5 Interesting Facts about Champagne
Any occasion can instantly become a party when a bottle of delicious champagne wine opens!
This sparkling wine bears the name of the region where it’s grown: Champagne, located in Northern France. Its geography and climate made it the perfect place to cultivate the grapes from which the wine is produced. Growers and wine producers have perfected its production method for centuries, making the final product achieve the level of prestige everyone come to associate with the word Champagne!
Our Champagne day trip is one of our popular destinations here at Expat Club. Here are five interesting facts about this region that will make you want to hop on the next tour!
1. Champagne wine exists thanks to Italians
Wine-making was introduced in the Champagne region by Romans. These invaders made Durocortorum (the Latin name meaning “round fortress”) their base. Durocortorum, the city we know today as Reims, was a critical node in the road network of what was known as the Gallia Belgica province.
2. A champagne wine with no bubbles
Back in the day, champagne wine was not at all the delicious bubbly we know and love today. The wine consumed at the time was a flat, cloudy drink that still retained a red tint called “grey wine.” The term still exists today; however, its production process significantly improved and delivering a more refined final product
3. This is not the inventor of champagne wine
Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon is typically dubbed “the inventor of champagne wine,” but this is not entirely correct. What he did accomplish were significant contributions to its production method. As the weather warmed in the spring, wine would go through another fermentation process which would sometimes make bottles explode!
4. The perfect excuse for wine-drinking
Clovis, king of the Franks, was the first monarch to be crowned at the Cathedral of Reims. For the next 15 centuries, every new king of France was crowned at this particular location. The tradition continued up until the French Revolution. These coronations were an excellent excuse for heads of states to gather for various amusements, including, of course, wine-drinking!
5. Location, location, location!
For centuries, the complicated logistics of the region reinforced the attractiveness of Champagne for wine lovers. The small Marne river was the only connection to the outside world, making transportation of Champagne wines cumbersome and expensive. Monarch coronations were definitely a perfect time for royally-endorsed champagne wines.
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