WineRegiionsOld WorldFranceChampagne
The vine has been cultivated in Champagne since the Roman occupationof the first century AD, but the wines produced were originally still wines.Nobody knows exactly when Champagne became sparkling, although it evidently,appeared in England before legend would have us believe it was "invented"at the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers by one of the monks - Dom Perignon.In 1676, before Dom Perignon had made his name as a "rear wine maker,the playwright Sir George Etherege wrote of "sparkling Champaign"in his comedy The Man of Mode.
Why should sparkling Champagne be found at this time in England. ratherthan France? Perhaps the answer lies in a combination of circumstances.During Champagne's chilly winter wine makers would interpret the wine'sinactivity as proof that the fermentation had finished. However, the wineprobably still contained unfermented sugars and almost certainly had notundergone malolactic fermentation. It was in this slumbering state thatcasks of still wine were originally shipped to England. Bottles were notused by the French for either shipping or aging the wine at this date, butEnglish innkeepers would bottle wine from cask and store it until it wasconsumed at the table. During this temporary storage, the warmth of an innmight reactivate the fermentation in the bottle. At this time, English glasswas stronger than French glass; it could withstand the internal pressuregenerated by carbonic gas. In addition, the cork stopper was in common usein England at the time ( unlike most of France). Being airtight, it preventedthe escape of carbonic gas.
Dom Perignon
If Dom Perignon did not invent sparkling Champagne, then what he specificallyachieve? We know, that he was the first to develop the concept of blendingwines from various grapes grown in different villages to effect a better-balancedwine; he used a shallow-based press to produce clear, untainted juice fromblack grapes; and he reintroduced the cork.