02/09/2024
THE HISTORY OF CHAMPAGNE🍾
Have you ever wondered about the history of Champagne? How did the fruity effervescent wine come to be, and who invented Champagne? Was it the French monk Dom Perignon.Champagne is quite possibly the most famous wine in the world. We all know this sparkling and bubbly wine usually associated with joy, celebration, festivity, ... However, it should be noted that we can only classify as Champagne those bubbly that come from the Champagne region, in the northeast of France.
The champagne denomination is too controlled. However, this strict regulation is the one that allows the production of Champagne houses to be recognized. Since 1941, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) guarantees its protection. The denomination delines the geographical area in which wine should be grown and made. If it happens outside of that area, it cannot be called champagne.
To know the history of champagne, we must go back a long time.
During the 17th century it already became popular in the English and French courts thanks to the impulse of some families in this region. Approximately around 1660 it begins to be bottled shortly before finishing the first fermentation, in order to better preserve its aromas, but as a result bubbles appear, especially in pale, low gradation wines and bottled on the spring equinox. This effervescence was, at first, a source of concern for producers who called it devil's wine and cork hoppers, as bottles popped and caps jumped. Thanks to its popularity in England, its production was not abandoned and solutions were sought to pcontrol its strength in the bottle.
Although there is no certainty, it is said that the solution to this "problem" originated from the entry to the Benedictine order in the Abbey of Hautvillers of Epernay at the end of the 17th century of the world-known Dom Perignon, the Father of Champagne
Dom Perignon is a name synonymous with Champagne. The French monk and cellar master is often credited as being the inventor of the effervescent wine. Legend has it that back in 1693 upon first tasting the (technically) spoiled sparkling wine he exclaimed “come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” and made it his mission to find a way to bottle the fine fizzy wine.
Whilst a romantic story, it’s almost certainly not true. It’s believed to be an embellished marketing campaign started in the 1800s to increase the prestige of the Abbey of Saint-Vanne wine. Most historians believe Dom Perignon actually spent a lot of time trying to remove what he considered defective bubbles.
But whether he was a fan or an opponent of the sparkle, we do know that Dom Perignon pioneered many of the important techniques still used in Champagne production today
It wasn't something planned but rather a coincidence. Their task was to supervise the establishment's extensive wine production, and fundamentally solve the problem of bubbles that appeared in a few bottles.
These bubbles we enjoy today, annoyed the monks, who intended to continue making their white and red wines as they usually did. Autumn frost caused a paralysis of wines fermentation before they turned all sugar into alcohol. The arrival of the first rays of sunshine in spring resulted in the reactivation of yeasts and the continuation of fermentation, with the consequent appearance of the bubbling as we know.
From these events, Dom Perignon changed the concept, introduced a series of changes, such as grape selection, tapered cork held with a metal staple, and thicker glass bottles that prevented popping and caps from jumping. From there the perception of monks with that wine changed completely, and over time it became the most chosen wine for celebrations.
150 years later, Lois Pasteur deducted the natural process of fermentation by which bacteria assimilate sugar and turn it into alcohol, generating heat and CO2, that is carbon gas.
Champagne implies the relationship between a soil, its climate and man's intervention. In fact, it comes from a region where wine could not be made, and currently this sparkling wine has become the most famous wine in the world. Because there the weather is very cold and the cloudiness is abundant, therefore the grapes are not ripe enough. Thanks to the second bottling fermentation and the addition of expedition liquor, sparkling wines with balance and a unique character are achieved....
