Top 10 Facts About Champagne
Champagne isn’t just for the rich these days, but it sure gives you that glitz and glamorous feel. Champagne is linked with celebration, and nothing says New Year’s quite like popping a bottle of bubbly. Every 31 December, Champagne becomes the holiday drink of choice in countries all over the world. It seems that simply letting those bubbles fly sets the tone for a festive celebration. Here are the top 10 facts about Champagne you likely never knew…
- A lot goes into a fine glass of bubbly. In fact, it takes years to craft a fine bottle of champagne. The three grape varieties used for champagne can only be grown in a certain region in France and if they’re not grown there, then legally this can’t be called champagne. It is called sparkling wine. So it is not Champagne unless it’s from Champagne. The best place to discover everything you ever wanted to know about Champagne is in the Champagne region (France) itself and from the Champagne Houses that produce the Champagne.
- If you’re drinking good Champagne, you’ll be able to see the “collerette” meaning the bubble trains travelling up the sides of the glass.
- 1 bottle of Champagne contains approx 1.2 kg grapes.
- Champagne is best stored at a temperature around 7-12 °C and best served at a temperature around 8-10 °C.
- There are about 49 million bubbles in a 7500ml bottle of Champagne.
- Champagne is fermented from red grapes. There are three grapes traditionally used in Champagne: Two reds called Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and one white called Chardonnay.
- The first glass of Champagne has the most bubbles, meaning the first glass will also get you feeling drunk the fastest. Every glass thereafter poured from that bottle will be more potent than the one that follows.
- Did you know champagne was invented by a monk? Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk, fought hard to keep out the bubbles that ruined so much of the wine in the monastery cellar. Despite his best efforts, the bubbles continued to form. One day, he decided to sample the doomed fermentation and Champagne was born.
- Winston Churchill was one of the biggest Champagne drinkers on record. Between 1908 and 1965 he drank an estimated 42,000 bottles. Pol Roger even made him a special one-pint bottle that was served to him every day at precisely 11 a.m.
- Non-Vintage Champagnes have to be stored in the cellars for a minimum of 15 months and Vintage Champagnes for a minimum of 3 years.
