THE PRINCIPAL CHAMPAGNE AND OTHER FRENCH SPARKLING WINE BRANDS. ? In this list, whenever a manufacturer has various qualities, the higher qualities are always placed first.
BRUT IMPÉRIAL DRY CHAMPAGNE. FACSIMILE OF LABEL. BRAND ON CORK. ALSO EXTRA SUPERIOR WHITE DRY SILLERY AND FIRST QUALITY CHAMPAGNES. CHAMPAGNE. PÉRINET & FILS, REIMS. Sectional View of a portion of the Caves in the Rue St. Hilaire. DEUTZ & GELDERMANN’S ‘GOLD LACK.’ MORNING POST. ‘A Wine for Princes and Senators. The district of Ay has become probably the most celebrated in the ancient province of Champagne for its grapes, and among the noted brands of that famed region not one has gained a greater popularity in this country than that of Deutz & Geldermann. The Wine of this well-known firm is invariably met with on every important occasion; and it is noticed that Deutz & Geldermann’s “Gold Lack” was specially selected for the banquet given by the Royal Naval Club at Portsmouth to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales; and some proof of its excellence may be gathered from the fact that this brand was drunk on a former visit of the Prince to the club two years since. Deutz & Geldermann’s “Gold Lack” was one of the Champagnes supplied at the late Ministerial Whitebait Dinner at the Trafalgar.’ WORLD. ‘Deutz & Geldermann’s “Gold Lack” is now being preferred by many connoisseurs, and we can bear testimony to its excellence of quality.’ Deutz & Geldermann’s ‘Gold Lack’ Champagne is shipped Brut, Extra Dry, and Medium Dry; and may be obtained of all Wine Merchants. WHOLESALE AGENTS: J. R. PARKINGTON & Co. 24 CRUTCHED FRIARS, LONDON, E.C. CHAMPAGNE. DEUX MÉDAILLES D’OR. CHES. DE CAZANOVE, AVIZE (CHAMPAGNE). VIN MONARQUE. Facsimiles And Label CHES. DE CAZANOVE AVIZE, (Champagne.) Wholesale Agents for the United Kingdom, J. R. Hunter & Co., 46 Fenchurch Street, London. ROPER FRÈRES & CO.’S CHAMPAGNE.
For Luncheons and Wedding Breakfasts, Regimental MORNING POST. ‘The great feature of all entertainments, public banquets, &c., is Champagne; but the high prices of really good wine naturally deter many a householder of moderate means from indulging in this luxury. ROPER FRÈRES & Co. are shipping a first quality Champagne at 48s. per dozen. At this price, it cannot be denied that the acme of cheapness is arrived at.’ SPECIAL NOTICE. All Wine Merchants can, if requested, supply ROPER FRÈRES & Co.’s CHAMPAGNE at the above Prices; and the Public are therefore cautioned not to allow other Brands at similar prices to be substituted. In 2 vols. square 8vo, price 32 s. in handsome binding, AMERICA REVISITED. From the Bay of New York to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Lake Michigan to the Pacific. By GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA, AUTHOR OF ‘TWICE ROUND THE CLOCK,’ ‘PARIS HERSELF AGAIN,’ &c. Illustrated with nearly 400 Engravings, many of them from Sketches by the Author. In crown 8vo, cloth gilt, SIDE-LIGHTS ON ENGLISH SOCIETY; OR SKETCHES FROM LIFE, SOCIAL & SATIRICAL By the late E. C. GRENVILLE MURRAY. Illustrated with 300 Engravings. In crown 8vo, price 6 s. elegantly bound, the Third Edition, revised and enlarged, of THE STORY OF THE DIAMOND NECKLACE, TOLD IN DETAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME. By HENRY VIZETELLY. Illustrated with Two Engravings on Steel. In large crown 8vo, 540 pages, price 6 s. handsomely bound, the Sixth Edition of PARIS HERSELF AGAIN. By GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA. With 350 Characteristic Illustrations. In crown 8vo, handsomely printed and bound, price 6 s. THE AMUSING ADVENTURES OF GUZMAN OF ALFARAQUE: A SPANISH NOVEL. Translated by EDWARD LOWDELL. Illustrated with highly-finished Engravings on Steel, from Designs by STAHL. 