champagne fact file

Contrary to popular belief, a bottle of bubbly (Champagne) should never pop with a big bang, but with a soft sigh. Popping open a bottle is garish, and extremely un-classy! Champagne should be served in flute or tulip style glasses, with long stems. This is so your hands don't warm the drink. Such glasses enhance the aroma and the flow of the bubbles. The temperature of the Champagne should ideally be between 6 to 8 degrees C. this is best achieved by refrigerating your bottle for about three and a half hours before serving. Or, you could also place it in an ice bucket filled with ice, for about half an hour. Vintage Champagnes are those which are aged for a minimum of three years upto ten years, and are the most expensive. Non-vintage Champagnes are aged for at least 18 months in France. Champagnes are synonymous with toasts, and a beautiful lady was acknowledged by everyone toasting to her and clanging their glasses. This is why she was known as the toast of the town, in the 1800s.



Did you know:

1. That Champagne is a type of sparkling wine which is only grown in the French region of Champagne? America has its own version of Champagne as well, because of a loophole in the patent. However, American brands must mention the region they were produced in, on the bottle label.

2. That there are 49 million bubbles in a regular bottle of Champagne? Large bubbles are considered extremely unsightly and are not the mark of good quality Champagne. The tinier the bubble the better.

3. That Marilyn Monroe once filled up her tub with 350 bottles of Champagne, and took a long, luxurious bath in it? It was said that she drank and breathed Champagne as if it were oxygen.

4. That a Nebuchadnezzar represents the largest quantity of a Champagne serving? One Nebuchadnezzar is equal to 20 bottles! A Magnum is equal to only two bottles while a Split equals one-forth of a bottle.

5. That the pressure in a bottle of Champagne is equivalent to the tyre pressure of a double decker bus in Bombay? Chilling the bottle helps reduce the pressure tremendously.



What should you have with Champagne?
Caviar
Strawberries
Chocolate, of the finest quality of course.
Pate
Gravlax

Some of the best brands of Champagne include:
Veuve Clicquot
Moet & Chandon
Bollinger
Pommery
Ruinart
Perrier Jouet
Lanson
Louis Roeerer
Billecart Salmon
Taittinger

Legendary quotes on Champagne:
Famous Champagne quotes: "Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne!"

Winston Churchill, in the midst of World War I.



"I drink Champagne 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." Madam Lilly Bollinger, of the Bollinger brand of Champagnes.



"I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate . . . and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself." - Napoleon Bonaparte



Lord Keynes famous last words: "I wish I had drunk more Champagne."