10 Surprising Facts About The Champagne Industry

The French wine industry would really prefer that the word “champagne” only be used to describe sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. In fact, they’ve successfully sued other sparkling wine producers to prevent them from using the term in their marketing and packaging. In reality, champagne is like Kleenex -- it has stopped being a brand name and become the generic. Sorry, messieurs!

In 2010, Americans drank 15,400,000 cases of sparkling wine, according to the California-based Wine Institute. That amount has been increasing for at least 40 years: In 1970, we drank a little over 9 million cases of bubbly.

Dita von Teese splashes around in oversize glasses of it. Rihanna recently celebrated the end of her world tour by taking a $5,000 champagne shower. Marilyn Monroe was said to have taken a bath in 350 bottles of it. Natalie Wood took a champagne tub, too, though the fizz bothered her, um, delicate skin so much she had to skip a planned orgy (seriously!). Why would anyone think this is appealing? Wouldn’t it be sticky? Chalk it up to secrets of the rich and famous.


Legend has it that a blind French Benedictine monk named Dom Pérignon -- sound familiar? -- invented sparkling wine back in the 17th century. In reality, Pérignon not only didn’t invent champagne, but he wasn’t even blind. Still, it’s a nice story, especially after a few glasses of the stuff.

Champagne is more sensitive to damage from light and extreme temperature than most wines. That’s why it’s usually bottled in light-resistant dark green glass, and why it should be stored at between 40 and 60 degrees, like the magnums in this French cellar.

A restaurant in Singapore paid about $44,000 for a bottle of champagne at an auction this summer, making it the oldest and most expensive bubbly in the world. The Veuve Clicquot had been lost in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea in 1841, then recovered in 2010.

The cheapest bottle of sparkling wine in the world was purchased by me for $6.99 on December 31, 2010, in preparation to attend a large New Year’s party hosted by someone I didn’t know. Perfectly decent bottles of sparkling wine are available for between $10 and $15.

In the 19th century, champagne was much sweeter than what most people prefer today. The tend toward drier varieties began in 1876, when producer Perrier-Jouët opted not to sweeten one of his batches for the British. The result, called Brut, is now the most popular style of sparkling wine.

At least one study has found that two glasses of champagne a day may be good for your heart and blood vessels. Bottoms up!

Photo: Gelpi / Shutterstock.com

At least according to Chris Rock...