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 Vineyards have been planted in Champagne ever since the beginning of our era. Although its surface area has been reduced over time, its unique characteristics were recognised very early on and the defence of its AOC was the first to be accepted.
As with all prestigious luxury products, Champagne had inspired many imitations, with counterfeit drinks bringing a far higher return given their lower production costs.
The Champagne Appellation was first marked out over 15,000 hectares in 1908. In 1927, the appellation was defined conclusively, respecting the history of each commune and plot of land. The current surface area stretches over 34,000 hectares.
The AOC is administered by the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine. As well as the delimitation of the area, the Appellation carries 35 rules to uphold the quality of Champagne wines: only 3 grape varieties are permitted, yields in both the vineyard and during pressing are limited, the pruning of vines, their height, spacing and density, harvesting by hand, minimum ageing periods, are all controlled. The date for the start of harvests, exclusively done by hand, depends on climatic conditions and is fixed separately for each village and each variety. The minimum period for ageing has been set at 15 months for Non-Vintage champagnes and 36 months for Vintages. For the latter, 80% of the cuvée can be used, with the remainder being kept as reserve wine for future quality blends.
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