Champagne

Champagne, a wine, which derived its name from the province of France where it is chiefly manufactured. White and red champagnes exist, and they are designated "sparkling" or "still," according to whether they effervesce or not on uncorking. The sparkling wines are the more common. The effervescence is due to the wine being bottled before the fermentation of the gfape juice is complete. By the subsequent fermentation large quantities of carbonic acid gas are produced, which, by the produced pressure, liquefy, and on opening the bottles escape rapidly in gaseous form. The different varieties of champagne are due chiefly to difference in the soils, and to minutiae in the mode of manufacture. Imitations of the genuine wine are largely manufactured by impregnating light wines with carbonic acid.