And what now seems surreal, prior to 1728, French law required sparkling champagne to be transported in wooden casks for taxation purposes. While today the method for making champagne is uniform and rigid, back then, the process was so unpredictable and dangerous that it was commonly called the “Devil’s wine.” Due to the buildup of carbonic gas, the book informs us that winemakers were required to wear a crude version of a catcher’s mask in case a bottle exploded, which was often. He was seconded by Louis XIV, a fan of Champagne but a hater of bubbly. Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who is etched in stone as one of Champagne’s greatest winemakers did everything in his power to eliminate the bubbles from his wine, considering them to be a terrible flaw. Ironically, this gradual shift towards sparkling wine was met with ardent resistance by some of the area’s most iconic figures. In fact, the rivalry it had with its neighbors in Burgundy was so intense that had the Champenois not slowly switched over to fizz, an all-out war would’ve broken out between the two competing regions. Besides being known for producing wool, Champagne was a place to go not for sparkling wine, but for red wine.

Looking back through the centuries, the Kladstrups’ uncover a past that both wine drinkers and non-drinkers alike will find simply fascinating.įor starters, we learn that in the beginning, the irresistible blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier was a foreign concept to most vintners in the region. The duo that also penned 2001’s best seller Wine and War: The French, the Nazis and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasuredispels the notion that sequels tend to disappoint with their riveting history Chamapgne: How the World’s Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times. “The greatest irony of all,” writes authors Don and Petie Kladstrup, “is that Champagne, site of some of mankind’s bitterest battles, should be the birthplace of a wine the entire world equates with good times and friendship.”

But behind those millions of fine bubbles is a darker past-a past plagued by war and devastation. “It is the wine.” Producing the quintessential drink to celebrate everything from wedding vows to winning the World Series, the region of Champagne, with its chalky soil and cold climate has taken on mythical proportions as a place synonymous with happiness and joy. “Champagne is not a wine,” wrote one reviewer from the nineteenth century.

Champagne by Don Kladstrup