Search for “André Champagne” and you’ll land on two very different things: a budget American sparkling wine that millions of people grew up with, and a handful of genuine Champagne houses from France carrying the same name. The confusion is understandable. The difference matters. This guide covers all of them — what each André is, where it comes from, and which ones are worth seeking out.
Table of contents
- The André most people search for — and why it’s not Champagne
- The real Champagne houses named André
- André Clouet
- André Jacquart
- André Beaufort
- André Robert
- Which one to try first?
- Where to find André Champagne
The André most people search for — and why it’s not Champagne
André is a California sparkling wine produced by E&J Gallo Winery, one of the largest wine producers in the United States. It’s widely available in American supermarkets, comes in several sweetness styles — Brut, Extra Dry, Cold Duck, Spumante — and sells for well under $10 a bottle. It has been a fixture at American celebrations for decades.
What it is not is Champagne. Real Champagne is a sparkling wine produced exclusively in the Champagne region of northeastern France, made under strict appellation rules, and typically aged for a minimum of 15 months (for non-vintage) or three years (for vintage). André from Gallo is made in California using grapes grown outside France, produced by a method called Charmat or tank fermentation — a faster, less expensive process than the traditional method used in Champagne. It can legally be called “sparkling wine” but not Champagne.
This doesn’t mean it’s bad for what it is. As an accessible, affordable sparkling wine for casual occasions, it does the job. But if you searched for André Champagne hoping to find a French Champagne house — you’re in the right place. Keep reading.
The real Champagne houses named André
Several genuine Champagne producers carry the André name — mostly family-run grower houses that farm their own vineyards in some of the region’s most prized Grand Cru villages. These are the names you’ll find on serious wine lists, at specialist Champagne bars, and in the cellars of people who take Champagne seriously. Here’s a guide to each one.
André Clouet
Champagne André Clouet is a family-owned grower house based in Bouzy — a Grand Cru village on the Montagne de Reims known for producing exceptional Pinot Noir. The house farms its own vineyards in Bouzy and makes wines that express the village’s characteristic power and depth.
Their most accessible wine is the Silver Brut NV — a Pinot Noir-dominant blend that is richer and more structured than many non-vintage Bruts at its price point. The Grande Réserve is a step up, made from a single village (Bouzy) and a single grape variety (Pinot Noir), and it shows what Grand Cru terroir in the right hands actually tastes like. André Clouet also produces vintage wines and rosés that regularly appear on high-end Champagne bar lists across Europe and the United States.
If you’re new to grower Champagne and looking for an entry point, André Clouet is one of the best places to start: the quality is consistently high, the prices are fair relative to the Grand Cru sourcing, and the wines have genuine personality.
André Jacquart
André Jacquart is a grower Champagne house based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the most celebrated Grand Cru villages in all of Champagne — and the source of some of the finest Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) in the world. The Mesnil chalk is deep, cool, and mineral-rich, and it gives the wines made here a distinctive precision and longevity that few other terroirs can match.
André Jacquart specialises in Blanc de Blancs: crisp, fine-bubbled Champagnes that lead with citrus and white flower aromas and develop saline, chalky complexity with age. Their Expérience Brut NV is the ideal starting point — a wine that delivers genuine Mesnil character at a non-prestige cuvée price. Their vintage releases and single-parcel wines are worth tracking down if you’re interested in how different plots within the same Grand Cru village can produce distinctly different wines.
André Beaufort
André Beaufort is one of Champagne’s most unusual and quietly influential producers. Based in Ambonnay — a Grand Cru village on the Montagne de Reims known for Pinot Noir of exceptional concentration — the house converted to biodynamic farming decades before it became fashionable, and has never wavered from it.
The wines are very low dosage (extra brut and brut nature styles predominate), aged for long periods, and produced in small quantities. They can be polarising for drinkers used to more conventional Champagne — the profile is leaner, more oxidative in character, and more savoury than fruit-forward. But for those who find them, they’re revelatory: honest, site-specific wines with a kind of austere beauty that few other producers in Champagne achieve. André Beaufort is the kind of producer that serious Champagne lovers seek out specifically.
André Robert
Champagne André Robert is another Le Mesnil-sur-Oger grower — a small family house that has farmed Grand Cru Chardonnay in the village for generations. Like André Jacquart, the focus is firmly on Blanc de Blancs, and the wines carry the hallmark Mesnil tension: precise acidity, mineral backbone, and a long, clean finish.
André Robert is less widely distributed than some of the other André houses, which makes it a genuine discovery for Champagne enthusiasts. When you find it — at a specialist importer, on a serious wine list, or in a Champagne bar with a deep cellar — it’s worth ordering.
Which one to try first?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Here’s a simple guide:
If you want something approachable and crowd-pleasing: André Clouet Silver Brut NV. Rich, fruit-forward, and generously made — it’s the easiest entry into this group and the one most likely to convert someone who doesn’t usually drink Champagne.
If you love Chardonnay and want to understand Grand Cru terroir: André Jacquart Expérience Blanc de Blancs. Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is one of the great chalk terroirs in Champagne, and this wine gives you a clear, honest expression of it at a reasonable price.
If you’re an experienced Champagne drinker looking for something unconventional: André Beaufort. The biodynamic approach, low dosage, and extended aging make these wines unlike anything else in the region. Not for everyone — but unforgettable for the right palate.
If you want to explore Le Mesnil further: André Robert. A smaller production, a more intimate house, and wines that reward patience and attention.
Where to find André Champagne
The André Champagne houses above are grower producers — they make wine from their own vineyards rather than buying grapes on the open market. That means their wines are often found at specialist wine merchants, fine dining restaurants, and Champagne bars that take their lists seriously, rather than at supermarkets or mass-market retailers.
If you’re looking for a venue that serves one of these Champagnes by the glass or bottle, our map is the place to start. We’ve mapped some of the world’s best Champagne bars and restaurants — places where a knowledgeable team, a proper list, and the right glassware all come together.
If your bar or restaurant carries André Clouet, André Jacquart, André Beaufort, or André Robert by the glass or bottle, add your listing to our map.