The Effervescent History of Champagne
Champagne cocktails have become more than drinks prepared for celebrations or special occasions. For most people it’s near impossible to image brunch without the very popular champagne cocktail, the mimosa. It’s hard to pinpoint the actual origin of the famous cocktail, but many believe it is traced back to a drink called Buck’s Fizz, which was invented in 1921 at the Buck’s Club in London. This drink is also made with champagne and orange juice, but with a larger quantity of the wine. It is believed that in 1925 a bartender at the Ritz Hotel in Paris named Frank Meier invented the mimosa, which uses equal parts sparkling wine and juice.
Another popular champagne cocktail is the Kir Royale. The Kir Royale is named after its French creator and the mayor of Dijon, Lejay connoisseur Canon Felix Kir. He invented the first cassis cocktail, the Kir, made with white wine, and the Kir Royal, made with champagne.
Champagne History
It was during the Industrial Revolution that the Champagne industry became more financially feasible and essentially started to blossom into the industry that we see today. During this time a French scientist named Jean-Antoine Chaptal spread word that Champagne sparkled because it was sealed in a bottle before fermentation was complete. He noted that it was the sugar in the wine that facilitated this fermentation process resulting in bubbles – which came with intense pressure from the carbon dioxide buildup that would result in the bottles exploding.
Around this time, the British method of coal-fired glassmaking began to produce stronger bottles that could withstand the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas better; And a French pharmacist named André François outlined formulas with precise measurements of how much sugar is needed to make a wine sparkle without producing more pressure than the bottles could withstand. Also, corking machines and improved corks made sealing the wine easier with less opportunity for the precious gas to seep out of the bottle.
Madame Clicquot
Early Champagne producers chose not to remove the sediment caused by dead yeast after the secondary fermentation, which left the wine cloudy and prone to off flavors if the sediment was shaken up or poured into the glass. At the time, servers would constantly pour new Champagne into a fresh glass to avoid the residue of sediment left over in the previous glass.
In the early 19th century, with the aid of her cellar master, Madame Clicquot of the Champagne house Veuve Cliquot developed the process of a technique to remove the sediment without losing much gas. She would collect the sediment in the neck of the bottle and use the pressure of the wine to eject just the sediment. This led to the popularity of adding sugar dosage to replace the wine lost during the process.
About Crescent Schools
Looking for a fun and exciting career? Crescent School of Gaming and Bartending can train you for a dynamic, well-paying job in the hospitality or casino industry today.
You can be ready to bartend in just three weeks. Be around fun people and have cash in your pocket every night as a mixologist, or claim your place in the ever-growing casino gaming industry in as little as three months. Financial aid is available, if qualified. You can start one of Crescent's top-quality programs with no money down.
Crescent is an accredited bartending and table games dealer school in the United States.
Contact us:
Las Vegas: (702) 458-9910
New Orleans: (504) 822-3362
Gulfport: (228) 822-2444