Champagne is one of the most
famous drinks in the world; we have
all heard of it, even if we have never
actually tasted the real thing. To
qualify as champagne, a wine must
be made in the Champagne region
of northern France – about an hour’s
drive from Paris. Dom Pérignon,
the legendary 17th Century
French Benedictine monk, is often
wrongly credited as the inventor
of champagne. In fact, the famous
monk appears to have spent much of
his time trying to prevent his wines
developing bubbles. Surprisingly,
it is the English that played a role in
the invention of champagne. From
the 16th Century onwards, still
wines from the Champagne region
of France were exported to England.
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To make these tart and acidic still
wines more palatable, the English
added honey to the barrels. The
sugars in the honey, combined with
residual yeasts present in the wines,
triggered secondary fermentation,
which produced carbon dioxide –
the essential gas needed to provide
the precious bubbles.
Champagne must be made
according to the méthode
traditionnelle (traditional method).
The most important aspect of the
process is said to be secondary
bottle fermentation. This is where
a dose of yeast and sugar is added
to the bottle of still wine, then
sealed with a crown cap – just
like the ones used for a bottle of
beer. The wine then undergoes
secondary fermentation – a process
the French call prise de mousse,
which literally means ‘capturing the
sparkle’. Remuage the process by
which dead yeast cells are gently
eased to the neck of the bottle and
disgorgement, when the yeast and
sediment are released from the
bottle are the next steps after which,
the distinctive mushroom-shaped
cork, which prevents the bubbles
from escaping, is finally inserted.
The méthode traditionnelle
produces the best sparkling wines
in the world, although the process is
expensive. Wine-makers around the
world often use other less expensive
ways of getting the bubbles into
wines. The cheapest and most
common method is to pump carbon
dioxide into