Funny, cause some of the nastiest stuff I've ever tasted carries the "champagne" label and is pretty much undrinkable. As for the better stuff, you're paying mainly for their expensive advertising. But then that's what the postmodernist approach does to you... you pay for the label, the brand, as that's more important than the product itself.

Champagne and "bubbly" mean the same thing. Oh yes, it's also a region, but champagne has always been the generic term for a product.