Types of champagne
Champagne is made from a blend of three different grapes: Pinot Noir (for richness), Pinot Meunier (for fruitiness and spice) and Chardonnay (for delicacy, freshness and aroma). The two Pinot grapes are black grapes; Chardonnay is a white grape. The different styles of champagne are as follows:

Non vintage (NV) Made from a blend of more than one year’s harvest.
Vintage Made from a single good year’s grape harvest.
Blancs de Blancs Made from Chardonnay grapes alone.
Blancs de Noirs Made from black grapes only, either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier or both.
Prestige Cuvees Special, high quality champagne made from best quality grapes, and/or using superior production methods.

There are different levels of dryness in champagne, as follows:

Extra Brut: the driest, with no added sugar.
Brut: very dry to dry
Extra dry: dry to medium dry
Sec: slightly sweet
Demi-sec: medium sweet to sweet
Doux: very sweet, and often drunk as a dessert champagne.

Tips for enjoying your champagne at its best
Q. How do I cool a champagne bottle in a hurry?
A. Fill a sink with ice and cold water and immerse the bottle for a minimum of ten minutes. The champagne will be cool enough to enjoy, but leave it for up to thirty minutes if you can.

Q. How do I serve champagne?
A. Make sure your champagne glasses are completely dry. You don't need to chill them. Tall, narrow glasses are better than wide, flat ones. Handle the bottle gently and don't jiggle it around, or it will be excessively bubbly and you are likely to lose a fair amount when the cork bursts off!

Q. How do I remove a champagne cork without losing any champagne?
A. Dry the bottle with a tea towel so that you can hold it firmly. Remove the foil cap while holding the cork with your thumb so that it doesn't shoot out before you are ready. With the towel over the cork, point the bottle away from you (and not at anyone else) and twist the bottle. You don't need to twist the cork. With practice, it is possible to ease out the cork with a gentle pop. Have a glass nearby, though, in case the champagne fizzes over!

Q. Can I reseal the bottle if there is any champagne left over?
A. You can buy special metal corks for resealing champagne bottles. This way, the fizz is good for about twelve hours.

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