Throughout our Champagne series, we’ve cataloged the wine’s history from Pangea to the 20th century. In many ways, we’ve gone the distance, but today we’re zooming out to tackle a bit of geography and break down Champagne’s various subregions.

Unlike Bordeaux and Burgundy, which both encompass numerous AOCs, Champagne is one massive AOC comprising five subregions. Between the five, there are 80,000 acres under vine, 42 premier cru villages, and 17 grand cru villages. Although these subregions all exist under the Champagne umbrella, there are several viticultural and geographical differences that make each one unique.

In this brief, supplementary episode of “Wine 101,” Keith takes a moment to explain the five subregions of Champagne, what grapes grow in each, and why. Tune in for more.

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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

*Image retrieved from aterrom via stock.adobe.com