blake wrote on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:25:06 GMT:

??>> TheGolfersWife wrote on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:19:47 +1200:
??>>
??>>>> On Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:36:38 +1200, TheGolfersWife <>
??>> wrote:
??>>>>
??>>>>> of the other popular types from France and Denmark and
??>>>>> even England are made here in New Zealand (but we are
??>>>>> not allowed to give them their original names - only a
??>>>>> subtitle in brackets!)
??>>>>
??>>>> OK, I have to know the story behind this.... What is the
??>>>> reasoning behind it???
T>>> Well you might like to tell that to the French wine
T>>> authorities, and likewise the Italian cheese authorities.
T>>> The French will NOT allow the term Champagne to be used on
T>>> any bottles of bubbly pinot noir (which is what Champagne
T>>> is) because Champagne is a territory in France.
??>>
T>>> And yes you can see where its made by reading the label,
T>>> but the French are very precious about all this and feel
T>>> they actually hold the market in the top champagnes - and
T>>> I think they do have the best because their grapes are so
T>>> old, and not because they have the best method of making
T>>> it.
??>>
??>> It is interesting that, although French companies
??>> operating in California do seem to make the better
??>> "California Champagnes", they are constrained by French
??>> law and their own rules to mark the bottles "sparkling
??>> wine". I don't think the grapes are necessarily any
??>> better, the French winemakers are just plain good at their
??>> craft!
??>>

bm> evidently it also has to do with the high chalk content in
bm> the soil there.

I did not express myself very well :-) I don't know much about
the terroir in Champagne but French vintners do seem to be able
to make excellent "Champagnes" in California even if they refuse
to use the name. I wonder if they have shown their experience
and expertise in selecting the vineyards to buy in CA?


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not