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
Champagne Champagne: e.g., Burgundy and Alsace produce "". In 2008, more than 3,000 bottles of sparkling wine produced in California labelled with the term "Champagne" were destroyed by Belgian government authorities. Regardless of the legal requirements for labeling, extensive education efforts by the Champagne region, and the use of alternative names by non-Champagne quality sparkling wine producers, some consumers and wine sellers, including "Korbels California Champagne", use "Champagne" as a generic term for white sparkling wines, regardless of origin. The village of Champagne, Switzerland, has traditionally made a still wine labelled as "Champagne", the earliest records of viticulture dated to 1657.