“Come quickly brothers, I am tasting stars.” - Dom Perignon
(yes, he was a real person--a French monk often mistakenly credited with
inventing champagne. In fact, even the authenticity of the preceding
quote is under debate)
courtesy : Mandovi Menon/TOINetwork
Fact One: As much as some would like to deny it,
champagne is actually a type of wine and is typically derived from a
blend of grapes. The only difference between sparkling wine and
champagne is the region it comes from. Authentic Champagne can only come
from the Champagne region of France. Any bubbly from other parts of the
world simply have to settle for the title of ‘sparkling wine.’
Fact Two: The characteristic bubbles that grace all Champagnes are always a source of mystery. So, here’s the mystery decoded: They are formed during a second fermentation process, because of the addition of sugar and yeast. The two ingredients react to form carbon dioxide. This creates millions of bubbles trapped in a very small space.
A bottle of champagne at room temperature contains around 49 million bubbles! And the smaller the bubbles, the better the quality of the champagne.
Fact Three: Sparkling wines and champagnes are generally categorized as follows: extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec and demi sec. All of this depends on sugar levels. In wine terms, ‘dry’ is the opposite of sweet.
Fact Four: Countries like Italy, New Zealand and Australia all give France a serious run for its money in terms of the quality of Champagne produced; but because they are unable to use the iconic name, they are very often less expensive than the real thing.
Fact Five: Marilyn Monroe once took a champagne bath. It took a whopping 350 bottles to fill the tub. We sincerely hope she got a few sips in while she was in there!
Fact Six: Pol Roger, the renowned Champagne house, made a special one pint bottle of champagne for Winston Churchill to be served to him every day at 11 a.m.
Fact Seven: It has been documented in several manuscripts that Frederick the Great of Prussia used to drink an unusual mixture of Champagne and coffee to calm his nerves!
Fact Eight: If you’ve ever wondered why all bottles of Champagne give off such a discernible pop when opened, the answer lies in its pressure. The pressure in a single bottle of champagne can be as much as 90 pounds per square inch, which is about three times the pressure in a car tyre!
Fact Nine: The world’s most expensive champagne costs $275,000 per bottle! And no, this is not because of its exceptional quality but rather the tale behind it. 'Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck' are 100-year-old bottles of champagne from the Heidsieck vineyard that took over 80 years to reach their final destination. Divers discovered the 200 bottles off the coast of Finland and today, they are sold to wealthy guests at Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Fact Ten: Contrary to popular belief, 'vintage' doesn’t necessarily mean old and non-vintage is by no means bad. In fact, vintage Champagne only means that the grapes used in it are from the same year. Therefore, a 2012 vintage would only use grapes from 2012.
-Pictures courtesy Thinkstock-
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