This production is primarily carried out according to the same methods used to create white wines (Chardonnay) and red wines (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier). However, there are a few differences. Two thirds of the white base wine is created from red grapes; thus, the pressing is very gentle so as not to extract pigments. A strict set of production methods is applied in Champagne. In addition, the base wine may not exceed 11% alcohol, as the second fermentation will add another 2%. Malolactic fermentation is not required, but often used, as the musts tend to be naturally acidic. Next, the blending involves either batches of white wines (white champagnes) or white and red wines (rosé champagnes) from different harvests. Rosé champagne is the only French wine produced by blending red and white wines. Before bottle fermentation begins, the blended wines are stabilized so that there will be no remaining sediment (especially tartaric acid) during the secondary fermentation and maturation processes.

The dry, filtered wines are bottled and a small amount of “bottling dosage” consisting of beet and cane sugars and yeast are added in a specified proportion to produce the correct amount of alcohol. The bottles are sealed and cooled to a temperature of approximately 11°C (52°F). The yeast then ferments the dosage sugars for six to eight weeks, producing a large amount of pressure (6 atmospheres or 88 psi).

For fifteen months for a champagne and thirty-six months for a vintage champagne, the maturation process gives the wines their bottle bouquet. The contact with the lees also produces the complex tertiary aromas that are typical of wines from Champagne.

This practice, which is labor intensive, but mostly mechanized these days, involves placing the bottle with its neck sloping downward so that the lees gradually slide toward the cork. A good racker can finish 40,000 bottles per day. Racking continues until the wine is perfectly clear.

Disgorging removes the deposit formed in the neck of the bottle during racking. The use of chemical coolants allows this operation to be automated. Each bottle, still sloping downward, is plunged 4 cm into a solution that is held at -22 °C (-8°F). The deposit is then trapped in an ice cube that can easily be removed. Dosage and corking then follow.

Immediately after disgorgement has been completed, a shipping dosage is determined for the champagne based on how it will be sold, as the amount of cane sugar and aged wine included in the dosage determine the type of champagne that will be produced. With less than 3 grams of sugar, the Champagne will be a “Brut zero”. Between 33 and 50 grams, it will be a “Demi sec”. Between these two extremes, a “Brut”champagne contains between 6 and 15 grams of residual sugar. After dosage, the bottles are corked and then sealed in the distinctive manner that has now been adopted for all sparkling wines. The cork used is always the highest quality available.