All About Champagne
Who had this crazy idea to invent a sparkling wine? How did these little bubbles, today a symbol of celebration and sweet euphoria, come into being in our glasses? And is there an answer to the question asked so many times: who invented champagne?
It turns out that the answer exists and does not exist. Indeed, the history of sparkling wines begins long before the advent of Champagne wines. And the latter is mainly the result of the history of France and the invention of a method. The Champagne method, and the history of the kings of France.
The origin of sparkling wines is lost in the distant past. What we know for (almost) sure is that neither the Romans nor the Greeks were aware of it because no writing of the time mentions it. On the other hand, an Egyptian text reports a sale canceled for a defect: that of presenting a slight effervescence.
The effervescence was appreciated in France when wines, appearing to have finished fermenting, were bottled following the harvest. In spring, a second fermentation took place in the bottle, creating this effervescence.
What was happening was that the cold winter temperatures would stop the fermentation before the yeasts had completely finished their work. The rise in temperatures in spring revived the phenomenon, but this time the fermentation took place in the bottles.
However, fermentation creates alcohol and CO2. Here are our bubbles. The first written records come from Limoux, Gaillac or Le Diois. We are then far from Champagne!
So how did we get there, in Champagne? As it turns out, with the emergence of sparkling wines, initially confused tasters end up declaring it cheerful and excellent. This fame prompts some to seek control over effervescence in bottles in order to improve their quality.
The first attempt was successful in London, with the addition of sugar cane molasses, cinnamon and cloves. This recipe was quickly popular with the English but was not going to make history thanks to the intervention of the famous Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, in Champagne.
According to legend, because there is no certainty, he was the inventor of the Champagne method, also called the traditional method since, allowing the mastery of the fermentation in the bottle. This works by adding sugar, yeast and old wine (the draw) to recreate a second fermentation in the bottle.
The particularity of this method is that it leaves the wine in contact with its lees, that is to say the yeasts which die off during fermentation. This offers pastry notes of yeast that combine wonderfully with the aromatic nature of the Champagne grape varieties.
If the wines of Champagne are considered today as the flagship of sparkling wines, it is in large part due to their exceptional clientele. Because indeed, another historical heritage of the region: the cathedral of Reims. Because it is in Reims that the kings of France are sacred. And during a coronation, Champagne wine is naturally tasted.
It is then the kings themselves who buy champagne wine for the court, and make the beverage not only famous, but profitable. On many occasions and in the case of many royal gifts, Champagne is believed to be the only one worthy of drinking and giving.
Champagne then becomes a rich wine-growing region, capable of investing great efforts in making its popular wines.
Today, the AOC Champagne has the strictest rules for sparkling wines than any other similar appellations (Crémants, Blanquette de Limoux, etc.). In particular, with aging on lees for at least fifteen months, which gives champagne its pastry flavors.