Champagne is synonymous with success. It’s a status symbol, a coveted prize and the preferred choice of drink when a celebration is in order.
We toast the bride and groom at weddings and clink glasses at our best friend’s birthday. Racing drivers quench the thirst of victory with expensive champagne spraying into the air, and the royals smash a bottle of champagne against the hull of a brand-new ship ahead of her maiden voyage. And what would New Year’s Eve be without the familiar pop of bottles after the clock counts down the year. Where there is bubbly, there is joy.
On this World Champagne Day you can drink a toast to the Romans for planting the vineyards in the north-east region of France called Champagne. It’s the only place you can truly get Champagne – everything else is sparkling wine.
Champagne is produced from black Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier grape, as well as white Chardonnay, sticking to very rigid rules.
John Maynard Keynes said: “My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.” Don’t be like John.
Jean François de Troy‘s 1735 painting Le Déjeuner d’Huîtres (The Oyster Luncheon) is the first known depiction of Champagne in a painting, but enough about history.
Right here in Cape Town we have several wine farms who are creating magnificent bubbly – which we call méthode cap classique (MCC).
Champagne expert and Tsogo Sun’s Group Sommelier, Miguel Chan, is a huge fan of Champagne Day.
“Champagne is a celebratory treat – a day when just the joy of living can be celebrated in style. And although this is a special day for celebrating champagne, there’s no reason not to enjoy it all year round,” said Chan.
Photography Pexels & Pixabay