Champagne's 2026 Harvest Is the Smallest in Four Decades
The Champagne region has recorded its smallest harvest in 40 years during the 2026 vintage, raising concerns over future supply and pricing across the market.
Latest in Champagne
Read moreCdiscount offered a brief price reduction on Ruinart Champagne
The French e-commerce retailer Cdiscount ran a short-lived promotional discount on Ruinart Champagne, lasting only a few hours, highlighting competitive pricing strategies in the premium sparkling wine market.
Global Champagne Shipments Edged Down 2% in 2025
Industry data confirm that worldwide Champagne shipments fell by 2% across 2025, pointing to a measured softening in demand for premium sparkling wine.
Champagne Producers Set 2026 Harvest Yield Limit at 8,800 Kilograms per Hectare
Champagne producers have established the 2026 harvest yield limit at 8,800 kilograms per hectare, a reduction that reflects the appellation's ongoing commitment to managing production volume and upholding quality standards.
Explore by House
Read moreExplore by Region
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Aÿ
A single grand cru village on the south bank of the Marne, historically the most celebrated Pinot Noir site in Champagne and the home of Bollinger, Deutz and Ayala.
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Côte des Bar
The southern and most distinctive of champagne's sub-regions, more than 100 km from Reims and better known for its Pinot Noir and the rise of grower champagne.
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Côte des Blancs
A chalk-rich ridge south of Épernay planted almost exclusively to Chardonnay, famous for the region's most precise blanc de blancs.
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Montagne de Reims
The largest and most structurally complex of champagne's four main viticultural massifs, a Pinot Noir heartland circling the forested plateau between Reims and Épernay.
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Reims
The largest city of the Champagne region, a cathedral seat and the historic home of many of the region's most celebrated houses.
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Vallée de la Marne
A long band of vineyards following the Marne west of Épernay, best known as the home of Meunier — and of Hautvillers, where Dom Pérignon lived and worked.
Champagne Knowledge
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Assemblage
The blending of base wines — from different villages, grape varieties, and sometimes different vintages — into the cuvée that will undergo second fermentation.
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Autolysis
The slow enzymatic breakdown of spent yeast cells during extended lees ageing, releasing amino acids, mannoproteins and esters that build the bread, brioche and savoury notes characteristic of long-aged champagne.
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Blanc de Blancs
A champagne made exclusively from white grapes — in practice, 100% Chardonnay. Known for precision, linearity and long ageing potential.
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Brut Nature
The driest commercial category of champagne — no liqueur d'expédition added at disgorgement and a maximum 3 g/L of residual sugar. Also labelled 'Zéro Dosage', 'Dosage Zéro', 'Pas Dosé' or 'Non Dosé'.
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Brut
The dosage register for champagnes with no more than 12 g/L of residual sugar — the volume category for the appellation and the dosage for almost every NV flagship (Moët Impérial, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, Pol Roger Brut Réserve, etc.).
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Cuvée
Two meanings in champagne — (1) the first and finest 2,050 litres of juice from a 4,000 kg press of grapes, and (2) a specific wine released by a producer (e.g. Krug Grande Cuvée, Bollinger Special Cuvée, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne).