The most renowned French drinks champagne is associated with celebration and popping champagne glasses at Christmas dinner or New Year’s Eve is among the most important Christmas customs in France.
The word “champagne” is the second most-used French word around the globe and is the symbol of a party and celebrations to the max. Prior to that, it was reserved for an wealthy class, champagne can be found in all sorts of occasions such as an occasion to celebrate success or a celebration to a party in Saint Tropez.
Before you sip an additional glass of Champagne, we’ll tell you all you need to know about champagne its history, as well as some interesting champagne facts that you did not know about yet.
Champagne’s history as a is long and fascinating. The existence of vineyards in the Champagne region goes in Roman times, or perhaps earlier.
The year was the year 496 AD, Clovis, the King of the Franks was baptized in Reims which is the birthplace for champagne wines. From that point onwards, French kings were traditionally presented with an ointment at Reims as well as champagne (the drink) was served as a part of the coronation celebrations. This is the tradition that marks the beginning for champagne wines as a celebration drink that was consumed by the elite.
While their champagne has nothing to do with the champagne we purchase to celebrate New year’s Eve. their champagne could have been cloudyand red , and is referred to as ‘grey wine.’
As in other wine regions of France it was monks who have played a significant role in the development of the land as well as the creation (and perfecting) of the champagne wines in the Champagne region. We are all familiar with Dom Perignon (1638-1715), the monk from the Abbey of Hautvillers close to Epernay and to whom we owe the famed champenoise method of converting a vin tranquille (wine that isn’t bubbly) in sparkling wines.
Other champagne-related names worth noting include Frere Oudart (1654-1742) – – who extensively contributed to the development of this method and increase its quality along with Dom Ruinart (1657-1709), an ancestor of the Champagne region who was a resident of Paris and promoted champagne wine among the most famous name in the city as well as at the Palace of Versailles.
Champagne’s association with luxury was further strengthened by the most lavish monarch the time, Louis XIV, King Louis XIV, tasted champagne for the first time at the Reims Cathedral. It was the King Louis XIV who associated champagne with his other passions such as fashion, prestige and luxury.
After the French Revolution of 1789, the guillotine began to fall which ended champagne’s association with Aristocrats and monarchs. But it was this revolution that started the third and possibly one of the strongest mythification cycle for champagne by linking champagne with the’soul’ and the virtues of the new French Republic.
In the Empire champagne’s wonderful destiny was fulfilled. Napoleon made use of it to create an entirely new, bourgeois, hard-working and faithful society.
“I’m not able to be without champagne, even if I win, I’m entitled to it. If I loss, I’ll want it” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Jean-Remy Moet founded champagne Moet in the United States, developing a new customer base, including the president George Washington. Then, when the Russian army defeated Napoleon and took over Reims. Reims The entrepreneur Madame “Veuve” Clicquot offered her wine cellars to victorious soldiers in the hopes that it would aid her gain a foothold in that Russian market.
As the dawn of the industrial revolution, champagne wines was able to be accessed faster to many markets. Because of the efficient rail network that allowed champagne to be shipped farther, in larger quantities, and in more places than it had ever been before. New equipment has allowed for an efficient production process and also enhanced the appeal of champagne both from a flavor and aesthetic standpoint. Champagne quickly gained recognition as an emblem of France in the eyes of the world.
The champagne wine saw an unprecedented growth across the globe at around the turn of the century due to Germans. The time was when French prosperity attracted Germans who settled on the area in large numbers. In the past, certain were connected to champagne properties through marriage, while some were linked to certain champagne houses. This is the reason we have several German names on label of champagne: Bollinger, Krug, or Deutz.
Everything About the Champagne Wine
Champagne actually is a form of wine. The most popular grape varieties within the Champagne region are the chardonnay grape for the whites, and pinot-noir or pinot meunier for reds.
A champagne bottle contains approximately 49 million bubbly! The distinctive bubbles that appear in every champagne are created during another fermentation process by the addition of yeast and sugar. Both ingredients combine to create carbon dioxide, which creates millions of bubbles in a small area.
The only distinction between champagne and sparkling wine is the location it comes from. Champagne wine that is authentic can only be sourced out of Champagne. Champagne wine region in France. Other regions of the world needs to be able to accept the label of “sparkling wine.’
The Champagne vineyard spans 5 French department: Aisne, Aube, Marne, Haute Marne, and Seine-et-Marne (the most recent part of the current Ile-de-France) and is characterized by clay and marl soils. Climate is oceanic and has continental influences.
It is believed that the Champagne region is among the most northern vineyards in France. This is why it is always subject to extreme weather conditions, including waves of hail, frost and epidemics of all sorts. These dangers have forced winemakers to employ certain practices that are considered to be suspect elsewhere in French wine regions. For instance, if there’s a wine in France that is ‘anything goes it’s the Champagne Wine.
Blend several wine styles from various vintages Mix both red and white wines to make rose wine. Add sugar to the cuvee to enhance the flavor, and look for the commonality of a flavor or style that will please the biggest quantity of people. It is also a part to the past of champagne. The world is awestruck by it, so it’s working!
