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Three centuries of history 
The Champagne Appellation The Keys to the Wines of Champagne Bibliography
The nectar of monarchs
Kings, princes and nobles were the first lovers of Champagne. They spread the fame of the quality of these wines and were their finest ambassadors. There is no lack of stories: when Charles VI of France met the King of Bohemia in the 14th century, the diplomatic qualities of the wines of Champagne were said to have contributed to the success of the discussions.
Again, Frederick II of Prussia was so fond of Champagne that he asked members of his Academy to assess ‘scientifically’ how Champagne differed from other wines. Historians tell us that the French Court had a taste for Champagne: Marie-Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour were both lovers of these wines and, of course, it was inconceivable that the celebrated suppers of the Duke of Orléans, Regent for the infant Louis XV, could pass off without masses of Champagne. When Louis XV commissioned Jean-François de Troy to paint ‘A feast of Oysters’ for the Royal dining room, Champagne took pride of place.
Tsar Alexander of Russia arranged the delivery of vast quantities of Champagne produced to suit his own tastes, in special ‘crystal’ bottles, for his own personal consumption. Many years later, another Master of All the Russias, Nikita Krustchev, was another well-informed lover of Champagne. Edward VII, like a number of other British monarchs adored a sparkle that was ‘so Frenchy’. Today, great men of the world each have their favourite Champagne and their choices are as varied as their political beliefs.
An inspiration
Champagne loosens tongues and sharpens pens. In 1736, Voltaire wrote of ‘the sparkling froth of these fresh wines is the sparkling image of us, the French’. Fréderic Chopin began his great love affair with George Sand in Majorca declaring that Champagne would make him witty and indeed, a little mad. The great writer, Alexandre Dumas, claimed that he placed a glass of Champagne beside his inkwell in order to give his pen a sparkling inspiration.
Great musicians were also moved by Champagne: Beethoven wrote a symphony of praise to the wine, but Wagner, bitterly disappointed by the failure of Tannhauser in Paris, was reconciled with France only thanks to this wine ‘which alone had renewed his zest for life’.
At the turn of the century, painters were frequently depicting Champagne in their works. You can see it in the paintings of Utrillo and Toulouse Lautrec, and Manet paints the wine in his ‘Bar at the Folies Bergère’, and between the two lovers in ‘Chez Father Lathuile’.
A star for the stars
The bubbles of Champagne are naturally at the tables of film and theatre stars. Marlene Dietrich wrote that she loved Champagne because ‘it gives the impression that it is Sunday and that the best days will soon be upon us’. In Ninotchka Greta Garbo plays a Russian girl who discovers Champagne when visiting Paris and among many other film stars, Audrey Hepburn, Jeanne Moreau, Marilyn Monroe and Juliette Binoche all loved Champagne, while Mistinguett and Maurice Chevalier celebrated it in songs.
A wine for romantic heroes
From Pushkin to Henry Miller, from Hemingway to Balzac, from Maupassant to Colette, Françoise Sagan, John le Carré and Ian Fleming - creator of Champagne connoisseur James Bond – innumerable novelists have given the heroes and heroines of their books more than the odd glass of Champagne. Truman Capote, that most provocative of American writers, claimed that to laugh in the face of death, nothing worked better than a glass of Champagne. Author, statesman and man of taste Sir Winston Churchill, wrote that Champagne should be a daily delight for those who knew the true meaning of life.