Lesson 5 of 9 · 5 minutes

  1. 1. What makes wine sparkle
  2. 2. The life of a bubble
  3. 3. Five ways to make bubbles
  4. 4. The traditional method step by step
  5. 5. Grapes and the blend
  6. 6. Sugar and dosage
  7. 7. Where it sparkles
  8. 8. Reading the label
  9. 9. Serving

Grapes and the blend

After this lesson you will know which grapes make champagne, how black grapes give white wine, and why most sparkling wines are blends of several wines and years.

  1. 01

    Three main grapes

    Three grapes cover almost all of Champagne: Pinot Noir grows on 38% of the vineyard, Meunier on 31% and Chardonnay on 31%. All other authorised varieties together hold 0.3%.1 Pinot Noir and Meunier have black berries, Chardonnay white ones.2,3,4 The Comité Champagne says Pinot Noir brings body and structure, Meunier roundness and Chardonnay freshness.1

  2. 02

    White juice from black grapes

    Most champagne is white, although two of its three grapes are black. Colour comes from contact with the skins: that is how a rosé can be made, by maceration.5,6 For white wine, whole bunches are pressed without crushing, slowly and in separate fractions.7 A white wine made only from black grapes is called blanc de noirs.5 German law adds that it must show the colour typical of white wine.8

  3. 03

    Building the blend

    Assemblage is the blending of base wines from different plots, grapes and years into one cuvée before tirage.9 In Champagne the principal varieties must make up at least 90% of the blend.5 A blend may also use one grape only. Blanc de blancs is made only from white grapes; in Champagne it is usually Chardonnay, but other white varieties also qualify.5,6

  4. 04

    Reserve wines from earlier years

    Reserve wines are base wines kept from earlier harvests. The Comité Champagne says they add complexity and keep the house style steady from year to year.10 A non-vintage wine combines the year's wines with reserve wines, so it shows no year.6 To print a year on the label, EU law asks for at least 85% of grapes from that year; Champagne asks for 100%.11,12

  5. 05

    Other sparkling grapes

    Other regions build their blends from other grapes. Prosecco DOC must contain at least 85% Glera.13 Cava authorises white varieties such as Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada; its rules say Parellada brings elegance and softness to the blend.14 In the Loire, Chenin Blanc is a listed white variety of Crémant de Loire.15

Remember

  1. In Champagne, Pinot Noir covers 38% of the vineyard, Meunier 31% and Chardonnay 31%.
  2. Black grapes can give white wine: colour comes from skin contact, and whole bunches are pressed without crushing.
  3. Assemblage blends base wines of different plots, grapes and years into one cuvée.
  4. Reserve wines keep a house style steady; a year on the label needs at least 85% of grapes from that year in the EU.
  5. Blanc de blancs is made only from white grapes, blanc de noirs only from black ones.

Check yourself

1How can white champagne be made from black grapes only?

2What is the main job of reserve wines?

3A champagne labelled blanc de blancs is made from...

See also

Pinot NoirGrapesMeunierGrapesChardonnayGrapesAssemblage and reserve winesMethodsBlanc de blancsStylesBlanc de noirsStyles

Sources

  1. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Champagne and its grape varieties
  2. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (JKI Geilweilerhof). VIVC passport data: PINOT NOIR (variety number 9279)
  3. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (JKI Geilweilerhof). VIVC passport data: PINOT MEUNIER (variety number 9278)
  4. Vitis International Variety Catalogue (JKI Geilweilerhof). VIVC passport data: CHARDONNAY BLANC (variety number 2455)
  5. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  6. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Blending a Grande Marque cuvée
  7. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)
  8. Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Weinverordnung § 32 (Bezeichnungen für Weinarten; Rotling, Blanc de Noirs, Weißherbst)
  9. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Blending
  10. Comité Champagne / champagne.education. L'élaboration du Champagne (fiche) (2024)
  11. EUR-Lex. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (consolidated text), Articles 47, 48, 49, 53, 54 and Annex III Part A (2023-12-08)
  12. DGCCRF (Ministère de l'Économie). Champagne : connaître le langage des étiquettes (2025-12-16)
  13. Consorzio di Tutela della DOC Prosecco (reproduction of the official text). Disciplinare di produzione della DOC «Prosecco» (latest modification DM 19 June 2023, GURI n. 148 of 27 June 2023) (2023-06-19)
  14. Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (Spain). Pliego de condiciones de la Denominación de Origen Protegida «Cava»
  15. INAO. Cahier des charges AOC « Crémant de Loire » - draft modification after national committee opinion of 6 September 2018 (2018-09-06)

Facts checked on 2026-10-20