THE HISTORY OF CHAMPAGNE
The cultivation of vines in Champagne dates back to Roman times. Until the 17th century, these wines were highly valued. However at the time these were weakly colored gray wines that were aging badly in bad barrels. To preserve the flavors, they started bottling these early.
The result was that these wines with low alcohol content and bottled in spring became naturally sparkling. The winemakers called the wines 'Devil wines' or 'leap-cap' bottles because of exploding bottles or popping corks.
Dom Perignon, cellar master at the Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers did not invent the sparkling wine in the seventeenth century as believed. He was the first to blend grapes to improve the quality of wines. He also introduced corks, which were fastened to bottles with hemp string soaked in oil in order to keep the wines fresh and sparkling, and used thicker glass in order to strengthen the bottles (which were prone to explode at that time). The development of sparkling wines as the main style of production in Champagne occurred progressively in the 19th century, over one century after Dom Pérignon’s death. Today, under a single name, there are a multitude of champagnes, which the world was often imitated but never surpassed. Champagne is the second most known word over the world.
The Champagne has established 6 main rules:
The cultivation of vines in Champagne dates back to Roman times. Until the 17th century, these wines were highly valued. However at the time these were weakly colored gray wines that were aging badly in bad barrels. To preserve the flavors, they started bottling these early.
The result was that these wines with low alcohol content and bottled in spring became naturally sparkling. The winemakers called the wines 'Devil wines' or 'leap-cap' bottles because of exploding bottles or popping corks.
Dom Perignon, cellar master at the Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers did not invent the sparkling wine in the seventeenth century as believed. He was the first to blend grapes to improve the quality of wines. He also introduced corks, which were fastened to bottles with hemp string soaked in oil in order to keep the wines fresh and sparkling, and used thicker glass in order to strengthen the bottles (which were prone to explode at that time). The development of sparkling wines as the main style of production in Champagne occurred progressively in the 19th century, over one century after Dom Pérignon’s death. Today, under a single name, there are a multitude of champagnes, which the world was often imitated but never surpassed. Champagne is the second most known word over the world.
The Champagne has established 6 main rules:
- Use the following grape varieties: chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier
- Short pruning (mainly royat, chablis, Guyot)
- Maximum yield of grapes per hectare (kg / ha) decided each year by the lnterprofession
- Maximum allowance of 102 liters from a press of 160 kilos of grapes
- Minimum sugar degree set each year
- Conservation in bottles for minimum fifteen months before shipping, 36 months for vintage champagnes
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