12/29/08 Bubbly History

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and with New Year's Eve just a day or two away I want to share a bit of history about the libation of the day  yes Champagne! Well the stories behind the creation and making of Champagne are, as you may imagine, filled with some inaccuracies and many exaggerations. For example; many of us believe that the French monk Dom Perignon, invented Champagne. Actually it was around for quite a long while before the young Benedictine monk began his involvement. What Dom Perignon is responsible for, is furthering our ability to make Champagne. He found that thicker glass and a Spanish cork lashed to the bottles helped to keep them from exploding before they were opened. And it was Madame Pompadou who introduced the court of France to Champagne. Back then, the secondary yeasts that creates the bubbles still remained in the bottle and she didn't like it. So she created a glass with a hollow stem to catch the sediment allowing, she and her guests, to avoid drinking it. The Widow Cliquot, feeling much the same as Madame Pompadou, drilled holes in her kitchen table. Then inverting the Champagne bottles into the holes she managed to catch that annoying yeast sediment in the neck of the bottle and pop it out prior to sealing for the final time. By the way Widow in French is Veuve, so that would make the woman Veuve Cliquot  a legendary pioneer of Champagne. Happy New Year and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine!