Interesting Facts about Champagne

Champagne Bubbles

 

 

Champagne, or Sparkling Wine, is often thought about as being invented by mistake due to a secondary fermentation of wine gone wrong.

However, those who are familiar with winemaking know that this is actually quite a problematic process. So, Champagne could hardly be a product of just a bad batch with excellent taste.

 

 

Invention of Champagne

 

It is widely believed that Champagne was invented by the legendary monk Dom Perignon. The legend has it that he sent a few of these strange bottles with bubbles, by mistake or some other unknown reason, to the local aristocracy. They, in turn, were highly impressed with the interesting taste and feel of this new kind of ‘wine’. But, in fact, the sparkling wine was invented decades before him and he acted more like a godfather of this great beverage. There is no doubt about the fact, however, that it was Dom Perignon whose great contribution to the process of shaping champagne has made it a premier drink today.

 

How is Champagne Made?

 

As already mentioned, champagne is achieved through the process of secondary fermentation of wine when special elements are added to it during the storing process. Just like the basic fermentation, this secondary process leads to additional release of carbon dioxin. However, this dioxin causes many problems during the storage of the wine, the chief among them being that barrels could start exploding and potentially causing a chain reaction that could ignite the whole wine cellar.

To take care of this problem, various winemakers made their contribution, not the least of whom was our famous monk; barrels were replaced with bottles, making the whole technology better to pave a safe way to manufacture this potentially dangerous product.




 

Champagne Bubbles

 

The most funny thing about the whole affair is that Dom Perignon thought the bubbles are a negative element, and spent a number of years trying to remove them from champagne. Fortunately for everyone, he never succeeded and thanks to the fact, champagne exists with all its bubbly charm to this day.

 

A Registered Trademark

 

You may be surprised to know that ‘Champagne’ is a registered trademark and can only be applied to the sparkling wines produced in the Champagne Region in France. As a result, the other countries, and even other provinces of France, that manufacture champagne, have to brand it under different names. The protection of the brand is taken very seriously and is considered almost arcane.

 

Champagne Vs Regular Wine

 

Another interesting fact about champagne in relation to regular wine is that each of them never hurt the other’s market or demand. Both kinds of products managed to create their own spots in the competitive and complicated world of alcohol. With time, champagne became a symbol of a celebration and success, perhaps because initially it was used during the crowning of monarchs. Wine, on the other hand, became a more sophisticated and slow drink aimed at those with preferences of taste qualities. No wonder then that both champagne and wine offer various tastes and brands to those interested in indulging in these magnificent drinks.

 

The Famous Tradition of Spraying Champagne

 

Finally, let’s look at the most interesting and famous tradition related to champagne that is popular and very common to this day – spraying champagne around after a victory. It was started in 1967 at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans Race by the legendary race winner Dan Gurney. Although champagne bottles were presented to the winners in the years before that too, according to the legend, Gurney was either genuinely excited to finish and win the race or was extracting a little revenge on those journalists who had predicted that he would lose. Either way, he started spraying champagne around and a worldwide symbol of victory was born!



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