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
Avenue de Champagne to show how the drink is produced and stored. Avenue de Champagne L'Avenue de Champagne (The Champagne Avenue) is a famous street located in Épernay, the 'Capital of champagne', in the Grand Est Région of France. Its name derives from the presence of many leading champagne producers such as Moët et Chandon, Mercier and De Castellane. Residents say that this avenue is the most expensive in the world, more so than the Champs-Élysées in Paris, because of the millions of bottles of champagne stored in the kilometres of chalk cellars beneath it. It has become a tourist attraction for Épernay