Champagne the wine was bottled before the initial fermentation had finished. Champagne did not use the "" until the 19th century, about 200 years after Merret documented the process. The 19th century saw an exponential growth in Champagne production, going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850. In 2007, Champagne sales hit an all-time record of 338.7 million bottles. In the 19th century Champagne was noticeably sweeter than the Champagnes of today. The trend towards drier Champagne began when Perrier-Jouët decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage before exporting it to
Sparkling wine production Champagne at least three years. The traditional method is used for Champagne, all European wines with the designation "Crémant", "Cava", better varieties of "Sekt" and other sparkling wines that have names such as "méthode classique" or "fermented in this bottle" on the label (note, however, that the unusual "ancestral" and "dioise" methods also ferment the wine exclusively in the bottle). The ancestral method () goes under many local names in the various French regions, such as "rurale", "artisanale" and "gaillacoise". This is by far the oldest method of making sparkling wine and preceded the "traditional method" by almost 200 years,