History of Champagne:Champagne was first introduced to the wine industry by France. Champagne became to be known as Champagne back in early 17th Century. It was named champagne after a French wine growing region known as Champagne where it was first discovered and developed.
The history of Champagne dates back before the 17th century but has never been developed before the 17th Century. It was in Reims , the Royal City of French monarchs and the Capital of the Champagne wine growing region where a monk at the Abbey of Hautvillers ,near the city of Reims discovered Champagne for the first time.
Dom Pierre Pérignon ( 1638-1715) was a French Benedictine monk who lived in a wine growing region dominated by classic red wines. One day, Dom Pierre Pérignon was in the process of fermentation of his wines before bottling and corking these new bottles, but for some reason he didn’t process the fermentation properly and left in the wine caves.
Few months later and after a winter , Pérignon’s fermentation that remained dormant, began reacting to springs and gradual warming temperature , thus the fermented wine of the monk start producing carbon dioxide that was trapped in the bottles. This chemical reaction doubled the pressure inside the bottles and caused the explosion of these bottles of wines within the caves.
One morning, the French Benedictine Monk, Dom Pérignon, was surprised when he opened his wine cave and found out! The monk gathered other monks and opened one bottles that resisted the pressure and didn’t expose. That’s how the monks found out & realized that they accidentally came up with the new era of Champagne that will dominate the world wine industry for long time to come, without even knowing anything about wine and bubbles!
Thus, Champagne was born and named after the wine region where it was first discovered. Today Möet & Chandon (not to confuse with Chandon in Napa Valley) is a Champagne varietal named in honor of the French Benedictine Monk, Dom Pérignon. As you travel on State Highway 4 that runs between Paris and Reins, you can see his statue on the highway and a bronze statute was also erected within Möet & Chandon winery in Epernay, France.
Why we call it sparkling wine in North America?
Unlike the USA, French veticulutral codes are applied on wine labeling calling the wine Varietals after the wine region where wine is made. This is known as Appellation d'origine contrôlée (term as a designation of origin).
Champagne is not an exception to that verticultural regulations , it was named after the Champagne growing region where it was first discovered , in early 17th century.
the European Union and many other countries accepted to legally protect the Champagne as a trademarked exclusive to French Champagne label in the Treaty of Versailles that followed the World War I and reaffirmed this legal exclusivity banning other countries from using it.
Few countries including the USA didn’t sign this particular chapter of this treaty
Exclusivity. However, the USA has finally acknowledged in 2006 the legality and exclusive production of the Champagne to France leaving some flexibility to those American wineries who labeled their wines calling it champagne before 2006. Instead, the wine in North America and some other countries is called Sparkling wine or method champinoise as some still do in California! Where? Learn more now:
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