The Surprising Provenance of Sparkling Champagne

Nothing is more French than sparkling champagne, you say?

Well, not exactly. Although the wine itself comes from the province of Champagne, just to the east of Paris, the idea that a glass of champagne is supposed to be bubbly is not itself French in origin. In fact, it’s English.

What? The English invented sparkling champagne? Oh, that can’t be, I hear you saying. Well, first a bit of history.

Yes, since the Middle Ages the wines of Champagne were luxury items, highly regarded for their refreshing tartness and acidity. But these champagnes were still wines, not the bubbly variety we cherish nowadays. Most of those champagnes were made of a mix of grapes in which pinot noir predominated, imparting a pale pink to light red color to the wines (the palest pinks were called “vin gris,” those of slightly deeper hue were known as “oeil de perdrix”—or “eye of the partridge”—while the darkest were a pale garnet color). Thanks to easily navigable water routes down the Marne River to the Seine and beyond the to English Channel, this still champagne was widely distributed, and it commanded handsome prices in the markets of Paris, London, and other cities of northern Europe.

However, in the second half of the 17th century, this rosy picture began to change.

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