The History Behind Champagne
Most people reserve champagne for special occasions and celebrations and is often thought of as an expensive indulgence. It’s the location that dictates whether a bottle of sparkling wine may be called champagne above the production values. The Champagne area in Northern France is the only place where real champagne comes from. It’s not just the region which decides whether it becomes a champagne, the The Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne have other regulations on how it’s made too. The term champagne is legally protected and is recognised within the European Union as well as several other large wine producers around the world. Some American produced sparkling wine still used the term champagne.
Like all wine related drinks, the different tastes have different names and vary from being sweet to dry. The driest will have the least amount of sugar in the champagne with Brut being the direst and Demi-Sec being the sweetest. Although wine glasses are more common, the champagne flute is specifically designed for this prestigious drink. The Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne also details the types of grape used as well as the location in champagne making. The chardonnay is produced by the white grape whilst the pinot noir and the pinot meunier come from the black grapes.
There are several myths that surround both the production and the actual champagne glasses. Dom Perignon is mistakenly given credit for creating the first champagne by accidently creating the bubbles. There are several different stories as to how champagne came about. It’s commonly accepted that Benedictine Monks first created sparkling wine over one hundred years before Dom Perignon was born. Dom Perignons’ association with the affluent drink isn’t unfounded. Perignon made significant improvements to the quality of the champagne including the improving the fermentation process. Another quaint myth associated with the consumption of champagne is the shape of the traditional champagne coupe which is a more bowel shaped champagne flute. The most common myth around the champagne coupe was modelled on Marie Antoinette’s left breast so people could toast to her health. These rumours cannot be true as champagne and its consumption were already invented over one hundred years before she was born, but they add to the air of the drink being for the privileged and wealthy.
