Champagne : is it a legend or a long history ?
The making of champagne isn’t recent but, on the contrary, very ancient.
Whilst the earliest vines were grown in the Roman period, it was only during the Middle Ages that the wine from champagne became better known, and got its still current fame, for everybody’s pleasure.
Initially, champagne was contained in barrels, and bubbles were escaping from them. These bubbles gave this wine its natural effervescence that allows a better conservation of aromas. The first bottles that were sold to the mainstream market come from the 1660s, with a technique elaborated by Dom Pérignon, then the Benedictine monk of the Hautvillers abbey.
In the early 20th century, the methods of pressing and making champagne were officially recognized. Vintage, wine press, stirring, cleansing, everything was defined. Everything’s made properly, producing this valuable wine, whose most of the vines producing raw material were devastated by phylloxera.
Nevertheless, to date, over 300 million bottles of champagne are produced per year and sold throughout the world. After all these centuries of improvement, champagne remains the most appreciated drink during feasts.
In accordance with INAO, vine culture is now codified by CIVC.
The way the vine is worked is codified by the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne (CIVC) [Interprofessional Champagne Wine Board], in agreement with the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) [National Institute for the Appellations of Origin].