How the English invented Champagne
Luke Andrews
The secondary fermentation process for making Champagne, or Sparkling English Wine, was invented in Winchcombe, Cotswolds, 30 years before it was in France. This woman is carrying two champagne bottles and wearing a wire face mask, used to protect workers in case the bottles exploded due to the pressure
French winemakers have claimed the riches of sparkling wine, or Champagne, for centuries - overlooking the fact their success is based on inventions made by l'anglais.
The secondary fermentation process for making 'Sparkling English wine' was invented in Winchcombe, Cotswolds, by a scientist 30 years before Dom Perignon, at the abbey of Hautvilliers, claimed to have the same idea.
And the bottles needed were also made by the English at least 85 years before the French - when the absence of forests due to ship construction forced bottlemakers to switch to coal which was hotter and, as a result, made thicker glass.
The English formula for 'sparkling wine' pre-dates French monk Dom Perignon's 'invention' of the same recipe (pictured) by more than 30 years
Sir Christopher Merrett, a founding member of the Royal Society, first described the secondary fermentation process in his 1662 paper called Some Observations Concerning the Ordering of Wines.
'Our wine-coopers of latter times use vast quantities of sugar and melosses to all sorts of wines,' he wrote, 'to make them drink brisk and sparkling and to give them Spirits'.
This is the methode champenoise, that the French allege was completely unknown until 1697 when Mr Perignon declared he had 'tasted the stars'.
British vineyards would have been able to manage this creation - which exerts pressure on bottles three times stronger than that in car tyres - as they had switched to thicker bottles due to a government order.
King James I told the country to stop using wood in glass furnaces - as he was panicked by the depletion of Britain's woodlands that were essential for building warships.
Britain had already sent ships to found British Guiana in 1604, and more to found Jamestown, Virginia, in North America in 1607.
It also needed more troops for naval conflicts, facing a battle with the Portuguese in Bombay in 1615 and later a battle against Spain for Jamaica in 1655.
It was written by Sir Christopher Merrett in Winchcombe, Cotswolds
The switch forced them to start relying on coal - which they had previously avoided as it was seen as dirty.
The material allowed them to reach higher temperatures and, consequently, make thicker glass which could withstand the pressure from champagne.
France didn't start making these until the 1700s and even by 1833 they were still losing anywhere between four and 40 per cent of the Champagne region's wines due to 'exploding bottles', according to A History and Description of Modern Wines.
The danger was so great that workers were even required to wear wire face masks.
A plaque to Sir Merrett was put up in Winchcombe two years ago.
Local historian Jean Bray told the BBC that his description was the first time anyone had described a wine as 'sparkling' in history.
Comment: See also: The Medieval warm period and how grapes grew where polar bears now roam
sottreader · 2019-12-29T19:51:37Z
Very interesting, but, even if true, they deserve little credit.
While the Brits may have invented the first "champagne", they never mastered the capability to make good "champagne".
morpheus · 2020-01-03T23:40:23Z
sottreader well we can't call it champagne but what we make is better, in some blind tests. The chalk slopes of the Surrey Hills are the same as those in Champagne, the same seam of rock separated when the English Channel was formed over 400,000 years ago. The climate is great now thanks to MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING. Sorry, Greta's over for dinner.
sbc · 2019-12-30T12:14:47Z
Champagne wasn't an idea. It was an accident.
tof · 2019-12-31T00:24:11Z
Champagne is first and foremost a region!
Highland Fleet Lute · 2019-12-31T00:33:28Z
To be honest, like many of my countrymen, I prefer a good Italian Prosecco.
Brakar · 2019-12-31T01:13:39Z
nice to know. so not all brits are home grown hooligans then?
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