August 4: Today the anniversary of the invention of Champagne (Champagne) by the monk Dom Perignon, in the year 1693, and in the region of Champagne, France.

In 1718, Canon Godinot published a set of Champagne making rules, which are said to be established by Dom Pérignon. He was not fond of white grapes as they tend to enter re-fermentation; thus he said that fine wine should be made only from Pinot Nior. Dom Pérignon tried to avoid the re-fermentation process with this idea.

A Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Perignon was the inventor of the formula or method of making champagne in the year 1693, during the seventeenth century, in the Champagne region of France.

Wine has been produced in France before Dom Pérignon. In the era of in-bottle fermentation – which gives the champagne its sparkle – the technique gave a lot of headaches to winemakers. When the weather was cold during autumn it prevented the sugars from fermenting; but during spring they started to ferment again, which meant the bottles were literally time bombs. The dormant yeast would start to produce carbon dioxide that pushed the cork out of the bottle, or worse, made the bottle itself explode. And that’s not all: it caused chain reactions and the bottles nearby would explode as well. That was both hazardous for the employees and for the year’s champagne production.

Perignon decided to go to a convent of Benedictine monks located at the Abbey of Saint-Vannes in Verdun. Then he was transferred to Hautvilliers Abbey, near Éparny. There he was responsible for managing the wine cellar of the community. Wine production doubled during his administration with admirable prosperity.

Pierre Pérignon was born to a clerk in about 1638 in the Champagne region of France. When he was 19, he joined the Benedictine monks, thus earning him the title “Dom,” and first served at the Abbey of Saint-Vannes in the town of Verdun. He transferred to the Abbey of Hautvilliers near the town of Épernay in 1668, where he served as a cellar master until he died in 1715.

Benedictine history accounts that on August 4, 1693, Dom Pierre was tasting wine bottles in the basement, and found a sparkling wine, which erupted for which he exclaimed: "Come quickly, I'm drinking stars!". The fermentation was due to sugar and the concentration of carbon gas; that was why the bottle exploded.

Statue of Dom Perignon at Möet & Chandon, France

The monk Perignon was devoted to finding ways to keep the bubbles in the bottle through a system known today as "Champenoise", hoping that the volatile gas does not escape out of the bottle and, also that it does not explode either, by avoiding pressure.

Monk Dom Perignon sommelier inventor of Champagne

Perignon managed to find an English glass and solved the problem of the cap, which was previously hardwood, but found that cork wood will solve the problem. This happened when he saw some pilgrims covering their water bottles with cork. Then he got the cork, put it to boil, and even introduced it in hot bottle necks and holding wire to seal it tightly.

Cheers!