1 s. each, in stiffened covers; or 1 s. 6 d. tastefully bound in cloth; POPULAR FRENCH NOVELS. ‘Novel-readers owe the publishers a deep debt of gratitude for providing an entirely new and harmless source of literary enjoyment–a fountain flowing with the milk and honey of culture, sparkling with wit and humour, having the flavour of real life and the colour of romance.’–Illustrated London News. FROMONT THE YOUNGER AND RISLER THE ELDER. By A. Daudet. SAMUEL BROHL AND PARTNER. By V. Cherbuliez. DRAMA OF THE RUE DE LA PAIX. By A. Belot. MAUGARS JUNIOR. By A. Theuriet. WAYWARD DOSIA, AND THE GENEROUS DIPLOMATIST. By H. GrÉville. A NEW LEASE OF LIFE, AND SAVING A DAUGHTER’S DOWRY. By E. About. COLOMBA, AND CARMEN. By P. MÉrimÉe. A WOMAN’S DIARY, AND THE LITTLE COUNTESS. By O. Feuillet. THE TOWER OF PERCEMONT. By George Sand. BLUE-EYED META HOLDENIS. By V. Cherbuliez. THE GODSON OF A MARQUIS. By A. Theuriet. THE LOW-BORN LOVER’S REVENGE. By V. Cherbuliez. THE NOTARY’S NOSE, AND OTHER STORIES. By E. About. DR. CLAUDE; OR LOVE RENDERED DESPERATE. By Hector Malot. 2 vols. THE THREE RED KNIGHTS. By Paul FÉval. &c. &c. &c. THE SENSATIONAL NOVELS OF EMILE GABORIAU, THE FAVOURITE READING OF PRINCE BISMARCK. Price 1 s. each, in ornamental covers. IN PERIL OF HIS LIFE. THE LEROUGE CASE. LECOQ THE DETECTIVE. 2 vols. OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. DOSSIER No. 113. THE MYSTERY OF ORCIVAL. Other Volumes are in progress. London: VIZETELLY & Co., 42 Catherine Street, Strand. MR. HENRY VIZETELLY’S POPULAR BOOKS ON WINE. ‘Mr. Vizetelly discourses brightly and discriminatingly on crus and bouquets and the different European vineyards, most of which he has evidently visited.’–Times. ‘Mr. Henry Vizetelly’s books about different wines have an importance and a value far greater than will be assigned them by those who look merely at the price at which they are published.’–Sunday Times. Price 1 s. 6 d. ornamental cover; or 2 s. 6 d. in elegant cloth binding, FACTS ABOUT PORT AND MADEIRA, With Notes on the Wines Vintaged around Lisbon, and the Wines of Teneriffe, GLEANED DURING A TOUR IN THE AUTUMN OF 1877. By HENRY VIZETELLY, WINE JUROR FOR GREAT BRITAIN AT THE VIENNA AND PARIS EXHIBITIONS OF 1873 AND 1878. With One Hundred Illustrations from Original Sketches and Photographs. ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR, Price 1 s. 6 d. ornamental cover; or 2 s. 6 d. in elegant cloth binding, FACTS ABOUT CHAMPAGNE, AND OTHER SPARKLING WINES, COLLECTED DURING NUMEROUS VISITS TO THE CHAMPAGNE AND OTHER VITICULTURAL DISTRICTS OF FRANCE, AND THE PRINCIPAL REMAINING WINE-PRODUCING COUNTRIES OF EUROPE. With One Hundred and Twelve Engravings from Original Sketches and Photographs. Price 1 s. ornamental cover; or 1 s. 6 d. cloth gilt, FACTS ABOUT SHERRY, GLEANED IN THE VINEYARDS AND BODEGAS OF THE JEREZ, SEVILLE, MOGUER, AND MONTILLA DISTRICTS. Illustrated with numerous Engravings from Original Sketches. Price 1 s. ornamental cover; or 1 s. 6 d. cloth gilt, THE