Celebrate with champagne or sparkling wine on any occasion because bubbles are the celebration in a glass. And nothing has to do more with the celebration than a bottle of champagne or any other sparkling wine.
Let us immediately tell the difference if, by chance, you do not know. Both champagne and sparkling wine are sparkling wines but with one geographical difference. Champagnes are exclusively sparkling wines produced in the French province of Champagne, while sparkling wines are all other sparkling wines.
But back to the celebration – if you are over 30, you know that none of your parents’ New Year’s Eve went without a bottle of sparkling wine.
The sparkling wine from which the cork stopper flies in the heights is a symbol of entering any new year, and this scene is tied to winning any race.
Even exhausted marathoners pour everything with a bottle of champagne.
But have you ever wondered who first remembered it should be celebrated like this? Where did humanity get so much acceptance of this idea of celebration?
A Small History of Sparkling Wine and Champagne
To answer the question of why we celebrate with champagne and sparkling wines, we need to dive into history a bit.
People’s best ideas often come to mind by accident. So, too, champagne came about by accident from a temperature problem in the wine cellars of Champagne province.
Due to the low temperatures in the cellars throughout the province of Champagne, one winter, the alcoholic fermentation did not take place until the end and, in the spring, continued. Due to these temperature differences, carbon dioxide, which had no way to go from the bottle, was stored in wine, and champagne was produced.
This is the basis of the champagne process, and it may sound simple to you, but it is not.
During the 17th century, many scientists engaged in wine science and tried to determine what was the perfect amount of sugar to produce the ideal sparkling wine.
Champagne was, therefore, a status symbol reserved for luxury celebrations in European courts. The nobility always loved what was expensive and reserved only for them.
But as the production of champagne improved over two centuries with the advent of the bourgeoisie in the 19th century, drinking champagne began to be associated with special occasions.
It was still more expensive than wine, but it was still a luxury that the upper-middle class could afford.
Champagne has been a symbol of celebration ever since:
– It commemorates the launch of a new ship
– it spills on people after the race
– popping the cap from the bottle marks the beginning of the new year.
All this often goes by without a real drink, a sip of champagne, or sparkling wine.
Celebrate With Champagne or Sparkling Wine, but Don’t Spill It
We in Slovenia are not very inclined to spill wine, not even sparkling ones.
About 100 years ago, American writer and satirist Mark Twain said a great deal of wisdom, and we agree.
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”
And we in Slovenia strongly agree with him. ????