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How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times
William Morrow
November 2005
304 pages
ISBN: 0060737921
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction | Cookbooks
From the time of Attila the Hun to
the Germans of World War II, waves of invaders
have
tried to conquer the verdant region of
Champagne in
northern France. Yet this strife-torn
land is also the
birthplace of the world's favorite wine: champagne.
In this engrossing history, Don and Petie
Kladstrup
show how this sparkling wine, born of bloodshed, became a
symbol of
glamour, good times, and celebration. It's a story filled
with
larger-than-life characters:Dom Pérignon, the father of
champagne, who,
contrary to popular belief, worked his entire life to keep
bubbles out
of champagne; the Sun King, Louis XIV, who rarely drank
anything but;
and Napoleon, who, in trying to conquer the world,
introduced it to
champagne. Then there were the generations of local
vintners who
struggled to keep their houses running. Claude Moët hauled
his bottles
to Versailles and gave Madame de Pompadour her first taste
of bubbly,
prompting her memorable quote, "Champagne is the only wine
that lets a
woman remain beautiful after she has drunk it." There was
also
Charles-Camille Heidsieck, known as "Champagne Charlie," who
popularized champagne in America and ended up being
imprisoned as a spy
during the Civil War. World War I would be
Champagne's greatest
test of all, a four-year nightmare in which nearly
everything the
Champenois had worked and fought for was destroyed "in a
rain of iron
and fire." German bombardment drove thousands of people
underground to
seek refuge in the huge cellars of the champagne houses,
where among
the bottles you would find schools, hospitals, shops,
municipal
offices, and troops. Amazingly, grapes continued to
be harvested
even as bombs fell, and the wartime vintages are considered
to be among
the finest ever made. An unforgettable history,
Champagne will forever change how you look at a
glass of bubbly.
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