Champagne - A Beautiful Accident
Updated: Feb 6, 2019
There are drinks that are always the center of attraction in any celebration. For casual parties, there is beer. For the serious drinker, there is whiskey. For a Spanish fiesta, there is sangria. But there is one drink that tops them all - Champagne.
In any celebration and party there is a bottle of Champagne that make its way to the table. If there is one thing that is lost in all the celebration is the how and why Champagne came to be. There are two popular stories that recounts on how the Champagne was invented. One is by accident and one is by a very familiar name.
As its name suggests - Champagne, is of French origin and is named after the Champagne region in France. But did you know that the signature sparkling wine, was discovered by accident? In their haste and eagerness to match the famous Burgundy wines, the famous Champagne Houses tried to replicate the process on fermentation. But all of their efforts has come to naught as the unforgiving winters in the region halted the fermentation process.
The coldness of winter stopped the yeast from fermenting the wine, and it was reactivated once spring comes. This caused the release of carbon dioxide from wine. During the first year of the double fermentation, the thin bottles exploded. The ones that survived the original fermentation became the first sparkling wine, we know and loved today.
The second story about the discovery of Champagne is about the monk - Dom Pérignon. Many accounts claim that the monk invented the Champagne. However, there are some who suggests that even before the invention by Dom Pérignon - Englishmen have already produced sparkling wine. Moreover, there are some documents that claims that Dom Pérignon tried to get rid of the bubbles in the wine as it causes the bottle to burst.
But otherwise, the popular notion is that Dom Pérignon started making the sparkling wine in the Champagne region in 1668. He is credited for the invention of the double fermentation. This is the very process that the current Champagne producers are using to this day. Furthermore, the French monk is also the first winemaker to ferment white wine using blue grapes. Dom Pérignon is also given credit for the development of the Méthode Traditionelle.
“Come, for I am drinking stars!” Dom Pérignon stated when he first tasted the sparkling wine of Champagne.
There are more to experience than just the wine - come with us as we visit the Champagne region in France. Visit www.bcnmtpoint.com and tell us where you want to go.