Champagne’s classifications include champagne (blanc or rose) 43 champagne Premier Crus, and 17 champagne Grands Crus which are Ambonnay, Avize, Ay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Chouilly, Cramant, Louvois, Mailly-en-Champagne Le Mesnil-sur Oger, Oger, Oiry, Puisieulx, Sillery, Tours-sur-Marne, Verzenay,Verzy.
Champagne wines are also classified in relation to sugar content additional brut (0-6 g/l sugar) brut nature brut extra dry sec demi-sec doux (more than 50g/l).
Top Champagne Brands
TIP: If you are planning to take some bottles home with you during your journey to France (who would not want to? ) Be sure to ensure that you pack your wine correctly so it is safe to return back home!
Here’s the list of top champagne brands (most famous champagne brands) in terms of the volume of sales:
Moet & Chandon (LVMH) : 32 M bottles
Veuve Clicquot (LVMH) : 16 M bottles
Nicolas Feuillatte* : 9 M bottles
Mumm (Pernod-Ricard) : 7,8 M bottles
Laurent Perrier : 7,4 M bottles
Piper-Heidsieck (EPI) 5 M bottles
Pommery (Vranken-Pommery Monopole) 5 M bottles
Lanson (Lanson-BCC) 4: M bottles
Mercier (LVMH) : 4,3 M bottles
Taittinger: 4,2 M bottles
However, sales and marketing aside, which is the most ad-hoc champagne?
This is where every wine enthusiast or specialist magazine will have an individual list of top champagnes. Here’s an example of the top champagnes from Le Guide Hachette des Vins (a French wine buying guide):
CHARLES HEIDSIECK Blanc de blancs Blanc des millenaires 2006 Champagne
Champagne CHARLES LEPRINCE 2006
MOET ET CHANDON Moet and Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne
BONNAIRE Blanc de blancs Ver sacrum Champagne
SOUTIRAN Collection Preivee * Gd Cru Champagne
ALFRED GRATIEN , 2004 Champagne
DELAMOTTE Blanc de blancs 2008 Champagne
GOSSET Grande Reserve Champagne
TAITTINGER Blanc de blancs Comtes de Champagne 2006 Champagne
VEUVE CLICQUOT La Grande Dame 2008 Champagne
KRUG Grande cuvee 168e edition Champagne
The POL ROGER Sir Winston Churchill 2000 Champagne * Champagne
Fun Information about Champagne
Here’s the top 10 most fascinating and interesting champagne facts that you haven’t heard of.
The Champagne wine region makes around 300 million champagne bottles every year.
More than 250 km (155 miles) of champagne cellars are located under Reims which is the capital in the Champagne region. It is home to more than 200 million champagne bottles.
In Epernay in France, it is said that the Avenue de Champagne is one of the most expensive roads worldwide because there are millions champagne bottles that are stored in cellars underneath it.
The stunning chalk cellars that champagne bottles of Duperrey are stored in are officially acknowledged by UNESCO as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
France is the world’s largest market for champagne (of obviously!). In fact, the French drink 162.5 million bottles of champagne each year, which is roughly 52 percent of the total world’s Champagne production. France follows by Belgium, Switzerland, and the UK.
33 percent of sales of champagne occur between the months of November and Dec.
A bottle of champagne 7500ml is packed with 49 million air bubbles. A glass of standard size emits 30 bubbles per second.
The pressure of the champagne bottle is around three times that of automobile tires.
If it is popped, a champagne cork could reach speeds of 40 kilometers per hour.
If you don’t control your corks, you could risk injury to yourself. This is among the most frequent household accidents in France!
The champagne that you drink first has the most bubbles which means the first glass will give you the feeling of being drunk in the quickest time. The next glass you pour from the glass will have more power than any glass following.
For a long period, champagne was considered to be hazardous due to the fact that bottles had a tendency to explode, which is why its name, ‘Devil’s wine’. The 19th century saw the first time champagne makers wore metal masts to shield their faces while handling bottles. In the end stronger glass bottles as well as clasp closures made of metal ensured that the champagne was more sturdy.
If you’re drinking a good champagne it will be possible to observe the “collerette. It refers to the bubbles that travel through down the side of the glass.
Your champagne will remain more bubbly when served in a flute glass, as opposed to the coupe glass.
Before the modern-day flute were invented, the ‘coupe’ glass was the preferred glass to drink champagne. This glass was believed to have been made by Marie-Antoinette’s left breast.
One of the most bizarre uses for champagne? The 19th century was when high society would use champagne to polish their shoes!
Because of its location in the northwestern part of France It is no surprise that the Champagne region was located in the path of the advancing Germans throughout the World Wars. Instead of fleeing the area, many inhabitants sought refuge under the towns within the tunnel cellars dug by Romans with the intention of taking precious champagne bottles with them.
Winston Churchill was one of the largest Champagne drinkers in history. Between 1908 to 1965, he was drinking around 42,000 bottles. Pol Roger even made him one-pint bottles that was given to him each day at exactly 11 am.
“Remember gentlemen that it’s not only France we fight for It’s Champagne!” – Winston Churchill
Marilyn Monroe took a bath in champagne. It required 350 bottles to complete the bath.
