Champagne has a rather interesting and unique story of mishap, mayhem and high water travel that eventually led to its unrivalled adoration and celebration. Not so long ago, Champagne was very much a celebrated wine region and barrels of the stuff were shipped over to the British aristocracy to swig in their droves. However, there was one big difference here - if a bottle of Champagne was to pop open and offer up a sparkling beverage upon opening, it would have been slung to the side and written off as faulty. Wines from Champagne were celebrated but very much still.
There were a few more differences between the Champagne of yesteryear and the Champagne of today; firstly, it was exceedingly cold. Average temperatures lingered at a measly 11 degrees Celsius, which offered up a host of real issues that we will discuss later. The farmers were also poor and uneducated; nobody had the money to bottle wines (hence being shipped by the barrel) and nobody had the foggiest clue about the seemingly magical process of fermentation. Every year was filled with prayers to God to get them through another harvest. However, what was really the thorn in the sides of the Champenois was the chilly temperatures. A key component of top-notch fermentation is a warm environment to keep it going. As harvest came to an end and fermentation was kicking off, the region was creeping into the depths of winter. Sometimes they were lucky, but often, their ferments were lulled into a soft sleep that could only be lifted with the rising temperatures of Spring.
Whilst not the most glamorous of Champagne stories, it initially wasn’t a huge deal. The wines were shipped and stored in barrels, and as such, when the ferment emerged from dormancy in the Spring, it could do so happily, releasing the ferment’s CO2 with ease and nobody was any the wiser. However, the dawn of the bottled wine was rising and as such, the ferments were finishing their lifespan trapped in a glass prison. Due to the lack of understanding and technology, there was often an array of popping corks, exploding bottles and acrid remains of wine following the entrapped final days of fermentation.
Whilst the merchants and makers of France worked furiously to cull the accidently bubbly wine, the taste for this new bubbly style was creeping in popularity in Great Britain and the orders began flowing into Champagne. The bottling of fermenting Champagne at the just the right moment to harness the bubbles became more of an art form. However, the method that is ubiquitous throughout the region today and is aptly named the méthode champenoise, was in fact created by the British. Well, it was in fact created by one British man: the doctor and scientist, Christopher Merret. Now, he didn’t technically have Champagne in mind, as we had a bustling local cider market that also needed a fail-safe method. However, it was his methods that got us where we are today.
As such, the English merchants who were importing barrels of still wines from Champagne would bottle them in Great Britain, add a healthy dollop of liqueur de tirage (a concoction of sugar, wine and yeast) and voilà , you have yourself a guaranteed bottle of delicious sparkling wine. Alas, more damaging news for the French in the creation of one of their most coveted wines - we also were the only place that could create strong enough glass to harness the powerful bubbles, as well as having access to far better corks than they ever could.
Needless to say, the French have definitely got some thanks to give the British for helping them produce some of the best wines in the world.