WINES OF THE WORLD, CHARACTERISED AND CLASSED; WITH SOME PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE BEERS OF EUROPE. London: VIZETELLY & Co., 42 Catherine Street, Strand. FOOTNOTES: Other buildings of less importance were situated here and there: the thermÆ along the Rue du CloÎtre; a palace or a temple on the site of the archiepiscopal palace; another temple at the extremity of the Rue Vauthier le Noir, in the ruins of which a bas-relief and some small antique statues were discovered; a third temple in the Rue du Couchant, in which a votive altar was found. Four triumphal arches were erected at the four gates of the town: one dedicated to Mars; another to Ceres, on the same site as the gate of to-day; a third to Bacchus, in the present Rue de l’UniversitÉ, in front of the LycÉe; and the fourth to Venus, in the Rue de Vesle. Outside the walls, following the Rue du BarbÂtre, the road was dotted with numerous graves according to the Roman custom; while on the site of the church of St. Remi there arose a temple and a palace, and on that of St. Nicaise a vast edifice which M. Brunette supposed to be the palace of the Consul Jovinus. ‘Le vin en tonel, Froit et fort et finandel, Pour boivre À la grant chaleur.’ ‘Espernai dist et Auviler, Argenteuil, trop veus aviler TrÈs-tos les vins de ceste table. Par Dieu, trop t’es fait conestable. Nous passons Chaalons et Reims, Nous ostons la goÛte des reins, Nous estaignons totes les rois.’ ‘Espernai, trop es desloiaus; Tu n’as droit de parler en cour.’ In the accounts of the Echevinage, wine, chiefly for presents to persons of distinction, makes a continual appearance. In 1335 it is noted that ‘the presents of this year were made in wine at 16 deniers and 20 deniers the pot,’ or about 2 ¼ d. English per gallon. In 1337–8 prices ranged from ¾ d. to 4 ½ d. English per gallon, showing a variety in quality; and in 1345 large quantities were purchased at the first-mentioned rate, five quarts of white wine fetching 2 d. English. In 1352 from a 1 d. to 2 ¼ d. was paid per gallon, and five crowns for two queues. In 1363 the citizens, a hot-headed turbulent lot, who were always squabbling with their spiritual and temporal superior and assailing his officers, when not assaulting each other or pulling their neighbours’ houses down, successfully resisted the pretensions of the archbishop to regulate the price of wine when the cheapest was worth 12 deniers per pot, or 1 ½ d. per gallon. The dispute continued, and in 1367 a royal commission was issued to the bailli of Vermandois, the king’s representative, to inquire into the right of the burghers to sell wine by retail at 16 deniers, as they desired. The report of the bailli was that a queue of old French wine being worth about 20 livres, or 16 s. 8 d., and wine of Beaune and other better and stronger wines being sold in the town at higher rates, French wine might be sold as high as 3 ½ d. English per gallon, and Beaune at 4 ½ d. The great increase in production, and consequent fall in price, is shown by the wine found in Archbishop Richard Pique’s cellar in 1389 being valued, on an average, at only 1 s. 6 d. per queue. ‘En Picardie sont li bourdeur, Et en Champagne li buveur.... Telz n’a vaillant un Angevin Qui chascun jor viant boire vin.’ ‘Champagne est la forme de tout bien De blÉ, de vin, de foin, et de litiÈre.’
Archbishop Duke of Reims.
