Why do we celebrate with champagne?

Pleasure without champagne is purely artificial

Oscar Wilde

Imagine a party without champagne…is it even really a party? Not in my books! And by party, I also just mean Friday afternoon. We know that champagne, the sparkling wine exclusively produced in the Champagne wine growing region, east of Paris, is the must-have bevvy for celebration. But how did it become synonymous with the most significant milestones of life? Has it always been this way?

How did champagne become champagne?

Until the mid-1600s, the wines of Champagne had been made as still wines. It is testament to the enduring mythology surrounding champagne that it is largely believed Dom Perignon, a monk and winemaker at the Abbey of Hautvilliers in Champagne, was the one to put the sparkle in champagne. This is perhaps not quite true, although he did play a major role in improving the quality of Champagne wines. But it’s a great story for the marketers!

The second fermentation process which produces the bubbles in champagne was accidentally discovered as a naturally occurring reaction due to the cold winters cutting the fermentation process in two and was something that wine makers in the region, including Dom Perignon, attempted to prevent. The rise of sparkling champagne and the first champagne houses being founded in 1729 followed a royal enactment authorising the shipment of Champagne wines in glass bottles. The bottles ensured the gas could not escape and the bubbles would hold during a voyage. And so, instead of trying to stop the second fermentation, winemakers started ensuring it would happen and champagne has arrived in the world. Phew!

Champagne and celebration

Champagne as a synonym across the world for celebration and luxury is something that has developed over the past 300 years. Champagne’s image transformed from a practically insignificant no-brand wine label in the fifteenth century to a holy elixir served by Benedictine monks; to an ostentatious and seductive fashion item in the court of the Sun King Louis XIV; to an expression of modernity and icon for the global leisure class and celebration.

The myths of the origin story of Dom Perignon, was built upon with stories of the opulence of the French court. Reims Cathedral in the heart of the Champagne region was the traditional coronation venue for the Kings of France from 496. The festivities were always accompanied by an abundance of local food and wine and so the origins of champagne’s fame as a celebratory drink began. The Sun King Louis XIV was a huge fan after trying it for the first time in Reims Cathedral at age 16 and was almost solely responsible for ensuring champagne was consumed amongst the rich in France in the years that followed.

As the the belle époque era and modern revolution in consumption at the turn of the 1900s began, champagne houses linked themselves with exciting advances in the modern world. It was advertised alongside airplanes, hot-air balloons and cars and it was consumed onboard the Titanic. The new patterns of consumption and the emergence of middle classes led to an explosion in sales. In the post-war 1920s, champagne became the ritual and device of celebration and as we moved into the 21^st century, champagne continued to be associated with wealth, glamour and celebrity, consumed by James Bond and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The association with celebrity and glamour continues on today. In 2014 it was announced that Jay Z bought champagne house Armand de Brignac. There was considerable speculation the purchase was in response to the perceived racist comments made in 2006 by the manager of high-end champagne brand Cristal when he was asked about the popularity of Cristal amongst rappers and he replied ‘What can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it’. Many in the hip-hop world took the comments as a major sleight; some sensed racism, including Jay Z. So he called for a boycott of Cristal and stopped rapping about it. Later that year, a bottle of Armand de Brignac appeared in a Jay Z video and he eventually bought into the brand.

Charlie Hebdo’s response to the terrorist attacks targeted at them in 2015 in Paris was a cartoon depicting a contrast of fighting against the terrorists by drinking champagne, the title crying ‘You have arms. F*ck you, we have champagne.’ It seems the notion of champagne as being something far more powerful than wine with bubbles continues. It somehow represents and links us to human emotion, whether that is celebration, aspiration, connection or even defiance.

Will champagne’s celebration tradition evolve?

The region now produces around 300 million bottles of champagne a year, with 66% of the production coming from the large houses who are responsible for the best known brands. However, they must rely on the growers, as the houses only own 10% of vineyard land. Approximately one third of growers have their own brand of champagne for sale also.

The large champagne houses have always ensured champagne was consumed as a luxury celebration beverage. Claude Moët influenced tastes in Versailles during the reign of Louis XV via his connections with Louis’ mistress Madame de Pompadour who held that champagne was essential for any successful soirée. The Ruinarts were successful in establishing clientele in the court of Charles X and the courts and tsar of Moscow were charmed by the Heidsiecks, Roderers and Cliquots. The major champagne houses still associate themselves with glamourous and luxurious events, using their champagne to toast winners of horse and car races, tennis matches and entertainment awards.

Whilst the big champagne houses continue to frame champagne as a drink for special occasions, the medium and small-scale producers focus on their product as terroir-led wine. The large producers fiercely maintain the traditions of celebration and luxury, justifying higher prices whereas the smaller producers refer to their champagne as a ‘wine’ and are keen to differentiate themselves from the larger brands. The large brands continue to talk about the region, but they focus on the history and production traditions such as ancient cellars and hand-turning bottles. The medium and small producers become increasingly specific about their particular terroir, down to individual vineyard characteristics.

Given the power of the large houses, it’s hard to imagine the strength of the celebration tradition will diminish, however it will be interesting to see how the focus on terroir may start to become part of the story of champagne also. There is certainly a trend away from mass-produced, fast goods towards old techniques and sustainability and this may impact on the large houses’ approach. Champagne is really the only type of wine where consistency year after year is expected and valued. It is only the vintage year champagnes in the large houses that focus on characteristics specific to the year and area they were produced. With the slow food movement increasing and the ongoing effects of climate change in the mix, it is likely the terroir focus of the smaller producers will find significant support also.  

The tradition of champagne being used to mark a celebration or milestone is a long standing one, supported by history, myth and marketing. A huge industry is built on it. But more notably, the tradition is wrapped up in human emotion which, happily, seems likely to ensure this ritual will continue to live on for a long time to come.