11 Things You Should Know About Ruinart Champagne
VinePair » Champagne
by Olivia White
6d ago
When Nicolas Ruinart established Maison Ruinart in 1729, the Ruinart family was known for their role in society as wealthy cloth merchants. But that all changed with Nicolas’s uncle, Dom Thierry Ruinart, a Benedictine monk and close contemporary of Dom Pérignon. In 1680 at age 23, Dom Ruinart left his home in Champagne to study at the prestigious Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, located on the outskirts of Paris. While there, he was exposed to a more aristocratic lifestyle and observed, for the first time, people drinking “wine with bubbles.” Upon his return to the Champagne region, the monk ..read more
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Wine 101: Champagne Part VII: Champagne at 30,000 Feet
VinePair » Champagne
by VinePair Staff
2w ago
Throughout our Champagne series, we’ve cataloged the wine’s history from Pangea to the 20th century. In many ways, we’ve gone the distance, but today we’re zooming out to tackle a bit of geography and break down Champagne’s various subregions. Unlike Bordeaux and Burgundy, which both encompass numerous AOCs, Champagne is one massive AOC comprising five subregions. Between the five, there are 80,000 acres under vine, 42 premier cru villages, and 17 grand cru villages. Although these subregions all exist under the Champagne umbrella, there are several viticultural and geographical differences t ..read more
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We Asked 20 Sommeliers: What’s the Most Underrated Wine? (2024)
VinePair » Champagne
by Ashlie Hughes
3w ago
If you drink wine on a regular basis, chances are you have a go-to glass or grape you gravitate to on menus or your local shop. But if you’re in the mood to shake up your standard order in favor of something a bit unexpected, then you’ve come to the right place. Seeking expert advice, we asked sommeliers for the overlooked and underappreciated bottles, grapes, and wine styles they are currently coveting. As it turns out, there’s much value to be found outside the tried-and-true. From a salty, refreshing, Loire Valley white that’ll be your new favorite oyster pairing to a juicy, Chilean red th ..read more
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Wine 101: Champagne: Part VI the Code(s)
VinePair » Champagne
by VinePair Staff
3w ago
Following the Champagne Riots, Champagne’s popularity continued to soar, and with it, numerous cooperatives sprung up, looking to diversify their grape sourcing. As the number of co-ops grew, it was clear that more regimented standards for Champagne production would be necessary. As such, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) was established in 1941 to govern Champagne-making practices from vine to bottle and the Champagne code system was introduced. Ever since, each bottle of France’s sparkling wine is labeled with a series of numbers preceded by two letters. But what exac ..read more
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Wine 101: Champagne: Part V the Champagne Riots
VinePair » Champagne
by VinePair Staff
1M ago
Throughout our Champagne series, we’ve seen the style evolve from a still wine with a pinkish hue into a clear, celebratory, aristocrat-friendly sparkling wine. By the late 1800s, the export markets were booming and the price of Champagne was soaring, but so were tensions between grape growers and Champagne houses. Nowadays, there’s grower Champagne — bubbly produced by growers for their own enjoyment and profit. There are also Champagne houses that have their own vineyards, so several are not necessarily looking to buy grapes from external suppliers. But in the 19th century, Champagne houses ..read more
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Wine 101: Champagne Part III: The Dom (Pérignon) and the Myth
VinePair » Champagne
by VinePair Staff
1M ago
In the late 1630s, Pierre Pérignon was born, and he went on to become a monk, earning the title Dom Pérignon. At the age of 18, he was assigned to manage the cellars at St. Peter Abbey in the Hautvillers commune in France, where he remained until his death in 1715. These days, Dom Pérignon is a household name, but it’s not because of the man. How exactly did that happen? There’s a lot of hearsay around Mr. Pérignon, mainly due to the fact that his work was later sensationalized for promotional marketing purposes. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t blind, he didn’t invent sparkling wine, no ..read more
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11 Things You Should Know About Louis Roederer
VinePair » Champagne
by Olivia White
1M ago
Known for producing some of the world’s best Champagnes, Louis Roederer’s roots stretch all the way back to 1776. Originally founded as Dubois Père & Fils, the Champagne house was inherited in 1833 by Louis Roederer,  who renamed the Maison in his own honor. Almost immediately after Roederer took the helm, the quality of the vineyard’s soil became top-priority in order to produce the best wines. The house quickly acquired numerous vineyards, allowing it to have full control over quality and care while many other sparkling wine producers continued to source from growers. Today, Louis ..read more
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Wine 101: Champagne: Part I Pangea and the Paris Basin
VinePair » Champagne
by VinePair Staff
2M ago
Ah, Champagne. We adore its southeast-facing slopes, chalky soil, and the wonderful wine that it yields. But long before all the fame, fortune, and bubbles, the region — and all of France — sat beneath prehistoric waters, patiently waiting for tectonic plates to push it up to the surface. To fully grasp Champagne’s history, we need to go back 300 million years before the first glass of wine was ever sipped. It was a time when the seven continents were nestled up against each other, forming “supercontinents,” like Pangea. As mountain ranges formed beneath the ocean, the many chunks of Pangea b ..read more
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Which Grapes Make Up the World’s Most Well-Known Wines? An Illustrated Guide
VinePair » Champagne
by Hannah Staab
2M ago
It’s no coincidence that the same people who say they love Sauvignon Blanc are also satisfied with a Sancerre, or that fans of Pinot Noir also have an affinity for Burgundy. That’s because these wines are actually made from the same grape variety. In fact, it’s not uncommon to be unaware of which grapes you’re actually enjoying when you order a glass of wine. Inconsistent naming practices across the world of wine constantly stir up confusion, which proves to be one of the greatest barriers to wine education: each country, and sometimes even individual regions, have their own labeling laws. Fo ..read more
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9 Things You Should Know About Champagne Lanson
VinePair » Champagne
by Olivia White
3M ago
With roots tracing all the way back to 1760, Champagne Lanson is one of the oldest Champagne houses in existence. After its founding by bourgeois militia captain and vineyard owner François Delamotte, the house was taken over by close friend and business partner Jean-Baptiste Lanson and renamed Champagne Lanson. With Lanson at the helm, the business developed rapidly under its new title, especially in markets outside France. Today, the Champagne house remains committed to its four foundational pillars when producing wines: a meticulous selection of crus, vinification according to the original ..read more
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