353987 Sat Dec 23 15:49:32 -0800 2006 6 34 Wine 0 2124684 Is there a difference between the two methods? I was at BevMo last night wanting to stock up for the week and celebrations ahead and in the French champagne section, I saw two that looked interesting at a great price to boot. Unfortunately, I dont' remember the name, but they were produced in France but did not say "Methode Champenoise", but rather "Methode Traditionale". What is the difference? One was made from chardonnary grapes (the Blanc de Blanc) and the other a Blanc de Noir but because of the "Traditionale" reference, I couldn't tell if I was buying real champagne or not. Sat Dec 23 15:49:32 -0800 2006 33941 rosielucchesini 1 2124702 The terms are synonymous. *Méthode traditionnelle* is the preferred usage these days, most notably by EU authorities. Sat Dec 23 16:05:17 -0800 2006 2124684 10520 carswell 1 2124769 If it says "Champagne" on the label, and it's from France, it's real Champagne. Otherwise, it's not. Sat Dec 23 16:44:23 -0800 2006 2124684 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 2124996 Carswell is correct; so is Robert -- in so far as they both go. The méthode champenoise is the fermented-in-this-bottle technique responsible for producing the greatest sparkling wines in the world, Champage. Under the French laws of appellation d'origine controllee, only wines produced within the Champagne district of France and made according to this traditional méthode champenoise, can be called Champagne. BUT . . . sparkling wines are produced throughout France, some according to the méthode champenoise technique and some according to the cuve close technique (aka Charmat method or bulk process), with no real way to distinguish the difference on the label -- other than, in small print, "méthode champenoise." In the 1970s, premium quality producers of sparkling wines in Burgundy, Alsace and the Loire began pressuring authorities at the INAO to create new appellations for non-Champagne sparkling wines produced utilizing the traditional "méthode champenoise" technique. Long story short: the result was a sort of trade-off. Producers received new appellations (Crémant de la Loire, Crémant d'Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne, etc.) in exchange for no longer using the term "méthode champenoise" on their labels. They now had to use "méthode traditionelle," by order of the INAO. [NOTE: the term "Crémant" WAS a type of Champagne that had fallen into disfavor -- only G.H. Mumm & Co. and a couple of smaller houses still produced this once-popular style; their protestations were not sufficient to prevent the trade. Thus, Mumm's "Crémant de Cramant" was re-named "Mumm de Cramant."] This still left Spanish producers of CAVA, Italian producers of Spumante, etc. still being able to label their wines as being produced according to the "champagne method," so -- in the late 1980s (IIRC), the EU changed their regulations to make sure "méthode traditionelle" was used universally for sparkling wine production and that "méthode champenoise" appeared only on true Champagnes. Sat Dec 23 18:56:51 -0800 2006 2124684 28122 zin1953 2 2125031 However, most places outside of the EU there's no law protecting either "Champagne" or "méthode champenoise." Hence such wines as Henri Marchant Champagne from New York, and Korbel Champagne from California. Sat Dec 23 19:10:56 -0800 2006 2124996 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 2125673 That's not really a "however," is it? It's more like "and in addition . . . " Sun Dec 24 01:41:12 -0800 2006 2125031 28122 zin1953 1 2125036 Thank you to everyone who posted. I'll be going back to stock up on some good buys! Sat Dec 23 19:12:51 -0800 2006 2124684 33941 rosielucchesini