Champagne Wines – The Early Years and Progression
The Romans first cultivated the Champagne district in France. In the 1200’s, lots of the highly valued Champagne wineries passed into the control of the Church when Crusaders that had given their property to the church didn’t come back. For centuries, the wines produced in this region were used for the sacrament, for coronations, for the royal dinner table and for the consecration of treaties.
In the seventeenth century, the Champenois became jealous of the standing of the wines made by their Burgundian neighbors to the south and sought to create wines of equal acclaim. Nonetheless, as opposed to imitating the wines of Burgundy, the Champenois wanted to produce a new style of wines. Reference is seen from the midst of the century onwards to Champagne wines of numerous colours; ‘couleur de miel’ (honey-coloured); ‘oeil de perdrix’ (partridge eye); ‘cerise’ (cherry pink); ‘fauve’ (tawny); or ‘gris’ (grey).
Although the red wines of Champagne had been known in England for some time, the new ‘vin gris’ was only introduced there in the early 1660’s. It is from this period that the first accounts of sparkling Champagne wines are found. The English scientist and physician Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar to a finished wine to create a second fermentation almost 40 years before it was claimed that the famed Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon (1638-1715), invented champagne. Merrett presented the Royal Society with a paper in which he detailed what is now called m?thode champenoise in 1662.
Although Dom Perignon didn’t invent champagne, he did develop many advances in the production of this beverage, including holding the cork in place with a wire collar to withstand the fermentation pressure. In France, champagne was made by the m?thode rurale, where the wine was bottled before the only fermentation had finished; Champagne didn’t utilise the m?thode champenoise until the 19th century, 300 years after Christopher Merret documented the process.
The 19th century saw a massive growth in champagne production, from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850. In the 1800s, champagne was much sweeter than it is today. The trend towards drier champagne began when Perrier-Jou?t decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage prior to exporting it to London. The designation Brut champagne, the modern champagne, was created for the British in 1876.
In 1941, the Comit? Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CICV) was legally established, and has since contributed not only to administering production regulations in Champagne, but to promoting the wines throughout the world.
For more champagne advice and champagne resources take a look at InterChampagne.co.uk
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