Associations tend to stick. Take gin, for example. Despite currently enjoying a huge resurgence, it will likely forever bear the ‘mother’s ruin’ cross. For many, tequila remains something that’s downed in one at the end of a booze-fuelled night, with little consideration for how subtle a spirit it can be. And then there’s Champagne.

The drink of celebrations, it’s a wine jealously reserved for special occasions; it has bubbles, a proper cork and its own specifically shaped bottle. And, of course, it’s generally delicious. It’s these things that have helped Champagne reign supreme as the king of celebration drinks for the past 300 years and that will see it likely remain there for as long as we have something good to toast.

So many of the world’s greatest exports were born out of sheer accident, and Champagne, as we know it, is no exception. In the days of early production, it was intended to be a still wine and the inconsistent effervescence that featured in some bottles was far from welcome: “It’s not that Champagne was designed not to have any bubbles,” explains Françoise Peretti, Director of the UK Champagne Bureau. “It’s down to the fact that 300 years ago, nobody really understood fermentation, let alone had mastered it.”

“We do like inventive stories and we like to say that there was a father of industry, but really, the bubbles in Champagne are something of a historical accident,” explains Kolleen Guy, Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the author of numerous wine books. “Although a series of serendipities came together to create the effervescent qualities that Champagne has, there were certainly talented individuals in the industry who took those accidental discoveries and refined them.”

The bubbles we all know and love in Champagne are caused by an induced second fermentation within the bottle. “Every single wine in the world will undergo a first fermentation, even still wine,” explains Peretti. “What happened in the 18th century was very different. The wines would be left in cold cellars, which served to drastically slow down the first fermentation. When the spring came, the temperature would rise, which would kick-start the fermentation again. This caused carbon dioxide to build up in the bottles, which could make them explode. As a result, they were often called devil wines.”

This lack of understanding of the fermentation process meant that some of the carbonated Champagnes were making it out of the cellars and into the glasses of wine lovers, who were enjoying the novelty of the effervescence.

“We do like inventive stories and we like to say that there was a father of industry, but really, the bubbles in Champagne are something of a historical accident,”

As the French Revolution got underway, many French aristocrats sought refuge in England and they brought with them their wines, some of which were from Champagne, and demand began to surge: “We can see in paintings from the 18th century that Champagne had infiltrated England and it was a drink that at that time could only really be accessed by the wealthy. It wasn’t a volume wine and it couldn’t be easily replicated – only wine produced in Champagne could be called Champagne. That meant that it was in limited supply,” Peretti says.

Rarity wasn’t the only thing that kept this wine the preserve of the wealthy in England; there were export costs to consider, too. “What I argue in my book (When Champagne Became French: Wine and the Making of a National Identity) is that the drinking of Champagne obviously began with the nobles,” Guy says. “Before the technology and bottles were mastered, the wines had to be shipped in barrels. In order to ship barrels and store them, you had to be among the wealthy, with the means at your disposal to do this. Even early 18th- and 19th-century bottle technology was so costly that it wasn’t until the mid-19th century when they started to master it that they could then move wines more easily and start selling them to a broader audience.”

In order to get the world drinking Champagne, there had to be a shift in mindset, moving it away from something that was just reserved for the wealthy, to a drink associated with celebrations. “Champagne began to be used secularly. When it came to symbolic events such as the launch of ships before they took to the seas, rather than have a minister come out, it could be baptised secularly with Champagne,” Guy says. “So there was a process of marketing that winemakers were actively trying to get involved in and this was essential in getting it into the hands of the middle classes.

“A lot of people say that the French didn’t really embrace marketing until the 20th century, but my study contradicts that,” Guy says. “Winemakers would invent stories and rituals, which were then reflected in their products. As a result, a lot of the labels that were used on Champagne bottles would have pictures with what they were intended to be used for. So the Champagne may have a picture of a bride being toasted, or a baptism, or some sort of celebration. The winemakers were very much directing consumers through the clever use of labels.

“The Champagne winemakers of that time were very plugged in and what they were doing was cutting-edge when it came to marketing through the use of labels,” Guy says.

This act of marketing helped to establish Champagne as a drink associated with celebrations. “If there was a high-profile celebration taking place, winemakers would actively try to get their wines there. They would recommend toasting with the Champagne and then drinking whatever they wanted with the rest of their meal, but starting with Champagne was the way to make it really special. You obviously also need an audience that was receptive to this approach, and they clearly
had that.”

From that point, Champagne has been at the helm of celebratory drinks. It’s no longer reserved just for the wealthy, but for those with something to toast to. “It is a most festive wine in itself,” says Peretti. “The bubbles are festive, the taste experience makes you feel special … have you ever seen someone drink Champagne and not be happy? There is something special about it, not just in the occasion but in the wine itself. The bottle is different, the labels are attractive and the glassware we use to drink it from is unique.

“Champagne is not a wine you gulp. There are wines you will serve in any kind of glass and you will drink with your friends at a party and not even think about it. But with Champagne there is a moment when you pause and think about the fact that drinking it is a privilege. It commands a sense of occasion,” Peretti says.

As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” It’s hard to argue with this or the fact that this drink represents the good times in life: weddings, birthdays, graduations, promotions. You name it, if there is something to celebrate, Champagne will likely be there to help you make the most of it. And if the past 300 years have taught us anything, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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“Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” ― Dom Perignon

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