I get this question all of the time so I figured it would be a worthy blog subject.

Well it might seem that there might be no “significant” difference between [1] Champagne and [2] Sparkling Wines but there are. First, [3] Champagne is an AOC (geographic region) of France and it is true Champagne undoubtedly produces the world’s best sparkling wines.
So to be more specific about what champagne is, only sparkling wines from the [4] Champagne AOC, which were made in the traditional [5] methode champenoise, following strict guidelines from the [6] AOC law can be called Champagne.
Champagne can only be made from six types of grapes. The most used varietals of grapes to make champagne are: [7] Pinot Noir, [8] Pinot Meunier and [9] Chardonnay. The three less common varietals are [10] Pinot Blanc, [11] Petit Meslier and [12] Arbane.
Trellising is also an important factor in the Champagne Appellation.  Four methods are authorized and they are: Chablis, Cordon, Guyot and Vallee de la Marne.  I will not elaborate further as this is a whole other subject.

Champagnes must rest a minimum of 15 month on lees for non-vintage crus, 36 month for vintage crus. It is not uncommon for the best cuvee to rest for up to a decade.

[13] Chaptalization is permitted in Champagne and is mostly used for when making non-vintage crus.

Grapes must be hand picked and are pressed as whole clusters, which means that they are not destemmed.

Some of Champagne’s finest vintage are: 2002, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1982, 1976, 1975 & 1971.

As for “non Champagne” sparkling wines, there are so many different styles and produced in numerous wine producing region from so many different types of varietals and the world over that it would be simply not possible for me to talk about it further in this blog subject but maybe it will be a future topic, who knows!

Cheers!