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Champagne's fine print

You don't need a whole new vocabulary to read a sparkling-wine label. But knowing a few choice French words and English phrases will help you to understand what you're buying.

  1. Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. This term identifies where a French wine was made and certifies that it was made according to regional regulations. The AOC for all French champagne is Champagne--and that may be stated on a label without the rest of the term spelled out. (Other wine-making countries use different terms comparable to the French AOC.)

2. Cuvée. The blend, as in "brut cuvée" or "Cuvée Dom Pérignon."

3. Vintage. The harvest year of the grapes. While most champagne is nonvintage--made from a blend of wines from several years--a vintage French champagne will be made from grapes harvested only in the specified year. A vintage California sparkling wine or champagne is at least 95 percent grapes harvested during the year noted on the label.

  4. Brut. Most labels specify the level of the sparkling wine's sweetness. Brut, which ranges from dry to very dry, is usually a producer's most popular offering. You may also find "extra brut" or "ultra brut" (bone dry), "extra dry" (somewhat sweeter than brut), "sec" (slightly sweet), "demi-sec" (medium sweet to sweet), or "doux" (dessert-style).

5. California champagne. Regardless of how it's made, an American sparkling wine may call itself "champagne" if the label also notes where it was made. Note that André and Korbel use different production processes.

6. Charmat method. The method used for the bulk production of inexpensive sparkling wine.

7. Fermented in this bottle. Another way of saying "méthode champenoise," the production method used by makers of French champagne and some sparkling wine. You won't find this spelled out on a bottle of French champagne; if the Champagne AOC is labeled, the method is understood. There are, however, other French sparkling wines--for example, from the Loire Valley AOC or the Crémant du Jura AOC--that note "méthode champenoise" on the label.

8. Official champagne of the millennium. Marketing hype. Some producers put a new label on their regular blend; others have developed a new "millennium cuvée."

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