When we think of a celebration, what’s the first beverage we envision? Champagne. We toast to the bride and groom with Champagne, World Series winners spritz one another with the bubbly, and we clink glasses to ring in the New Year. Champagne is the undeniable drink of choice for special occasions.

Thought to be invented by the French Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon in the 17th Century, Champagne naturally achieves its bubbles in the second fermentation that occurs inside a sealed bottle. Carbon dioxide cannot escape, and sparkles are trapped. True Champagne can be made only in an 84,000-acre region in northern France. If you see “sparkling wine” on the label versus Champagne, it means the bubbly didn’t meet the governing body’s stringent laws of origin. The Champagne region of northern France frequently sues imitators and works with foreign governments to prevent counterfeiting.