Today is World Champagne Day. Before you pop the cork, you should know what you are popping.
We spoke to food blogger and wine enthusiast Zizipho Dingana about some of the important facts we need to know before drinking the beautiful bubblies today.
These are the things we should know about champagne
- Champagne was associated with royalty in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It’s leading manufacturers made efforts to associate their Champagnes with nobility and royalty through advertising and packaging, which led to popularity among the emerging middle class.
- Champagne can only be called champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France.
- Champagne is made with both white and black grapes. It is made with three major grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay.
- Champagne was invented by accident when Bendictine monk Dom Perignon was making wine and couldn’t rid it of bubbles, he tasted his accidental creation and exclaimed, “Come quickly! I am drinking the stars!” Thus, according to legend, was champagne invented on this day in 1693.
- The pressure from the bubbles would reach such levels the bottles simply exploded. The champagne contained in those unpredictably explosive bottles was actually dubbed le vin du diable, or “the devil’s wine” because they exploded with no notice.