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Pérignon

The legendary monk Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715) of the Order of the Benedictines (incidentally the same life dates as King Louis XIV) entered the Abbaye Saint Pierre d'Hautvillers in 1668 in the function of cellerar (economic officer). This abbey was located in the département of Marne, the heartland of Champagne, in the midst of vineyards on a hill near Paris. Due to its central location, the monastery and the surrounding vineyards were repeatedly the victims of devastation and destruction by marching armies. Two decades before Pérignon's entry, the Thirty Years' War had ended, bringing a decline in viticulture throughout Europe from which many areas have not recovered to this day. But it was at this time that Champagne began its great revival as a very special wine-growing region. The area of Aÿ, even today the most famous wine town in the region, was already then considered a byword for excellent wines and was synonymous with high quality for the whole region.

Abbaye Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers - Champagne

The well-read and educated Dom Pérignon, whose statuette stands in the Moët et Chandon headquarters in Épernay, is often credited with the invention of champagne. But this is only one of the many legends surrounding him. For this invention is also claimed by other areas of France and Spain, and in fact there was a sparkling wine long before Champagne. As early as 1531, the Blanquette de Limoux was mentioned in documents. In France, intensive research was carried out to find out when a sparkling drink, i.e. champagne, was deliberately produced and the result is the middle of the 17th century. This was achieved by adding sugar when bottling, which led to secondary fermentation in the bottle and thus to the famous bubbles. Whether at all - and if so, when - Pérignon was specifically involved in the production of sparkling wine is not known. The fact that he was the first to make champagne foam is therefore a matter of fable. But he is undisputed as the inventor of assemblage, the artful blending of vintages, vineyards and grape varieties.

Pérignon - Relief in Abbaye Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers und Statue in Épernay

Almost forgotten is the monk Jean Oudart (1654-1742), who was cellar master of the Hautvillers subordinate abbey Saint-Pierre aux Monts de Châlons. He worked closely with Dom Pérignon and contributed significantly to the Champagne process after the latter's death. Pérignon increasingly turned to viticulture, studied the pruning of the vines and made experiments in pressing and pruning. The vines were cut back sharply so that they yielded less. He used only dark grapes, as the white ones gave too little flavour and tended to ferment in the spring. Harvesting was only done in the early morning, in cold weather. All damaged or rotten berries, leaves and other impurities were removed and only flat wine baskets were used for collecting. The grapes were kept cool and taken to the wine press as soon as possible. Even before pressing, Pérignon blended the grapes according to ripeness, taste and vineyard location. He refused to use the usual method of crushing the grapes, as this resulted in too much colouring in the must. Therefore, he developed a special press with which the grapes were gently pressed.

As an opponent of barrel storage, he introduced early bottling. He was confronted with the problem of secondary fermentation and thus a "foaming wine". Therefore, Pérignon replaced the traditional hemp-wrapped wooden bottle stoppers with corks, which was a novelty at the time. These withstood the pressure in the bottle better. He combated the problem of foaming by taking appropriate measures, because he wanted to produce a still wine. Due to the northern location, the grapes in Champagne rarely reach full ripeness, which results in different qualities. This was one more reason for Pérignon to compensate for this by artfully blending different sites and vintages. Even then, predominantly red grape varieties were cultivated. However, the only pale red wines were not of sufficient quality.

Through various measures, Pérignon succeeded in producing white wine from them, which means he can be considered the "inventor" of Blanc de noirs. The ascetic monk, who went blind at an early age, only ate cheese and fruit, allegedly never drank wine himself and recognised each vineyard site by the taste of a single grape. Since the saying "I drink stars" also comes from him, this is questionable, however, because he also had to taste his products. Incidentally, the bottle volume of 0.7 litres, which was widespread until the 1970s, goes back to Dom Pérignon, which he had determined as the average amount for male adults at dinner. The former Hautvillers Abbey was bought in 1794 along with the surrounding vineyards by Jean-Remy Moët (1758-1841), who turned it into a wine estate. This still belongs to the champagne house, which was renamed Moët et Chandon in 1832. All that remains of the former monastery today is the abbey church of Saint-Sidulphe, which was renovated in the 17th century. Dom Pérignon's tombstone is located in the church. The house's Cuvée de Prestige has borne the name "Dom Pérignon" since the 1921 vintage.

Abbaye St. Pierre: By October Ends - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Relief Pérignon: Blog Brigitte Rebollar
Statue in Épernay: By victorgrigas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

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