In any case, champagne the world over keeps its aura of felicitation. One of its French discoverers exclaimed that it tasted like stars, while Art Buchwald says he likes it because it tastes as though his foot's asleep. In buying imported champagne, the brand is --for once-- more important than the vineyard, for virtually all champagne is a blend. By law, French champagne must be made by the laborious and expensive process of bottle-fermenting and must come from the Champagne country to the east of Paris. In America, any sparkling wine-- even red-- can legally call itself champagne if it's bottle -fermented and clearly labeled with its geographical origin-- New York state, California or American. Sweetness in all champagne is produced by artificial "dosage" with small percentages of sugar. Beginning with the driest, the degrees are brut, extra-dry, and dry or sec.
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The Joy of Cooking, 1975 ed.
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