mine was tagged with a group having a 'Sunday Fun Day' and a tag saying, "Champagne mimosas! We fancy! #classy" and so on and so forth with hashtags. In the picture, some of the people were holding bottles of a very cheap brand of sparkling wine(Korbel).

I know, I know, I'm about to sound like a judgmental jerk, because I am.

Not all sparkling wine is Champagne!!!

I have nothing against the people in the picture, in fact, I know and like most of them. However, unless they are trying to be sarcastic by equating cheap bubbly wine with champagne, they aren't fooling me.

Champagne is a specific type of sparkling wine. Unfortunately, that lack of wine literacy in the U.S. has made said particular wine a synonym for an entire branch. Champagne is a region in northeastern France right above Burgundy. Long associated with royalty and aristocracy, the name conjures up to this day a certain sense of social standing.

However, it is only one region where sparkling wine is made. Elsewhere in France and the world they go by many names. In France, you can also find cremánt or blanc de blanc for example. In Italy sparkling wine is generally called spumante but there are regional ones like asti and prosecco. In Spain, sparkling wine produced there is called cava although it is usually referring to the regions in Catalonia(although some other regions are included) while in Latin America they are referred to as espumoso or espumante.

Méthode Champenoise

Although true champagne is made in its namesake region, some wines follow the same method of fermentation. Cavas from Spain are an example of this however, they do not necessarily use the same grapes. Usually the label will tell you if they use this method. Sometimes they simply refer to it as the 'traditional method' instead of méthode champenoise. These wines can be great alternatives for those who are 'balling on a budget' like me and can't afford to spend $40+ USD per bottle.

So why does my bottle say Champagne and its not even French?!

Outside of France, not many rules or laws were established enforcing naming rights until the 1990s. Slowly many of these producers from other parts of Europe and the new world have started phasing out its use but some producers still use it as a generic term.

Wow, I think I need a glass of... er, bubbly?

At the end of the day, what's important is that we enjoy what we drink. Let's just try to be a bit more aware of what we are drinking when trying to "stay classy" and let the 'Sunday Fun Day' continue!