For over a century,
champagne has been prominently featured in popular culture as a symbol for
luxury and celebration.
Immortalized in music, film, literature, and art,
champagne has the reputation of being the libation for merriment and revelry.
Today, champagne makes frequent appearances
during graduation celebrations, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and toasts,
but what most people don't know
is the centuries long history behind the effervescent concoction.
Many sparkling wines are produced worldwide, but
most legal structures reserve the word champagne
exclusively for sparkling wines from the Champagne region
(This is an ACTUAL law).
to plant vineyards in the Champagne region.
The name Champagne comes from the Latin campania,
referred to the similarities between the rolling hills of the province
and the Italian countryside of Campania
located south of Rome.
Champagne's location
at the crossroads of two major trading routes
would bring the region and its wines much prosperity and notoriety
but would also play a pivotal role in Champagne
being the site of countless battles and occupations.
The area was divided into
the Champagne pouilleuse,
the chalky, barren plains east of Reims
and Champagne viticole,
the forested hillside region
known as the Montagne de Reims
between Reims and the Marne river where the vines were planted.
In 987, Hugh Capet was crowned King of France
at the Cathedral in Reims.
The city became known as a the spiritual capital of France.
At the coronation banquet,
the local wines of the regions were served.
For the next eight centuries,
monarchs would follow the tradition of Capet
and hold their coronations in Reims.
The connection between royalty and the region's wine
would do much to further and boost
the reputation of champagne.
In Medieval times,
much of the cultivation of wine was done my
Benedictine monks.
Monasteries would have vineyards
where monks would plant and harvest grapes
that were then used to make wine for use during mass,
and eventually became a staple during coronation ceremonies.
It's interesting to note,
that Champagne as we we know it today,
would've been considered flawed in the Middle Ages.
Wine was meant to be still, not bubbly.
But in Reims, where the climate was cooler than the red wine regions,
wine production faced a unique set of challenges
that helped to produce the sparkling variety we enjoy today.
During the 16th century,
Dom Perignon,
was a Benedictine monk who was extremely influential
in the production of white wine,
at a time when wines were predominantly red.
Moet & Chandon's
prestige cuvee is named after this pioneer;
though he is sometimes credited for the invention of sparkling wine,
bubbly wines were not popular until the 19th century.
The sparkling champagne we know today
was created by a happy accident.
Wine was meant to be still during Perignon's time.
Bubbles were a flaw in the wine making industry.
The Champenois in Reims, were envious
of their Burgundian counterparts who produced the highest quality reds.
They sought to create wine of the same caliber,
but their location and climate presented them with some
unique challenges.
In Reims, where the climate was colder,
it was difficult to produce red wines
with the richness and fullness of Burgundian wines made from red grapes.
The climate made it difficult for the grapes to fully mature,
thus creating a pinkish wine.
Eventually, production moved over to white wines made from white grapes,
distinguishing the Champenois from their rivals.
However, these white wines
had a duller taste and a spoiled more quickly.
The challenge then became
producing white wine from red wine grapes.
It wasn't until Dom Pierre Perignon
perfected his techniques
would the Champenois be able to truly make
white wine from red grapes.
The oldest recorded sparkling wine is
Blanquette de Limoux,
which was apparently invented by Benedictine Monks
in the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire, near Carassone in 1531.
They achieved this by bottling the wine before the fermentation process.
Until then, wine was bottled only after fermentation,
a rule called the methode rurale.
In France the first sparkling Champagne
was created accidentally;
the pressure in the bottle led it to be called "the devil's wine"
(le vin du diable),
as bottles exploded or corks popped.
Sugar in the wine before the fermentation process was complete
caused bubbles to form in the bottles.
This created pressure that would often lead to bottles
exploding.
The English were one of the first
who saw the tendency of Champagne
to sparkle as a desirable trait.
As the popularity of sparkling Champagne
grew in London,
other European courts began to discover
the bubbly curiosity,
including the French
who had previously despised the bubbles as a wine fault.
With its' rich history,
champagne
has been the staple drink for celebration throughout the centuries.
During World War II,
the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill,
once motivated the British forces with the claim
"Remember, gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for,
it's Champagne!"
Good news champagne lovers!
If you only taste Champagne
on New Year’s Eve or at weddings,
you may be missing out on a surprising cognitive benefit.
A new study has found that
one to two glasses of Champagne a week
can help ward off age-related memory loss
as well as the onset of dementia and other degenerative brain disorders (Forbes).
In terms of calories,
champagne’s got other wines beat.
Four ounces of champagne is roughly 90 calories,
while the same amount of red wine and sweet wine is 100 calories.
Sparkling wine may have some additional health benefits, too.
One study found that the polyphenols found in
red wine can also be found in champagne.
These antioxidants reduce the damage free radicals can do to the body,
possibly helping lower blood pressure and prevent heart problems.
Cheers to that!
(Greatist)
The iconic nature of champagne
has long been used to enhance celebration.
The contents of the bottle sprayed over onlookers
from the winners' podium of Formula 1 and other sporting events
has origins by the social elite;
the extravagant "waste" of the highly valued wine
being an expression of the spirit of the
living the good life.
Marilyn Monroe was reputed to have taken a bath
in 350 bottles of champagne.
U2 famously end their concerts in similar fashion,
spraying the audience with champagne
before leaving the stage.
At PRIZE, we love champagne
as much as the next person!
Staying true to the spirit of celebration,
we'll be popping bottles this coming Thursday, May 1st
to celebrate our 3rd birthday and our brand new expansion!
We love our customers,
and we would not be here today if it weren't for all of you!
So please, join us this Thursday, May 1st at
PRIZE,
where it'll be fun and merriment from 5-9pm!
We can't wait to see you!
Check out our Facebook event here! Or RSVP by email to info@prizeaustin.com.
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