What is the history of Champagne?

Champagne, the bubbly beverage that pops it cork at celebrations, was named after the northeast France region where it is produced. Champagne cannot be called Champagne because Champagne’s sparkling wine is protected. The process that guarantees those trademark bubbles is also protected. It’s called methode champenoise, and Champagne-makers can only claim it. Who is the one who invented this method to ensure that wine sparkles?

France’s citizens thought they had the answer when Dom Groussard (a Benedictine monk) told a remarkable story in 1821.

Dom Perignon poured the bubbles in the Bubbly.

He related the story of Dom Perignon, a monk that had lived at Abbey of Hautvillers for more than 100 years. He explained that Dom Perignon had been blessed with a happy accident. The wine had been opened before it had fully fermented. The wine continued to ferment in a bottle. However, when the monk opened the bottle, the cork came out and the wine fizzed. Dom Perignon was curious and poured himself one glass. He was delighted with the flavor and the small bubbles in his nose. He called out to the monks, “Brothers! I’m drinking stars!” Dom Perignon then developed a method to make sure his wine was always fizzy.

It is a charming legend and was believed by the French for many years. It’s only natural that a monk would be reliable. This one was not, as it turned to be: he loved exaggerating. He did say that Dom Perignon was real, and he did spend most of his life as the Abbey of Hautvillers cellar-master. He was responsible to acquire more vineyards, and to improve the Abbey’s nonsparkling wine collection. But, his work was documented. There was no mention of him making sparkling wine by accident or purpose.

Champagne’s secret recipe

Dom Perignon believed that wine with bubbles should be avoided. Although it was not a common occurrence, it was sometimes called “devil’s wine” or even “pop-top wines” (vin du diable and saute-bouchon). Bubbles would appear when wine was bottled prior to the fermentation process. The pressure built up inside the bottle could cause the cork to pop, or even explode. A chain reaction would occur where bottles are popped and broken by flying debris. It could lead to significant loss of wine and inflict serious injuries on monks who happen to be in the cellar at that time. Although Dom Perignon made a significant contribution to Abbey’s wine production, he didn’t attempt to make sparkling wine. In fact, he tried not to.

Dom Groussard is believed to have invent this story along with other embellished tales, in order to give the abbey greater historical importance. Also, he claimed that Dom Perignon invented the cork and could determine which grapes came from just by tasting them. Both claims are also false. France believed his story and accepted the star-sipping monk’s claim that he was the inventor Champagne.

Dom Perignon Champagne

It was a positive story, and French business organizations used it to promote Champagne region and champagne. The fizzy drink, long associated with royalty, was also made famous by the legend. The drink would become accessible to all, now that everyone knew that it was created by a poor monk. Moet & Chandon launched Dom Perignon Champagne in 1921. This brand was named after the monk who created the bubbly beverage.

What is the first French sparkling wine that has been made for the enjoyment of it?

Dom Perignon’s fame as the inventor and creator of Champagne-making prompted another abbey in Carcassonne, southern France, to raise their hands and say “No, we weren’t first.” Carcassonne monks Benedictine have been making sparkling wines since 1531. Blanquette de Limoux, their sparkling wine, is bottled immediately after fermentation has completed. While the Carcassonne abbey might have claimed to have made the first sparkling wine, it did not invent modern Champagne-making methods. Carcassonne’s claim prompted another legend. Dom Perignon was said to have visited the abbey to see their wine-making process, and then stole the recipe.

Champagne from England

In the 1990s news broke out from England, which made the French Champagne sector explode. It was revealed that English Champagne-makers used modern methods of Champagne-making well before Dom Perignon ever entered the abbey. It is believed that England imported large quantities from Champagne in the seventeenth Century. The Brits purchased it by the barrel and botched it themselves. They loved it when they received the occasional bubbly barrel, and devised a method to ensure that their wine sparkled and fizzed.

Christopher Merret (1662), an English scientist wrote that wine-cowers added large quantities of sugar to wine to make it brisk and sparkling. This was in response to the abundance of sugar they had gotten from their Caribbean colonies. It was also a great advantage that they developed thicker, stronger glass that could withstand pressure from the secondary in bottle fermentation.

In England, the double fermentation methode champenoise is used since the seventeenth century. It was not used in Champagne until the 19th century. However, method champenoise has been used only to describe sparkling wines produced in Champagne since 1994.

While sparkling wine has always been made naturally, and only occasionally, the modern technique used to make Champagne-making is believed to have originated in England across the Channel. (Oh my!)