"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty." - Mme. Lily Bollinger.

As early as 79 A.D.in the area round Epernay cultivated by roman. they also quarried the chalky hillsides (called crayeres natural cellars). The wines used for the sacrament, for coronations, for the royal table. Rather than imitating the wines of Burgundy, the Champenois sought to create a new style of wines. these new wines, made with care, were not only unusual but also delicious. The Champenois had discovered how to vinify light-coloured wines from the Pinot Noir grape. Frère Jean Oudart and Dom Pierre Pérignon (1639 – 1742). Drunk young; but when shipped abroad in cask, the warm spring weather frequently set off a secondary fermentation.The new wines were bottled immediately upon arrival, and retained a lively sparkle. The phenomenon aroused interest on the part of the Champenois. the abbeys of Saint-Pierre aux Monts de Châlons and Saint-Pierre d’Hautvillers became the birthplace of naturally sparkling wine in its purest and most perfect form The technique of blending from various vineyards to obtain a finished wine superior to any of its parts, the process of clarifying sediment from the wine. Chaptal(chemist) advocated adding sugar at fermentation, rather than to the finished wine, to increase alcohol content.(Chaptalisation=addition of sugar).Effectively there are just three grapes used to make Champagne. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The first two are black grapes, the latter is white.Firstly, most houses will take a selection of still wines made from the grapes of more than one area,r. Once the wines are assembled, the cellar-master of the house will decide how they should be blended, before the bubbles are created by the Méthode Champenoise.Veuve Clicquot 1772 by Philippe Clicquot ( textiles and finance) a small area of vineyards at nearby Bouzy and Ambonnay. 1801. François the son married to Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin in 1799, when he died aged just 30 years she took control in a move unprecedented in a world where business was still the domain of men.At the time the appearance of Champagne was still marred by the lees, the sediment of dead yeast cells that remained suspended in the wine.Her new chef de cave conceived the system of remuage, Ruinart Many Champagne houses would like to lay claim to the accolade of being the longest established house, but only one may do so in truth. Established in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart. In reality there can be no older house; the Royal decree which permitted the transport of bottled wines was only passed in 1728. The Ruinarts were not without connections when helpful advice with their new venture was needed; Nicolas' uncle was Dom Thierry Ruinart, close friend to Dom Pérignon himself.Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, obviously 100% Chardonnay which is all from Premier Cru vineyards, MOET ET CHANDON Established in 1743 based in Epernay . During the Revolution the House flourished and grew further during the Napoleonic era. The concept of vintage Champagne made of exceptional grapes from the same year was introduced in 1840 with Moet producing their first vintage Champagne in 1842. The words “dry” and “sec” to indicate dryness (see our Types of Champagne section) first appeared on Moet labels in 1856. This was as a response to the British market who wanted a dry Champagne to drink with their meals.