Myths and facts about champagne: debunking popular misconceptions

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When we think about the New Year holiday, the first thing that comes to mind is a decorated Christmas tree, a festive feast, and of course, champagne, without which no New Year celebration is complete.

The champagne that most often adorns our feasts can safely be called mythical for the simple reason that, for example, “Soviet champagne” (formerly the most popular) as well as Italian, Hungarian, or any other, except French, does not exist. All of these can be called sparkling wines, but not champagne. And all because real champagne is produced only in France, and even then not everywhere, but only in a small part — the famous province of Champagne. Nowhere else in the world is there such a unique combination of temperature, soft fertile soils rich in limestone, such water — everything that defines the classic taste of champagne.

It is known that the priority of discovering champagne wine is attributed to the blind French monk Perignon. However, Tom Stevenson, author of the “World Encyclopedia of Champagnes and Sparkling Wines” published in London in the fall of 1998, cites a copy of a document dated 1662, signed by a member of the British Royal Society Charles Merret, which details the method of making champagne. This happened 20 years before Perignon reported on a similar technology.

And in 2000, Italian professor Mario Fregoni from the Institute of Viticulture at the Catholic University of Piacenza stated that he had found evidence that champagne was invented by the ancient Romans, who drank it during orgies. According to the scientist, texts from that era show that the double fermentation method used in champagne production was employed at least 2,000 years ago.

As for the French monk, Fregoni states the following:

“This is a beautiful legend, nothing more. No one knows when he lived or when he died. His birth and death years are arbitrarily named the same as those of Louis XIV — 1638–1715, which is ridiculous. Even if the monk really existed, he merely used a method familiar to the Romans.”

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It has long been known that sparkling wine was loved in Ancient Rome. But until recently, it was assumed that bubbles in it arose during natural fermentation, possibly as a result of improper storage.

However, Professor Fregoni thinks otherwise. As one of the proofs of his correctness, he cites the description of the production of Falernian wine by the writer Lucan (dated to the 1st century BC). Lucan described how the then producers of warehouse Falernian wine achieved the appearance of bubbles: they added must from withered Ethiopian grapes. After that, the wine was corked in terracotta amphoras and stored underground, often near streams with cold water.

Real Falernian wine was made near Naples, but from written sources discovered by Fregoni, it can be learned that it was also imitated by winemakers in Provence when this area was under Roman rule.

It is not surprising that the report of the Italian scientist on the priority of the Romans in the invention of champagne brought the French into indignation. Fregoni's statement in France was perceived almost as blasphemy. According to Daniel Lorson of the French Confederation of Wine Merchants, Fregoni's theory is nothing more than an attempt by Italian "champagne" producers — "spumante" to support the reputation of their sparkling wine. He states:

“For us, it is quite flattering that our French champagne arouses such interest and, let's be frank, greed regarding its origin.

Whatever the Romans drank, it has nothing to do with the champagne we know today...”

However, not all French people consider Perignon the inventor of sparkling wine. The fact is that in France itself, in the south, in Limoux, sparkling wines were made as early as the beginning of the 16th century, while in Champagne their production was established only at the beginning of the 18th century. In a work on the production of champagne wines published in 1722, a certain Jean Godinot from Reims wrote the following:

“For more than twenty years, the French have been going crazy for sparkling wines. Therefore, many wine merchants are trying all means to make their wines sparkling. To do this, they add all sorts of additives, such as wine spirits and pigeon droppings.”

Mention of sparkling wines can be found in the Bible, in the works of Homer and Virgil, Shota Rustaveli, Omar Khayyam, and other authors.

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A beautiful label on a bottle in French does not always mean that you have French champagne in front of you. One of the signs that you have real champagne is a fairly high price, which is at least $30, and the best varieties are valued at $70 to $300 and higher.

Interesting fact!

Contrary to popular belief, the much-loved French champagne “Dom Perignon” is far from the best. The fact is that it is produced in huge quantities, while in Champagne they believe: the smaller the volume, the more exclusive and high-quality the product.

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Champagne should definitely be drunk cold: the ideal temperature is +6 °C. To this end, some put the bottle on the balcony, others bury it in the snow, and still others place it in the freezer. However, with these methods, it is very easy to overcool the champagne, and it will become tasteless and devoid of bouquet. Therefore, it is best to place the bottle in the refrigerator for 2.5–3 hours or put it in a bucket of crushed ice for 20 minutes.

Many people like to shoot the cork at the ceiling during festive feasts and splash foam on those around them. This only shows that such a person is not familiar with the rules of good manners. And the champagne itself loses a lot from such shocks. To enjoy the play, foam, and other delights of champagne, try to open it so that the cork comes out with a quiet pop and the foam goes into your glasses, not onto the dresses of the ladies sitting nearby.

Nowadays, all champagne bottles necessarily have foil on the neck. This was not always the case. Foil was first used for this purpose in the 19th century. Many people think that foil is needed for decoration. In fact, it was originally used to repel and poison rats that roamed freely in the cellars.

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In some countries, newlyweds traditionally keep wedding bottles of champagne to drink them on some “round” wedding anniversary. However, such wine is unlikely to be healthy and tasty. Champagne, unlike many other wines, cannot be stored for a long time. Champagne should be stored at room temperature for no longer than two to three months, and in the refrigerator — for a year. If stored longer, its color changes, and oxidized tones appear in the bouquet.

After buying champagne, do not drink it immediately, but hide it for a month and a half in a dark cabinet to let it mature. The fact is that the process of forming the drink continues even after bottling, and if it is aged a little more, this only improves the quality of the champagne. Such maturation also occurs when the bottle of champagne is kept in the refrigerator, but in this case, the process happens at a slower pace.

Curious fact

Each bottle of champagne potentially contains 49 million bubbles. But you can enjoy all of them if you buy real French champagne or those champagne wines produced using classic technology.