Champagne doesn't come from the Champagne region of France, despite being named after it, but from southern England, in an area where the soil is of the same type as it is in Champagne.
Still not correct, but not a million miles off.
Champagne was "invented" by the English, as it was they who had the technology to make bottles and corks strong enough to deal with the pressures exerted by a fizzy wine. From the 16th Century they had developed a taste for the fizzy wine and would import flat, green wine from the Champagne region of France and add sugar and molasses to start off the fermentation process. The French contribution to Champagne didn't start until much later by adding marketing finesse and expertise in blending the grape varieties.
The connection between Southern England and Champagne is even more modern. Apparently, parts of Kent and Sussex have the same geology, soil conditions and weather as the Champagne region of France. This means that an English "Champagne" should be as good as a French one because the grapes should grow just as well this side of The Channel.
A couple of other bits of Champagne trivia.
The Treaty of Madrid (1891) states that only sparkling wine from the Champagne region may use the name Champagne. This was reaffirmed by the Treaty of Versailles (1919). However, as the USA signed it's own seperate peace treaty with Germany at the end of the First World War they are not bound by the terms of the treaty. This mean that they can exploit a legal loophole and call their own domestically produced sparkling wines "Champagne". By a quirk, in the USA the genuine article imported direct from France is labelled as a "Sparkling Wine".
The saucer-shaped
coupe glass that is reputed to have been modelled on the breast of Marie Antoinette is also an English invention. It also first appeared in 1663, well before the reign of the aforementioned French Queen.
O L Leigh
