Lesson 8 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

Reading the label

After this lesson you will be able to read a champagne label line by line and know which words the rules define.

  1. 01

    CHAMPAGNE: the name of the place

    The biggest word is the appellation. Champagne has been an AOC since 29 June 1936.1 On the label the name stands alone, without the words "AOC".2,3,4 The origin statement Produit de France is compulsory.3 Its rules are written in the appellation's cahier des charges. Read more about the system on AOC.

  2. 02

    BRUT: the sugar word

    The next word tells you the sugar. Brut means less than 12 g/L.5 The real sugar may differ from the label by no more than 3 g/L.5 The sugar comes from the dosage added after disgorgement. All seven terms, from brut nature to doux, are on the sugar scale.

  3. 03

    BLANC DE BLANCS: white from white

    Blanc de blancs means the wine is made only from white grapes.6 Most are Chardonnay, but other white varieties allowed in Champagne also qualify.7,8 The mention is optional: a producer may make such a wine and not say so.3 The mirror term is blanc de noirs, a white wine from black grapes.

  4. 04

    2018: one harvest

    A year on the label makes the wine a vintage. EU law asks for at least 85% of the grapes from that year.9 Champagne is stricter: 100%.6 Vintage champagne may not be sold before 36 months from tirage, and the year appears on the cork as well.1,8 A label with no year usually means a blend of years: non-vintage.

  5. 05

    NM-000-000: who made it

    Every champagne label carries a registration number from the Comité Champagne, with two letters in front.4,8 NM is a house that buys grapes or wine; RM is a grower making wine only from its own harvest; MA is a buyer's own brand, such as a retailer's.6,4 The code shows the type of business, not the quality. All seven are on label codes.

  6. 06

    12 % vol · 750 ml

    % vol is the actual alcoholic strength: volumes of pure alcohol at 20 °C in 100 volumes of wine.10 750 ml is the standard 75 cl bottle. With the magnum, it is one of only two sizes that must be sold in the bottle where the second fermentation took place.11 Optional details, such as the disgorgement date, often go on the back label.12,3

Remember

  1. The appellation name Champagne stands alone on the label, without the words "AOC".
  2. Brut means less than 12 g/L of sugar.
  3. Blanc de blancs means only white grapes, and the mention is optional.
  4. A vintage champagne uses 100% grapes of that year; the EU minimum is 85%.
  5. The two letters before the registration number show the type of business, not the quality.

Check yourself

1What do the letters RM before the registration number mean?

2A champagne label says 2018. What share of the grapes must come from 2018?

3What does blanc de blancs on the label tell you?

See also

Champagne label codes: NM, RM, CM, RC, SR, ND, MAStylesLabel terms in EU lawMethodsVintage (millésime)StylesBlanc de blancsStylesmatriculeGlossaryThe sugar scale of sparkling wineDosage

Sources

  1. 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)
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche AOC Champagne (FR) (2026-08)
  3. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). How to read a Champagne label (2024-02)
  4. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Labeling
  5. EUR-Lex. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (consolidated text), Articles 47, 48, 49, 53, 54 and Annex III Part A (2023-12-08)
  6. DGCCRF (Ministère de l'Économie). Champagne : connaître le langage des étiquettes (2025-12-16)
  7. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Blending a Grande Marque cuvée
  8. Cahier des charges de l'AOC Champagne (homologated by arrêté of 30 Nov 2022; draft modification after INAO committee of 7 Sept 2023) (2023-09-07)
  9. legislation.gov.uk (copy of EU OJ text). Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, Article 49 (vintage year), original version as adopted (2018-10-17)
  10. legislation.gov.uk (copy of EU OJ text). Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex II Part IV (terms used in the wine sector), original version as adopted (2013-12-17)
  11. Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'Agriculture (BO-AGRI), 7 August 2025. Cahier des charges de l'AOC « Champagne », homologated by arrêté of 31 July 2025 (JORF 5 August 2025), chapter IX §3 a) (2025-07-31)
  12. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)

Facts checked on 2026-10-20