Serving champagne with style — removing the cork quietly, cooling the wine to right temperature, and to keep it in the glass and off your guests — is not a natural gift. It requires a little dexterity, concentration, and a good dose of practice.

The heart of the Champagne region lies 90 miles (145km) northeast of Paris near the Belgian border. It is generally divided into three parts – the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. The Aube, 70 miles to the southeast, is important for wines they produce that go into many of the nonvintage blends of the major champagne houses. Of the regions 75,000 acres of vineyards, most and the greatest vineyards of Champagne, are planted in the département of the Marne. The vineyards are not owned by great landowners but by thousands of growers, often working part-time.

Champagne has launched thousands of ships, toasted billions of weddings and special occasions, flutes attended countless parties, and shared untold special moments between two people. Champagne is the wine of celebration. No other wine is so associated with joy and festivity. Its meaning and appeal are universal. Champagne makes the young sages and the old young again.

The 57 appellations of Bordeaux are not classified in a single official ranking. But the Médoc, Sauternes and Barsac, Graves, and Saint-Emilion districts do have their own official internal classification systems. Pomerol, one of Bordeaux's greatest assets, was not included in the 1855 Classification, and remains unclassified to this day. However, Château Pétrus is often included with the First Growths (Premiers Crus) of the 1855 Classification. The Classification of 1855 Much like our World's Fair today, Napoléon III's 1855 Expositon Universelle de Paris was a chance for France to display its very best for the world to see. The Gironde Chamber of Commerce requested that a classification system be devised to accompany their display of the fine wines of Bordeaux. The Bordeaux Wine Brokers' Union went to work on the project and came up with what we now refer to as the Classification of 1855.

Bordeaux is arguably the greatest wine region in the world. Great cellars around the world are filled with wines from the different chateaus of the region. America’s first wine connoisseur, Thomas Jefferson, not only drank wines from here, but made it a point to visit the region and see for himself what made these wines so great.

The Hamlet of Wine - In the heart of the beaujolais crus is a wine experience in the Disney tradition. In the small village of Romanèche-Thorins, next to his corporate headquarters, Georges Dubœuf has created Le Hameau Du Vin or The Hamlet of Wine.

Exceeding Our Expectations Thank heavens, the harvest has begun in exceptional conditions. Over 40,000 people from the farthest corners of France have arrived in Beaujolais for the occasion, and by the end of the week the 22,000 hectares (54,362 acres) of my Beaujolais vines will have yielded their...

2004 Beaujolais Harvest Begins Under Sunny Skies “The quality of the wine is born on the vine” The 2004 harvest in Beaujolais began on the 11th of September. Taking into account the aspect and altitude of some of the parcels, the harvest will probably last until around the 3rd of October. Because...

A Grand Vintage for Georges Duboeuf EARLIEST HARVEST IN MORE THAN A CENTURY CONCLUDES AT AUGUST'S END

10 Fascinating Facts About Beaujolais Nouveau Every Wine Lover Should Know: 1. Beaujolais [BOE-zjoh-lay] Nouveau is always...