Named after the Champagne region of France, from Latin 'campania' (open plain) — sparkling wine made the place name global.
A sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France; broadly, any sparkling white wine.
From French 'Champagne,' the name of the region in northeastern France, from Late Latin 'campānia' (open country, plain), from Latin 'campus' (field, plain). The region's flat, chalky terrain gave it its name. The sparkling wine was developed there in the late seventeenth century, and the place name became the product name. Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk, is traditionally
Dom Pérignon did not invent champagne — he actually spent much of his career trying to prevent the bubbles, which were considered a flaw. The English scientist Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar to create sparkle in wine a full six years before Pérignon arrived at his abbey. The 'champagne' legally protected as an appellation covers