International Champagne Day: 15 award-winning wines to try

The celebratory pop of a Champagne cork provides the soundtrack to weddings, birthdays and candlelit anniversary dinners. Champagne spent three centuries marking milestones around the world, but it never had a celebration of its own.

That all changed in 2009, when a Californian wine educator called Chris Oggenfuss created Champagne Day. He encouraged fellow enthusiasts to open a bottle and share the moment on social media using the hashtag #ChampagneDay.

Before long, the party spilled offline, with bars, restaurants and wine shops now hosting tastings and events worldwide each October. The Comité Champagne, the region’s official trade body, has given the day its blessing, along with a dedicated page on its own website.

Why is Champagne Day on the fourth Friday of October?

Oggenfuss never revealed why he chose the fourth Friday of October, but the timing works beautifully. By late October, the Champagne harvest is safely in, and the new wines are resting in the cellars, giving growers a chance to pause and celebrate.

The festive season is also on the horizon. It’s the busiest time of year for Champagne sales, as shops and restaurants stock up for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Friday is a fitting day for it. At the end of the long working week, wine lovers don’t need much persuading to open something sparkling.

How Champagne got its sparkle

Legend has it that a Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon invented Champagne back in the 17^th century. ‘Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!’ he supposedly cried after his first sip.

In reality, that famous quote first appeared in an advertisement around 200 years later, and the monk spent much of his career trying to stop the wine refermenting, as the pressure caused bottles to explode in the region’s cellars.

His real legacy was blending grapes from different vineyards, the foundation of the house styles that define Champagne today. He is also credited with refining gentle pressing so that black grapes such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier could be used to make white wine.

Champagne wasn’t even the first sparkling wine. Monks in Limoux, southern France, were making fizz as early as the 1530s. In 1662, English scientist Christopher Merret presented a paper in London describing how adding sugar to wine created a deliberate sparkle, decades before Champagne’s winemakers embraced the method.

The region’s crowning achievement was to perfect it. A second fermentation in the bottle, followed by long ageing on the lees, gives Champagne its fine bubbles, creamy texture and toasty depth.

How Champagne conquered the world

Champagne’s bubbles first became fashionable at the French court in the early 18^th century, when the Regent Philippe d’Orléans made the wine a fixture of his lavish suppers. In 1728, a royal decree allowed Champagne, alone among French wines, to be transported in bottles rather than barrels. That opened the door to export markets, and the first Champagne houses soon followed.

Over the next hundred years, innovations such as riddling – the technique that turns cloudy sparkling wine crystal clear – helped Champagne win over wine lovers from London to St Petersburg.

However, its remarkable success spawned imitators. By the early 1900s, some producers were buying cheaper grapes from outside the region and in 1911 furious growers took to the streets, seizing shipments and tipping wine into the Marne. The unrest led to a 1927 law fixing the boundaries of where Champagne can be made, the foundation of the appellation that protects the name today.

The Comité Champagne still guards the name fiercely. Champagne is protected in more than 130 countries, and the Comité has won court battles against everything from elderflower ‘champagne’ in Britain to perfume in China.

It’s easy to see why the Comité is so protective, as Champagne is big business. In 2025, the region shipped 266 million bottles worth some €5.7 billion, with more than half sold outside France.

Chalk cellars and a cool climate

Champagne’s vineyards cover 34,200 hectares, with the heartland centred on Reims and Épernay. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier thrive on the chalky soils of this cool northern region.

Miles of cellars run beneath the vineyards, allowing millions of bottles to age gracefully at steady temperatures. In 2015, the region’s hillsides, houses and cellars were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Choosing a bottle

Picking a Champagne is simpler than the labels initially suggest. Non-vintage bottles, blended from several years, show off a house’s signature style and usually offer the best value. Vintage Champagnes capture a single standout year, and they reward patience, with bright fruit slowly evolving into layers of honey, hazelnut and toast, and the bubbles growing softer and more refined.

If you enjoy light, citrussy sparklers, try a blanc de blancs. These wines are made only from white grapes – usually Chardonnay, but producers can also use Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane and Petit Meslier.

If you’re looking for something richer, try a blanc de noirs, which is white Champagne made from black grapes, with a fuller body and notes of red apples and berries.

Whatever you choose, Champagne Day is the perfect excuse to put a bottle on ice. Pop the cork, pour a glass and join the toast.

Scroll down to see 15 award-winning Champagnes from the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2026

Champagne Day: 96+ point wines to try

Charles Collin, Cuvée Charles Blanc de Blancs Brut 2012
Best in Show, 97 points
Three Champagnes featured in our Best In Show selection last year, one of which was a Blanc de Blancs. This year we have only two – but both are Blanc de Blancs. That in turn means that all four of our sparkling wines in this year's pantheon are Blanc de Blancs – a testament to the enduring appeal of this fine-boned style. (Lovers of blends, don't despair: you'll find much to enjoy in our Platinum selection. PLEASE CHECK.) Both of this year's Best In Show Champagnes, too, are based on the 2012 vintage, and for a little more on that challenge-to-triumph vintage, see the note for this wine's fellow Champagne laureate. Meanwhile, what's in the glass here? A Champagne that combines controlled generosity with remarkable refinement. It's gratifyingly aromatic: peach, quince, brioche, dried lemon and root botanicals all appeared in our judges' notes. On the palate, it's vibrant and multi-faceted, elegant and refreshing. There's a breadth and carriage to the wine which you won't always find in the Blanc de Blanc style, but it's nimble on its feet and stylistically restrained: an alluring and hugely enjoyable combination. Alcohol 12%

