Can you Understand Basic Champagne Lingo?

As with most industries, the Champagne and sparkling wine industry is full of jargon and specialist terminology.
While it’s not necessary to know, if you want to enhance your sparkling wine-buying experience, understanding some of the most common words can help a surprising amount… and they’re quite simple (if you don’t mind learning a bit of French along the way).

1. Brut?
An easy one – this word is often seen adorned across Champagne and sparkling wine labels. What does it mean? It simply signifies the sweetness of the wine – or the amount of sugar added. Brut, the most common dosage of sugar (less than 12g per litre) means the wine is dry with a hint of sweetness.

If you see Extra Brut on the label this means there is less sugar, where as Extra Dry means there is more sugar. Brut Nature or Brut Zero are very popular at the moment as these mean there is no sugar added.

2. Terroir?
This word is a bit difficult to directly translate into English, so the French word ‘terroir’ is often kept. It essentially refers to the climate, soil and geography that defines the quality of the wine.

3. Blanc de Blancs / Blanc de Noirs?
The type of grapes used in the blend. Blanc de Blancs (white of whites) is made from 100% white grapes, such as Chardonnay. Blanc de Noirs (white of blacks) means it’s made from 100% black grapes, such as Pinot Noir.

4. Vintage / Non-Vintage?
What makes a wine vintage? It’s not about being old, there are plenty of vintages that exist from the 2000’s. To be labeled vintage the Champagne or sparkling wine must have been made from the grapes of ONE year only (which will be clearly displayed on the label). Non-vintages are blends from different harvests.

Vintages tend to be limited in quantity and high in quality. They are made only from exceptional years where the grape quality is high.

5. Cru?
The ‘Cru’ refers to the quality of the vineyards. There is a ranking system in Champagne; at the top are 17 ‘Grand Cru’ villages (ranked as 100% quality), followed by 41 ‘Premier Cru’ villages (90-99%) followed by all the other villages (ranked between 80-89%) which are given the designation ‘Cru’.

6. Cuvée?
In the wine world, the word ‘cuvée’ generally refers to a blend of wines. In Champagne, it also means the first pressing.

So, how well did you do? If you know most (or all) of these, you must appreciate a good glass of bubbly! Either way, you’re in the right place as there’s always room to learn more.