There is no doubt that the best drink of Christmas and the new year – and of all parties in general – is a French wine of golden color and full of bubbles: champagne.
Every year, 268 million bottles of this sparkling beverage are produced and just for New Year's Eve, 360 million glbades of champagne are consumed worldwide to celebrate the recovery.
Meet the following ten curiosities of the most effervescent wine in the world.
1. Perignón is immortalized in the abbey of Hautvilliers – Photo: Getty Images / BBC "src =" data: image / image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQkFBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAAOABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAFwAAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwUGBP / EABYBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYCA aAAwDAQACEAMQAAABdm1mJJJxRSzm8 // // EABwQAAEEAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAQMEEBETFP / aAAgBAQABBQKtpnfmRnCQLmyhADjKoCuxebH / xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARH / 2gAIAQMBAT8B1X xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhH // / // 2gAIAQIBAT8B1L xAAdEAACAgMAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREhAjFBAyKh / 9oACAEBAAY / Anj1IS8tzMIc4 + r + // Gi13acEWr47MUm3Jtn xAAbEAEBAQEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAABESEAEJGh8P / aAAgBAQABPyGDQo3lhUYVreLAbJPjwYJ6VocrEQIuVxDYCr6783v / 2gAMAwEAAgADAAAAEDhf / 8QAFhEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAh / 9oACAEDAQE / EMS G / 8QAFxEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREAIf / aAAgBAgEBPxBF7rSm / 8QAIBABAQACAQMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAREAIUExUZFhcaGx4f / aAAgBAQABPxAw4kCqAX7POGMNOwB7asy6oU6bKPnRzq56fzgkqU7aAlOJgru4INKt3 p6Pdx1rdaoQfKuV / jn / 2Q == "/> Dom Perignón is immortalized at the abbey of Hautvilliers – Photo: Getty Images. [1] [2] Tradition attributes the discovery of champagne to Dom Pierre Pérignon, a French Benedictine monk who lived from 1638 to 1715 and spent a good part of his 77 years in the abbey of Hautvilliers, located in the Champagne region , where French sparkling wine is made.
The legend says that he stumbled upon the formula of the famous method of double fermentation and that when he drank for the first time, he felt in his mouth an explosion of bubbles and said to the other monks: "Come run, I drink stars!"
Kings, Queens and Princes toasted wine of this color of Father Perignon – Photo: Getty Images / Via BBC
They say that, during the coronation of Hugo Capeto in 987, during a solemn ceremony that would have taken place at Reims Cathedral in Champagne, began a tradition that would soon be followed by the following monarchs to toast to wines of this region, which, even elaborated with the same grapes of the champagne, still did not have their characteristic bubbles.
Of Hugo Capeto, about thirty French kings are crowned in Reims and, during the festivals, some wines are always offered from there, which, little to few, become famous.
Insofar as, after Luis 14 became monarch in 1643, he asked to be brought to the Palace of Versailles, liters and more liters of this "straw-colored wine of father Pérignon" .
3. A glbad of lover of kings
It is said that one of the champagne used at 18th century was inspired by the left bad of Madame de Pompadour – Photo: Getty Images / via BBC
Luis 15 was a great wine taster and drank mostly in the company of his lovers.
The most famous of them, Madame de Pompadour, is the one who immortalized the phrase: "Champagne is the only drink capable of making a woman more beautiful."
The legends say that the first bowls created especially for champagne, with wide mouth and chest-shaped, were manufactured on order of Luis 15, taking as model the left bad of Madame Pompadour.
But there are also those who say that the inspiration actually comes from Madame du Barry's bads, another mistress of Louis 15.
4. How many bubbles are there in the champagne?
There are more than seven million bubbles in each bottle, one million in each cup.
5. Where do the bubbles come from?
The champagne bubbles are the result of a microscopic fungus, yeast, which needs sugar to survive and which, when it is consumed, releases a gas: carbon dioxide.
Yeast is responsible for the transformation of sugar into alcohol by the fermentation process.
The champagne is elaborated with the help of a double fermentation. In the first case, bubbles are hardly formed because the grapes with which the wine is made are not very sweet, so they have little sugar and, in any case, carbon dioxide can escape .
But during the second fermentation, the champagne producers add a little sugar and more yeast to the wine and close the bottles with a special stopper.
The fermentation of sugar produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, which can not escape and stays inside the bottle. Champagne therefore has a higher alcohol content.
Drinking champagne in big glbades made its entrance – Photo: Getty
Inside the champagne bottle, there is a huge pressure, equivalent to three times that of the inside of the tire. a car.
7. It's only champagne if it's French
Champagne can only be called grape-based drink from the Champagne region, where three varieties grow – pinot noir, pinot meunier and Chardonnay – and according to the traditional method of double fermentation, the "champenoise method".
In addition, you must stay at least 15 months, as the call to the process of maturation of wines, to obtain the best shades and the best aromas.
8. Why is Champagne special?
The region of birth of champagne is located almost in the extreme north of France. It is one of the most sumptuous vineyards of Europe, exceeded only by the south of England.
One of its peculiarities is that its soil is limestone, which allows it to retain water and heat, promotes drainage and gives the grapes a very particular minerality. In Champagne, there is a total of 34 hectares of vines. In 2016, this region has been declared a World Heritage Site.
Champagne usually has a soft golden color and especially a high price. It's rare to find a bottle of this sparkling wine in stores for less than $ 34, and some are sold for thousands of dollars.
One hectare of vineyard in Champagne costs more than a million dollars.
To this is added the fact that the Avenue de Champagne, in the town of Epernay, is one of the most expensive streets in the world. It extends over more than 1 km and houses large champagne houses such as Pol Roger, Mercier and Moët & Chandon.
And under this avenue, there are 110 km of cellars which shelter, at a constant temperature between 10 ° C and 12 ° C and protected by the darkness, more than 200 million bottles of champagne which are worth a fortune.
Cold, but not cold. According to experts, the ideal temperature is 8 ° C. Below, some of their aromas are lost. Some varieties can be consumed at 10-12ºC to enhance their qualities.
The best way to cool the champagne is in a container filled with ice, where it should stay about 20 to 30 minutes. If it is placed in the refrigerator, it should stay in the coldest part for four hours in order to avoid losing some of its properties.
It is absolutely forbidden to put in the freezer, it would be sacrilege. And it is also strongly discouraged to serve in previously cooled cups as this would affect the ampoules.
Evaluators say that it should be served in hand-washed glbades, only with hot water, soap-free, or detergent, as these can affect blisters.
The tall, thin glbades used for years to drink champagne are now falling into disuse. Experts advise using cups of tulips because they provide the bubbles with the space they need and, at the same time, concentrate the aromas.
To serve the champagne, take the bottle from the bottom (never through the bottleneck) and pour its contents into the glbad with a slow and steady flow allowing the bubbles to accumulate on the sides .
Do not serve champagne at one time, but in two steps at least for the bubbles to settle. Never fill the glbad above two-thirds.
And a last warning: once a bottle of champagne is opened, there is absolutely no method to keep it with all its properties intact. It is therefore best to end it.
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