January 22nd Champagnes of France Day

Coincides with the feast day of St Vincent, patron saint of champagne makers. 10 things you may not know about champagne:

1.   The title "champagne" is reserved purely for sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. In addition, production must follow specific regulations in order for the finished wine to qualify as Champagne.

2.   Three types of grapes are used to produce champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Although the latter two varieties are usually associated with red wine, the method of pressing and lack of contact with the skins during fermentation produces a white wine from these grapes.

3.   Dom Pérignon, contrary to popular belief, did not invent champagne, although he played a significant role in developing it. The first champagnes in France were discovered by accident. It was known as le vin du diable (the devil's wine) because in the early days, the bottles were apt to explode. In the 18th century, workers in the wine cellars had to wear iron masks to protect themselves from exploding bottles. It was not unknown for one bursting bottle to set others off around it, and up to 90% of the wine could be lost that way. Dom Pérignon's original mission was to find out how to get rid of the bubbles so that the bottles wouldn't explode. Technical developments in glass making eventually made it possible to produce bottles that could stand the internal pressure and not burst.

4.   If you have ever wondered what the wire contraption which holds the cork in an unopened champagne bottle is called, wonder no more. It is called a muselet, derived from the French word museler, to muzzle.

5.   Champagne may be fermented in a standard sized bottle, or a magnum (1.5 litre) bottle. The larger sizes such as the Jeroboam (3 litres) up to the Melchizedek (30 litres) are filled with champagne which has already fermented in smaller bottles.

6.   Champagne is usually served in flute shaped glasses, but occasionally in wider, shallower glasses called champagne coupes. It is sometimes claimed that the coupe was modelled on the shape of Marie Antoinette's breast, but since this type of glass was used for sparkling wines nearly 100 years before her time, it is almost certainly a myth.

7.   When a ship is launched, a bottle of champagne is smashed on the hull of the ship. It is considered bad luck if the bottle does not break.

8.   In 2009, a bottle of 1825 Perrier-Jouët Champagne, officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest bottle of champagne in the world, was opened at a ceremony attended by 12 of the world's top wine tasters. The contents were drinkable, and the tasters detected notes of truffles and caramel.

9.   Marilyn Monroe was reputed to have taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne.

10.  Alfred Hitchcock's 1928 silent film Champagne begins and ends with a shot through the bottom of a Champagne glass.

(photo: Jon Sullivan)