What is the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine?

Champagne is only what is made in the French region of that name with the traditional method; sparkling wine is the generic name for bubbles, traditional or tank method.

How long does a vintage Champagne keep?

Ten, twenty years and beyond for prestige cuvées, if stored dark, lying down and at constant temperature.

At what temperature is Champagne served?

8-10 °C; mature cuvées and rosés even 11-12 °C, in a wide glass.

Sparkling wines

Champagnes and sparkling wines chosen by Vinoly: prestige cuvées, vintage wines, blanc de blancs from the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs, rosés and brut nature from small growers. Bottles kept with care, magnums included, to open for an occasion or to cellar.

Choose by type

Champagne23 wines

Why sparkling wines have a section of their own

A Champagne is not a white wine with bubbles. It comes from a second fermentation in bottle, ages on its lees for years, is drunk from a different glass at a different temperature, and whoever looks for it searches "Champagne" or "sparkling", not "wine". That is why on Vinoly Champagnes and sparkling wines live in their own section, apart from still wines.

What you find here

**Champagne**: the great houses (Krug, Dom Pérignon, Louis Roederer Cristal, Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle, Salon, Pol Roger) and the growers who changed how Champagne is thought of: Jacques Selosse, Egly-Ouriet, Bérêche, Georges Laval, Vouette & Sorbée, Emmanuel Brochet. Blanc de blancs from Avize, Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; Pinot Noir from Ambonnay and Mailly; saignée rosés and brut nature; vintages from 1999 to 2019, magnums included.
**Other sparkling wines**: Italian traditional-method and other bubbles, joining as the selection grows.

Champagne and sparkling wine: the difference

Champagne is only what is made in the French region of that name, with the traditional method (second fermentation in bottle) and at least 15 months on the lees, 36 for vintages. Sparkling wine is the generic name for all bubbles: traditional method (Franciacorta, Trentodoc, Alta Langa) or tank method (Prosecco, Asti).

Reading the label

Brut nature: no added sugar. Extra brut: up to 6 grams per litre. Brut: up to 12. Millésimé: a single vintage. Grand Cru and Premier Cru: the ranking of the village, not of the cuvée. Blanc de blancs: Chardonnay only. Blanc de noirs: black grapes only (Pinot Noir, Meunier).

Serving temperature

8-10 °C for brut and blanc de blancs; 10-12 °C for mature vintages, prestige cuvées and rosés. The right glass is a wide one, not the flute, which closes the aromas.

How long Champagne keeps

A non-vintage is best within three or four years of purchase. A vintage or a prestige cuvée lasts ten, twenty years and more if stored dark, lying down, between 10 and 13 °C. The magnum ages more slowly and better.

Who sells and how it arrives

Bottles are sold by Vinoly or by partner wine shops, always named on the page. They travel in rigid packaging, with insured shipping and the Vinoly guarantee.