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
Sealed bottles Sealed bottles Sealed bottles have an applied glass seal on the shoulder or side of the bottle. The seal is a molten blob of glass that has been stamped with an embossed symbol, name or initials, and often it included a date. Collectors of bottles sometimes refer to them as Applied seals, Blob seals or Prunt seals. Up until the 17th century bottles would have been made of pottery or leather but by the middle of the century a 'new' black/dark green glass wine bottle came into general use. Early glass bottles were squat, broad and rounded sometimes referred to