While the term Champagne is often casually used to describe any form of sparkling wine, it correctly can only be used in reference to the sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region of France. When this same process is used outside of the Champagne region for producing sparkling wine, the bottles will usually be labeled "Methode Champenoise", to indicate that they utilize the same methods and processes as the traditional French Champagne.

The method for producing this sparkling wine is often accredited to Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk (1638-1715). However sparkling wines were already being made beforehand. What Dom Perignon did, was to make several changes to how sparkling wines were made in order to allow for a more controllable outcome.