Champagne

Champagne comes from one tiny region of France
whose capital is Reims, about an hour east of Paris.
It is the only place in the world one can find it,
save on grocery store shelves and ice boxes throughout
the world.  The rest of the "so called" Champagnes are
but sparking wines.  Sorry!

Did you know that Champagne comes in various
levels of dryness/fruitiness?  Note:  The French
would never call a wine "sweet."  That would be
the kiss of death.  Sweet being the word "sucre."
"Doux" works fine but never "sucre."

So the first level of dryness is a fruity Champagne,
less expensive usually and is called "Doux."
It is not very dry at all.  The next is "Demi Sec" which
is still fruity and not very dry either, also less
expensive.

The next category is "Sec" which means dry, but it is
a balance of dry and fruity.  Next up the rung
is "Extra-Dry," even dryer than "Sec." "Brut" follows and is
the most common in America.  It is like Veuve Cliquot
Ponsardin or Moet et Chandon White Star.  These are
fruitier than say a Dom Perignon which is usually a
"Brut Zero" or a "Brut Naturel."

The irony here is that the French don't want to call
their sacred bubbly "sweet" though they add
sugar to all of their Champagnes except the "Brut Zero"
or "Brut Naturel."  Granted, I have heard of using
"sweet" wines to increase the fruitiness of a
Champagne but it is hard to get away from the word
"sweet" when talking Champagne.