(NEXSTAR) – You can find sparkling wine in the States and in other countries around the world, but if it’s called champagne, it’s from France. The bottles of bubbly are made in the Champagne region located some 90 miles east of Paris.
G.H. Martel Champagne House is one of the many locations where the famous bubbly is made. Its cellars are kept at specific temperatures with specific lights.
“The temperature is between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius, so about 50, 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 90% of humidity,” Louis Bachler with G.H. Martel said. “This temperature and this humidity are constant the whole year. It is really important for the aging and the conservation of our wines.”
Bachler said aging the grapes is crucial in making great champagne.
“Here for the house, the aging is always more than the minimum. So instead of only 15 months of aging, we can have an aging of up to three years minimum,” Bachler said. “Here in Champagne, we say that size matters because the smallest the bubbles are, the better quality the champagne is.”
Their grapes come from local vineyards, which are feeling the impacts of climate change with warmer summers and drier winters.
“The problem with climate change is that we will have more sugar in the grapes, and also more sugar means more alcohol,” Bachler said.
Beyond the impacts on champagne, climate change is something French Ambassador to the United States Laurent Bili is focused on.
“It’s not an easy task. There is a need for consensus on the global stage,” Bili said.
France is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
“It’s a challenge that nobody can solve alone, or no state can solve alone. We need a global effort,” Bili said.
As that work continues, grape growers and champagne producers are adapting by changing harvest schedules as needed. About 299 million bottles of champagne were shipped from the region in 2023.
“That’s why we say that champagne it is the wine of kings and the king of wine,” Bachler said.
