Champagne has been a part of our culture for a very long time. Opening up a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or victory is a traditional custom for Europeans and even select Americans. However, it is due to this fact and the price of certain champagne brands that this sparkling wine has been deemed for the elitist solely. This might ring itself true but there are very special reasons as to why this is so.
This type of sparkling wine cannot be made or manufactured just anywhere in the world. It was originally made in Champagne, France and it continues to be concocted there. Any sparkling wine that is made out of this certain region in France is not deemed as champagne but just as ‘sparkling wine’. Hence, the manufacturers are quite limited in their scope of production. Any sparkling wine that was made in the United States or any other part of the world cannot use the label ‘champagne’ because it was not created, fermented and fashioned in this particular appellation of France. Second, this type of sparkling wine cannot be conceived overnight. These special pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier grapes that are used to produce this type of sparkling wine need to be primarily fermented into wine bottles. Once the first fermentation is completed, the second fermentation will follow. The second fermentation process requires the addition of yeast and rock sugar into the wine mixture. This will allow the flavor to come out. Once this second process is completed, the aging will now actualize.
Champagne is not by far a simple drink. There is a lot of consideration and hard work that goes into the creation of this sparkling bubbly. This is probably the reason why a lot of royalties in the 18th century seemed to favor this boisterous wine. Belgium’s King Leopold, Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and the 3rd Earl of Durham, John Lambton, were all fond of this sparkling wine according to Perrier in the 1890’s. Since Perrier was already one of the major manufacturers of wine at that time, they were capable of bringing forth this fact to all sorts of people. However, they did not market their wine to be solely for royalty, they also encouraged middle class people into buying this exceptional wine to celebrate special occasions and major victories. Kudos to Perrier, their plan actually worked because by the 1900’s the middle class were the majority of Champagne drinkers.
Most people may have had wrong notions about champagne but one thing remains true. It is the perfect drink to celebrate the moments that we must treasure the most. And maybe just then, we might feel like royalty ourselves.