FOOD HISTORY: Champagne: Part 1

The Champagne region of France existed long before it it became famous for it's sparkling wine since it lay art the crossroads of northern Europe with it's river valley to the south, leading to the Mediterranean ocean and to the north, to Paris and the English channel. Because of its location it became an access point, the pathway for may invaders for hundreds of years being destroyed by armies from many countries' marching back and forth over its land. For this reason it became a center of European trade when the local medieval Counts became strong enough to encourage commerce and trade by providing protection to traveling merchants. It’s importance was enhanced when its Cathedral of Reims became the site of the Coronation of French king Hugh Copet  in 987 AD. Thirty-seven subsequent French kings were coronated in the same cathedral. Because of this, local Champagne region wine-makers, envious of the reputation of wines from the Burgundy region of France, trying to emulate the wines from that region, established a wine industry, mostly in monasteries. These flourished with the financial help of the Crown. The wine, which was highly regarded by the Nobility, became very popular. These, however, were light red still wines, not the sparkling wine, Champagne, for which the region later became world famous. However, the northern climate of that region presented a unique set of challenges in making red wine - grapes would struggle to ripen and had  high acid level and low sugar levels. When cold weather prematurely stopped fermentation in barrels in the cellar, dormant yeast cell remaining awakened in the spring during the bottling process. In the bottles, they started the fermentation process once again, releasing carbon dioxide gas which, in many cases, burst the bottles ( French wine bottles were quite weak) although  bubbles remained in some of the bottled wines. The Champagne wine makers were horrified over this happening - they considered this a fault. They liked their wine to be still and thin. Even into the 17th century, the Champagne wine makers were trying to rid their wines from bubbles. However, bottles which retained their bubbles that were sent to England were greeted with pleasure - they were very happy about the "fault" " in the wine; the sparkle a desirable trait. However things change! The years 160 -1720 marked a turning point in Champagne history, when  when  the production of sparkling wines became a deliberate choice in the region. Before then, effervescence (bubbles) in the wine depended on the variable external conditions. This was the first time  wine had been produced from a single region, Champagne, and identified. as such. Until then, al wines produce in France were referred to as, "French wines".