Bottles
Breakable Beginnings
Charlot Assailly |
 Canard Duchene |
Rene Beaudouin |
 Canard Duchene |
Generic #696 |
 Andre Lenique |
- In the 17th century, an English Admiral named Sir Robert Marsell realized that glassblowers were using tremendous amounts of wood in their ovens and worried about the shortage of wood to use for ship building. The King ruled that only coal could be used in glassblowing ovens. This caused higher oven temperatures and stronger Champagne bottles.
- The first high-quality Champagne bottles were made in England with thicker glass to withstand the pressure inside the bottle.
- In 1811, the first machine for making commercial wine bottles was invented.
- The bottle size 750 ml was likely made the standard size because it represents the average capacity of a single blow from a glassblower's lungs and the three-pound weight was a convenient size to pack and carry while shopping.
- The indented dimple in the bottom of a Champagne bottle is called a punt. A thumb is inserted into the indentation to hold the bottle steady when pouring. The largest bottle in the world is in Beamont des Crayers, Mardeuil, France, and is 6-1/2 feet tall.
Labels
An Oenolabelophile's Dream...
 Piper-Heidsieck |
 Krug |
 Wedding |
 Henry Varnay |
- A label collector is called an oenolabelophile.
- Veuve (widow) Clicquot added a crude label to her Champagne bottles as early as 1814.
- Labels were commonly used on bottles by 1830.
- An "R.M." (recoltant manipulant) or "N.M." (negociant manipulant) on a label means the wine was made by the name on that label. "M.A." (marque aoxiliare) means the wine was made by someone else.
- In the 1840's Jean-Baptiste Francois discovered how to measure residual sugar in Champagne.
- A Cholons-sur-Marne pharmacist M. Francois invented an instrument called a sucere-oenometre which measures the amount of sugar in sparkling wine.
- Sugar and live yeast allow still wine to ferment in a sealed container.
- Classifications of sugar content, per liter:
- Extra Brut, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Brut Integral, Brut Zero, Brut full - (<.6%) (very dry)
- Brut - (.5 to 1.5%)
- Extra Dry, Extra Sec - (1.2 to 2%)
- Sec - (1.7 to 3.5%)
- Demi-Sec - (3.3 to 5%)
- Doux - (5%+) (very sweet)
My Labels
| ID | Notes |
|---|---|
| B001 | Bara, Paul, brut reserve |
| B002 | Becker, royal grand brut |
| B003 | Bisinger & Co., brut premium cru, (with neck band) |
| L004 | Leclerc Briant, rubis de noirs, brut |
| L005 | Leclerc Briant, cuvee extra, brut |
| L006 | Leclerc Briant, les crayeres, brut |
| C007 | Chanoine, grand reserve |
| C008 | Chassenay D'Arce, Champagne |
| C009 | Collet, Robert |
| C010 | Comte De Brismand, brut reserve, (with neck band) |
| C011 | Cudel, Roberl & Fils, brut |
| D012 | Drappier, carte blanche, brut |
| D0132 | Drout, Paul, special reserve, brut, (with back label) |
| H014 | Hebrart, Marcpremium cru, cuvee de reserve, brut |
| P015 | Piper-Heidsieck, rose sauvage, brut |
| J016 | Jacob's Creek, brut, cuvee |
| L017 | Loriot, Michel, cuvee marie Leopold |
| M018 | Marquis de la Tour, brut |
| M019 | Marquis de la Tour, rose', dry |
| M020 | Mumm Napa, blanc de noirs |
| M021 | Margaine, A., brut rose' |
| M022 | Moet & Chandon, white star |
| P023 | Pernet, Jean, grand cru, blanc de blancs |
| S024 | Soutiran, perle noire, brut grand cru |
| T025 | Taittinger, prestige rose' |
| ID | Notes |
| C026 | Carneros, Domaine, le reve, blanc de blancs |
| C027 | Carneros, Domaine, brut rose', (with neck band) |
| C028 | Carneros, Domaine, brut, (with neck band) |
| LO29 | Laroche,Charles De, tete de cuvee, brut |
| C030 | Clicquot Ponsardin, Veuve, demi sec |
| W031 | Wedding Champagne |
| A032 | Audoin De Dampierre, Comte |
| B033 | Besserat de Bellefon, brut rose' |
| B034 | Bessert de Bellefon, cuvee des moines |
| C035 | Canard-Duchene, cuvee Leonie |
| C036 | Comte Pellerin, brut, (with neck band) |
| D037 | Dehours, brut |
| D038 | de Venoge, brut select |
| G039 | Gruet, demi-sec |
| H040 | Henroit, blanc souverain pur chardonnay |
| L041 | Lassalle, J., first cru brut |
| W042 | Wunsch J., et Mann, cremant d'Alsace |
| M043 | Mignon, Nicolas Sarkozy President, brut |
| M044 | Masse, brut |
| V045 | Villemain, Jean-Marc, Tourain, sec |
| K046 | Krug, 1969 magnum, metal label |
| L047 | Georges |
| P048 | Paillard, Bruno, premium cuvee |
| L049 | Lantage, premier cru brut |
| ID | Notes |
| V050 | Varney, Henry, brut blanc de blancs, brut, (witn neck band) |
| U051 | Undurraga, brut, Chile |
| L052 | Lamarliere, Philippe, grand reserve, (with neck band) |
| T053 | Taittinger, brut, la francaise |
| C054 | Clicquot, ponsardin, Veuve, rose' |
| A055 | Asti Spumante, 1983 |
| L056 | Lamarliere, Philippe, millesime 2002, (with neck band) |
| U057 | Undurraga, demi-sec, Chile |
Glasses
Flutes of Fancy
 Generic #689 |
 Daniel Billette |
 Jean Hanotin |
 Rene Jolly |
- From the early 1700s until 1970 people would drink Champagne from a coupe, a saucer-shaped glass, or round goblet that was frosted or etched to hide the clouded champagne. This shape unfortunately encouraged the champagne to warm up and go flat all too quickly.
- Some say that the coupe was designed after a famous woman's breast, including names like Madame du Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, and Napoleon's wife Empress Josephine, all of whom lived from the mid 1700s to the early 1800s. But the glass Champagne coupe originated in England in 1663.
- Today only tall flutes or tulip goblets are used to serve Champagne, as they concentrate the bubbles and the bouquet.
- Crystal or a rougher interior surface produces more bubbles.
- All Champagne glasses should be held by the stem - never by the bowl.
- Do not stir or swizzle Champagne.
