What do blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs mean?

Blanc de blancs means white from white: a white sparkling wine made only from white grape varieties.

In champagne, according to the Comité Champagne, it is chardonnay, and in addition arbane, petit meslier, pinot blanc and pinot gris. The committee describes the style as fine and light, with mineral notes and aromas of flowers and citrus, which become creamier with the years.

Outside Champagne, the same term appears on other sparkling wines. Which white varieties they contain then follows from the rules of that region.

Blanc de noirs means white from black: a white sparkling wine made only from blue grape varieties.

In champagne those are pinot noir and meunier. The Comité Champagne describes these champagnes as fuller in body, with an impression of power, density and structure, and with notes of white and yellow fruit, red fruit and black fruit.

The term also occurs outside Champagne, always with the same meaning: only dark-skinned varieties, pressed white.

The flesh of black grapes is white; the pigment is in the skin.

If the juice comes off the skins quickly, it stays white. If the skins get more time, the colour is drawn into the juice and rosé or red wine results.

With sparkling wine, pressing is therefore done gently and quickly, so that the juice stays clear. The same principle explains why a champagne of pinot noir and meunier is white in the glass.

Yes, the terms also appear on sparkling wines from outside Champagne, and then the rules of that area apply.

The meaning stays the same: with blanc de blancs only white varieties, with blanc de noirs only dark ones. Which varieties exactly differs per appellation and is usually stated on the back label.

On the shelf in Bathmen, blanc de blancs from France stand alongside Italian and Argentine sparkling wines with the same designation.

Choose by style: the Comité Champagne describes blanc de blancs as fine and light, and blanc de noirs as fuller-bodied.

The committee links blanc de blancs with refined dinners and festive occasions, and describes blanc de noirs as a wine with more power and structure.

Both styles exist dry and sweeter, because the sugar level after disgorgement is independent of the choice of grapes. Look for the designation extra brut, brut or demi-sec on the label.