Editing Champagne (section)

==Origins==
{{Main|History of Champagne}}
[[File:De Troy Oyster Lunch.PNG|right|thumb|[[Jean François de Troy]]'s 1735 painting ''{{lang|fr|Le Déjeuner d'Huîtres}}'' (The Oyster Luncheon) is the first known depiction of Champagne in painting.]]
Still wines from the Champagne region were known before [[Middle Ages|medieval]] times. The [[Ancient Rome and wine|Romans]] were the first to plant vineyards in this area of northeast France, with the region being tentatively cultivated by the 5th century. Cultivation was initially slow due to the unpopular edict by [[Domitian|Emperor Domitian]] that all colonial vines must be uprooted. When [[Probus (emperor)|Emperor Probus]], the son of a gardener, rescinded the edict, a temple to [[Dionysus|Bacchus]] was erected, and the region started to produce a light, fruity, red wine that contrasted with heavier Italian brews often fortified with resin and herbs.<ref>Coates, Clive. ''An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France''. University of California Press, 2000. pp. 539–40.</ref> Later, the Catholic [[Roman Catholicism|church]] owned [[vineyard]]s, and monks produced wine for use in the sacrament of the [[Eucharist]]. [[List of French monarchs|French kings]] were traditionally anointed in [[Reims]], and champagne was served as part of [[coronation]] festivities. The Champenois were envious of the reputation of the wines made by their [[Burgundian (wine)|Burgundian]] neighbours to the south and sought to produce wines of equal acclaim. However, the northern [[climate]] of the region gave the Champenois a unique set of challenges in making [[red wine]]. At the far extremes of sustainable [[viticulture]], the grapes would struggle to ripen fully and often would have bracing levels of [[acids in wine|acidity]] and low [[sugars in wine|sugar levels]]. The wines would be [[wine tasting descriptions|lighter bodied]] and thinner than the Burgundy wines they sought to outdo.<ref name="Johnson pp 210-219">{{cite book |author=H. Johnson |title=Vintage: The Story of Wine |pages=[https://archive.org/details/vintagestoryofwi00john/page/210 210–219] |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1989 |isbn=0-671-68702-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/vintagestoryofwi00john/page/210 }}</ref>

Contrary to legend and popular assumption, [[Dom Pérignon (monk)|Dom Pérignon]] did not invent sparkling wine, though he did make important contributions to the production and quality of both still and sparkling Champagne wines.<ref>Christopher Merret Biographical Information. [[Royal Society]] website</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Gérard Liger-Belair |year=2004 |title=Uncorked: The Science of Champagne |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |pages=12–13 |isbn=978-0-691-11919-9 }}</ref> The oldest recorded sparkling wine is [[Blanquette de Limoux]], which was invented by Benedictine monks in the [[Abbey of Saint-Hilaire]], near [[Carcassonne]], in 1531.<ref>{{cite book |author=Tom Stevenson |year=2005 |title=Sotheby's Wine Encyclopaedia |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |isbn=0-7513-3740-4 |page=237 }}</ref> They achieved this by bottling the wine before the initial fermentation had ended. Over a century later, the [[English people|English]] scientist and physician [[Christopher Merret]] documented the addition of sugar to a finished wine to create a second fermentation six years before [[Dom Pérignon (monk)|Dom Pérignon]] set foot in the [[Abbey]] of [[Hautvillers]]. Merret presented a paper at the [[Royal Society]], in which he detailed what is now called ''{{lang|fr|[[Traditional method|méthode traditionnelle]]}}'', in 1662.<ref name="herald">{{cite web |last=McQuillan|first=Rebecca |work=The Herald |title=What's the story with ... Champagne? |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23670868.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610165239/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23670868.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-06-10 }}</ref> Merret's discoveries coincided also with English [[glass]]-makers' technical developments that allowed bottles to be produced that could withstand the required internal pressures during secondary fermentation. French glass-makers at this time could not produce bottles of the required quality or strength{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}. As early as 1663, the poet [[Samuel Butler (poet)|Samuel Butler]] referred to "brisk champagne".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Butler|first=Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8YIAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA29|title=Hudibras. The first (second, third) part &#91;by S. Butler&#93;. Corrected and amended, with several additions and annotations|date=1709|language=en}}</ref>

In France, the first sparkling champagne was created accidentally; the pressure in the bottle led it to be called "the devil's wine" (''{{lang|fr|le vin du diable}}''), as bottles exploded or corks popped. At the time, bubbles were considered a fault. In 1844, Adolphe Jaquesson invented the [[muselet]] to prevent the corks from blowing out. Initial versions were difficult to apply and inconvenient to remove.<ref name="dumangin">{{cite web |url=http://www.champagne-dumangin.com/uk/finition/muselet.html |title=Muselet |publisher=Champagne J Dumangin fils |access-date=20 May 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cuveesclassiques.co.za/brands/jacquesson |title=Jaquesson |publisher=Cuvées Classiques |access-date=20 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013031847/http://www.cuveesclassiques.co.za/brands/jacquesson |archive-date=13 October 2012}}</ref> Even when it was deliberately produced as a sparkling wine, champagne was for a very long time made by the ''{{lang|fr|méthode rurale}}'', where the wine was bottled before the initial fermentation had finished. Champagne did not use the ''{{lang|fr|méthode champenoise}}'' until the 19th century, about 200 years after Merret documented the process. The 19th century saw a dramatic growth in champagne production, going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850.<ref name="Phillips p. 241">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/241 241] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/241 }}</ref> In 2007, champagne sales hit a record of 338.7 million bottles.<ref name="Stelzer p. 34">{{cite book |author=T. Stelzer |title=The Champagne Guide 2014–2015 |page=34 |publisher=[[Hardie Grant Books]] |year=2013 |isbn=9781742705415}}</ref>

In the 19th century, champagne was noticeably sweeter than today's champagnes. The trend towards drier champagne began when [[Perrier-Jouët]] decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage before exporting it to [[London]]. The designation ''Brut'' Champagne was created for the British in 1876.<ref name="Phillips p. 242">{{cite book |author=R. Phillips |title=A Short History of Wine |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/242 242] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-06-621282-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofwi0000phil/page/242 }}</ref>

The only wines that are legally allowed to be named “Champagne” must be bottled within 100 miles of the Champagne region in France. The name is legally protected by European law and an 1891 treaty that requires true champagne to be produced in the Champagne region and made from the Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, or Chardonnay grapes grown in this region.