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The joy of life
It was at the end of the 17th century that the Champenois really started to master the sparkle. The wine was no longer the sole prerogative of the clergy and could assume its rightful place as guest of honour at secular festivities.
Its seductive lightness enchanted and delighted the dilettantes of the 18th century. Philip of Orléans’wife tells of the passion of the ladies of her time for ‘the wine of the popping corks’. It was drunk at the intimate suppers at the Palais Royal. The records that remain show considerable orders from Madame de Pompadour for her outdoor feasts. No fewer than 1,800 bottles of Champagne were drunk at a masked ball given at the Hôtel de Ville in 1739.
Casanova mentioned Champagne as one of the indispensable accoutrement for his evenings of seduction.
International reputation
The wines of Champagne travelled very early on. Dogged and adventurous Champenois set out to make them known on every continent. The first to become enamoured of these wines were the English. Champagne became a ‘must’ at the royal court and for dandies like Beau Brummel and Sheridan. When Tsar Alexander I organised a dinner lasting four days in September 1815 during a military parade on the Camp de Vertus in the heart of Champagne, 300 guests were served a menu created by the great French chef Carême and the wines of Champagne were the main accompaniment. Only a few years later, glasses of Champagne were raised in New York and on the coast of California as the New World discovered the delights of these wines.
By the end of the 19th century, the wines of Champagne had gained a reputation throughout the world of being the ideal wines for joyous gatherings to which one wanted to give panache and a touch of class.
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Popularity
The ever-increasing speed of transport, particularly the spread of railways, allowed Champagne to be at festivities everywhere, but it was in Paris that it became indispensable. It was served in the cafés on the Grands Boulevards – at the Café Anglais, at the Tour d’Argent, at the Jockey Club and at la Taverne Olympia. It was ordered by everyone and was called simply ‘Champ’.
After the Franco-Prussian War, it became a democratic drink. Feydeau and Offenbach mentioned it in works like ‘Take care of Amélie’ while in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, they sing ‘His Majesty Champagne is King, let us line up under his rule’. Glasses are also raised in Verdi’s La Traviata. When the whole of Europe was living in the golden years of the 1920s, those at the height of fashion were prepared to try anything…as long as it included Champagne. They ordered it in all the most fashionable places – in Paris, Deauville, Biarritz and Monte Carlo. Of course it was served at all the great society events – Boni de Castellane had Champagne at his parties in his pink marble palace and it was served at the balls of Princess Murat or Clermont-Tonnerre.
Generosity
When General Eisenhower set up his headquarters in Rheims in February 1945 it was clear that the Liberation of France would be celebrated with Champagne – and what a party that was!
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Champagne has become the wine that unite people and guarantee conviviality. In most recent years, it has been almost unthinkable to have a celebration without Champagne. Whatever the occasion, be it an imperial event, like that organised by the late Shah of Iran in the ruins of Persepolis to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the creation of the Persian Empire, or more populist such as the celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution or the opening of the 1998 World Cup. Champagne is present at film festivals, cultural exhibitions, sporting occasions, commemorations and anniversaries.