The Champagne area has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site – for the “hillsides, houses and cellars” producing and selling champagne! Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from the Champagne region  in France following rules that demand, among other things, secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation, specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from specific parcels in the Champagne appellation and specific pressing regimes unique to the region. Some use the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine but in most countries, it is illegal to officially label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under the rules of the appellation.