A Timeline Of Champagne
Most people reserve champagne for special occasions and celebrations and is often thought of as an expensive indulgence. The main thing that makes a bottle of sparkling wine champagne is its place of origin. Champagne may technically only be called champagne if it’s produced in the Champagne area in northern France. Champagne must be made and fermented in a particular way as well as coming from the Champagne region according to the The Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne. The term champagne is legally protected and is recognised within the European Union as well as several other large wine producers around the world. Only select sparkling wines produced in certain parts of America still use the term champagne.
Like all wine related drinks, the different tastes have different names and vary from being sweet to dry. Brut is the driest of champagnes and it’s also the most universal and contains the least amount of sugar whereas demi-sec is the sweetest. Although wine glasses are more common, the champagne flute is specifically designed for this prestigious drink. The The Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne often stipulates champagne should be made from three different grapes. The white grape produces a chardonnay and two different black grapes are used to produce pinot noir and pinot meunier.
There are several myths that surround both the production and the actual champagne glasses. Dom Perignon is mistakenly given credit for creating the first champagne by accidently creating the bubbles. The exact invention of champagne is often claimed by several different sources. It’s commonly accepted that Benedictine Monks first created sparkling wine over one hundred years before Dom Perignon was born. Perignon’s did have a lot to do with champagnes development. Perignon made massive improvements to the whole process of champagne making particularly the fermentation process. Another quaint myth associated with the consumption of champagne is the shape of the traditional champagne coupe which is a more bowel shaped champagne flute. The most popular story being that the coupe was modelled on the breast of Marie Antoinette (or various other French aristocracies). These rumours cannot be true as champagne and its consumption were already invented over one hundred years before she was born, but they add to the air of the drink being for the privileged and wealthy.
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 4:42 am and is filed under food and wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.