De Saint-Gall, Orpale Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru 2012
Best in Show, 97 points
The second of this year's Best In Show Champagne laureates is, like the first, a 2012 wine, so it's worth spending a little time considering this vintage. If you'd arrived in Champagne in late July, it was a glum scene: a cold, wet spring had seen yields slashed by April frosts, wild-card hailstorms and chaotic flowering. June and July remained grumpy; disease pressure was intense. A magnificent August then stepped in to save the day, while September was sunny, bright and airy. Nothing could remedy the low yields, but these late-season conditions meant the fruit ripened fully, over the length of a sustained season (time on the vine is critical for Champagne). All of this plays out in this splendid Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs. Pale yellow in colour, with a fine-beaded mousse, the aromas are complex and plant-infused as well as richly fruited, with hints of mocha and toasted brioche. On the palate, the wine has authentic Grand Cru concentration and length with the balance and resonance that comes from perfect ripeness; there’s a hint of fruit-salt and stone on the finish. Enjoy 2012 while you can. Alc 12.5%

Brimoncourt, Régence Brut NV
Platinum, 97 points
Blissful reams of orchard fruit, baked lemon pie and toasted biscuits glide across the nose giving way to a bright citrus effervescence and stylish mineral frame. Superbly driven and energetic; an outstanding example of non-vintage Champagne. Alc 12.5%

Cattier, Blanc De Blancs Brut Premier Cru NV
Platinum, 97 points
Impressive Chardonnay typicity; well-defined honeyed peaches, yellow apples, toasted sourdough and light brioche notes are subtly sewn into the fine, creamy mousse. An enhancing wet stone freshness guides the razor sharp acidity and long saline finish. Alc 12.5%

Drappier, Brut Nature NV
Platinum, 97 points
Vivacious wild strawberries, red apples and fragrant florals grace the nose whilst a wafer biscuit and salty pastry complexity brings depth and body. Vivid grapefruit acidity slices through the chalky mousse and permeates the nutty length. Alc 12%

Jacquart, Blanc De Blancs Brut 2018
Platinum, 97 points
Luminous pearls of golden citrus, peach, pear and apple boast finesse and character alongside the chalky texture and delicate bubbles. A stunning tension of acidity flows towards the fresh saline finish. Wonderfully linear and persistent. Alc 12.5%

Marks & Spencer, Delacourt Blanc de Blancs Brut 2017
Platinum, 97 points
A dazzling complexity of peach, apricot, quince and golden apple with lashings of toasted bread and brioche underscoring. Broad and muscular, with rippling mousse and racy lime acidity curtailing the grilled nut glow of the finale. Alc 12.5%

Philippe Gonet, Ter Blanc De Blancs Extra Brut NV
Platinum, 97 points
Nuances of honeysuckle, citrus, toasted almond and hazelnut intersperse and conjoin with the glossy bread crust mousse. Fragrant lime acidity adds power and lift and the peachy backbone energises the long length. Archetypal Blanc de Blancs. Alc 12 %

Prestige Des Sacres, Cuvée Dynastie Blanc De Blancs Brut NV
Platinum, 97 points
A spectacular cohesion of fresh florals, toasted hazelnuts and brioche eases across the nose and intermingles with the glossy texture, bustling mousse and chalky lime acidity. Wonderfully orchestrated and focused with a refreshing saline length. Alc 12.5%

Rare, Millésime Brut 2012
Platinum, 97 points
Overflowing with decadence and ethereal aromatics: voluptuous sweet nuts, popcorn, coffee cream and toasted hay aromas are counterbalanced by the chiselled lemon effervescence and green apple acidity. Tantalisingly rich yet magnificently fresh and driven. Stunning. Alc 12%

Saint Réol, Brut Grand Cru Ambonnay 2008
Platinum, 97 points
An accomplished nose of hazelnut, chestnut, ginger and gunflint showcasing the magnum ageing perfectly. Beautifully structured with a svelte nougat mousse underpinned by polished grapefruit acidity and enthralling flinty mineral length. Plenty of life ahead. Alc 12.5%

Ch. De L'Auche, Blanc De Noirs Brut Premier Cru 2019
Gold, 96 points
Alluring nectarine, peach and yellow plum fruit gilded in a strawberry biscuit casing. Shiny and elegant with salivating acidity and brioche-infused bubbles. Long and herbaceous. Alc 12.5%

De Barfontarc, Caractère N°34 Rosé Brut NV
Gold, 96 points
Vivid strawberry and raspberry fruit mingles with grilled hazelnut, brioche and mocha depth. Supple and creamy with textured bubbles and a long, fruit-led finish. Aperitif style. Alc 12%

Louis Brochet, Héritage Brut Nature NV
Gold, 96 points
Dashing floral nose accompanied by smatterings of pear, peach and grapefruit that nourish the graceful effervescence and linger over the lemon zest acidity. Silky and pristine. Alc 12.5%

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