A Quick Guide to Champagne Terminology – Part 1

Seen some terms used to discuss champagne but aren’t really sure what they mean?

Here’s a quick guide:

🖊 Terroir: Identical grapes grown in different places, even if vinified the same way, make different wines—this is because of differing terroirs. It is the influence of soil, climate, elevation, terrain, vineyard management and the surrounding flora, fauna and micro-organisms, among other factors. Terroir can be understood as the identity of a place (and time).

🖊 AOC: Formalised in 1936, the Champagne AOC is the legally defined area from which champagne can be produced. The appellation system strictly regulates almost every part of winemaking: from the planting and management of vines to the bottling and labelling of wines. In doing so, both the terroir expressions and traditions unique to the appellation can be preserved and ensured. The AOC label guarantees authenticity, and you’ll find AOCs for other products like cheese, meats and spirits.

🖊 Cru: The Échelle des Crus system historically designated the percentage of a set price to be paid for grapes from particular villages. In modern times, this is only a rough guide, since improvements in viticultural knowledge have improved quality across the board. The last change to the designations was in 1985, when several villages were promoted to Grand Cru, and the classification system was finally abolished in 2010. The terms ‘Grand Cru’ and ‘Premier Cru’ can still appear on champagne labels; however, they are no longer considered an indicator of price or quality—rather, they remain as a nod to Champagne’s history.

🖊 Lieu-dit: Roughly translating to ‘named place’, a lieu-dit is named according to historical or topographical specificities. Houses occasionally make lieu-dit (aka mono-parcellaire or single-vineyard) wines to highlight the terroir of a single vineyard or parcel of vines.

Are there any words you want to learn more about?

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Santé! 🥂