Blanc de noirs

What the term means

The AOC Champagne specification allows white wines made only from black grapes and calls them blanc de noirs (chapter X.2).¹ The wine stays white because the juice is kept away from the colour of the skins; German law, for example, requires grapes pressed the way white wine grapes are pressed (see below). See pressing for how Champagne splits the juice into fractions.

In Champagne the black varieties used are Pinot Noir and Meunier. The Union des Maisons de Champagne notes that a blanc de noirs can be vintage or non-vintage, and can come from a single vineyard or from several.²

Germany

German law sets conditions for the term on domestic wines. Under § 32(3) of the Weinverordnung, "Blanc de Noirs" may appear on Schaumwein, Qualitätsschaumwein or Perlwein only when the wine is made from fresh red grapes, pressed in the way used for white wine, and shows the colour typical of white wine.³ So in Germany a wine with a visible pink tint cannot use the term. German law also has separate names for pale wines from red grapes, such as Weißherbst and Rotling, with their own conditions.³

Related terms

The mirror term is blanc de blancs, a white wine from white grapes. If the juice takes colour from the skins on purpose, the result is a rosé.