As the titles of the lay peers grew extinct, and their fiefs lapsed to the crown, it became customary for them to be represented by some great nobles at the coronations of the kings of France. ‘In the name of the Lord, amen. Having seen the prayer or petition on behalf of the inhabitants of Villenauxe, of the diocese of Troyes, made before us, official of Troyes, sitting in judgment upon the bruhecs or Éruches, or other similar animals, which, according to the evidence of persons worthy of belief and as confirmed by public rumour, have ravaged for a certain number of years, and this year also, the fruit of the vines of this locality, to the great loss of those who inhabit it and of the persons of the neighbourhood,—petition that we warn the above-named animals, and that, using the means at the Church’s disposition, we force them to retire from the territory of the said place. Having seen and attentively examined the motives of the prayer or petition above mentioned, and also the answers and allegations furnished in favour of the said Éruches or other animals by the councillors chosen by us for that purpose; having heard also on the whole our promoter, and seeing the particular report, furnished at our command by a notary of the said Court of Troyes, on the damage caused by the said animals amongst the vines of the locality of Villenauxe already named; though it would seem that to such damage one can bring no remedy except through the aid of God; however, taking into consideration the humble, frequent, and pressing complaint of the above-mentioned inhabitants; having regard, especially, to the ardour with which, to efface their past great faults, they lately gave, at our invitation, the edifying spectacle of solemn prayers; considering that, as the mercy of God does not drive away the sinners who return to Him with humility, neither should His Church refuse, to those who run to her, succour or consolation,—We, the official above named, no matter how novel the case may be, yielding to the earnestness of these prayers, following in the footsteps of our predecessors presiding at our tribunal, having God before our eyes and full of belief in His mercy and love, after having taken counsel in the proper quarter, we deliver sentence in the following terms: ‘In the name and in virtue of the omnipotence of God, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; of the blessed Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ; of the authority of the holy apostles Peter and Paul; and of that with which we ourselves are invested in this affair, we charge by this act the above-named animals—bruches, Éruches, or of any other name by which they may be called—to retire (under penalty of malediction and anathema, within the six days which follow this warning and in accordance with our sentence) from the vines and from the said locality of Villenauxe, and never more to cause, in time to come, any damage, either in this spot or in any other part of the diocese of Troyes; that if, the six days passed, the said animals have not fully obeyed our command, the seventh day, in virtue of the power and authority above mentioned, we pronounce against them by this writing anathema and malediction! Ordering, however, and formally directing the said inhabitants of Villenauxe, no matter of what rank, class, or condition they may be, so as to merit the better from God, all-powerful dispensator of all good and deliverer from all evil, to be released from such a great plague; ordering and directing them to deliver themselves up in concert to good works and pious prayers; to pay, moreover, the tithe without fraud and according to the custom recognised in the locality; and to abstain with care from blaspheming and all other sins, especially from public scandals.—Signed, N. HUPPEROYE, Secretary.’ ‘Il n’est citÉ que je prÉfÈre À Reims, C’est l’ornement et l’honneur de la France; Car sans conter l’ampoule et les bons vins, Charmants objets y sont en abondance.’ Les RÉmois. ‘Sur quelle vigne À Reims nous avons hypothÈque; Vingt muids, rangÉs chez moi, font ma bibliothÈque.’ Le Lutrin, chant iv. 1674. ————‘Petars de Chaalons, Qui le ventre enfle et les talons.’ ‘You know, sir, that it was the famous Dom Perignon, who was procureur of Hautvillers for forty-seven years, and who died in 1715, who discovered the secret of making sparkling and non-sparkling white wine, and the means of clearing it without being obliged to dÉpoter the bottles, as is done by our great wine-merchants rather twice than once, and by us never. Before his time one only knew how to make straw-coloured or gray wine. In bottling wine, instead of corks of cork-wood, only tow was made use of, and this species of stopper was saturated with oil. It was in the marriage of our wines that their goodness consisted; and this Dom Perignon towards the end of his days became blind. He had instructed in his secret of fining the wines (de coller les vins) a certain Brother Philip, who was for fifty years at the head of the wines of Hautvillers, and who was held in such consideration by M. Le Tellier, Archbishop of Reims, that when this brother went to Reims he made him come and sit at table with him. When the vintage drew near, he (Dom Perignon) said to this brother, “Go and bring me some grapes from the PriÈres, the CÔtes-À-bras, the Barillets, the Quartiers, the Clos Sainte HÉlÈne,” &c. Without being told from which vineyard these grapes came, he mentioned it, and added, “the wine of such a vineyard must be married with that of such another,” and never made a mistake. To this Brother Philip succeeded a Brother AndrÉ Lemaire, who was for nearly forty years at the head of the cellars of Hautvillers, that is to say, until the Revolution.... This brother being very ill, and believing himself on the point of death, confided to me the secret of clarifying the wines, for neither prior nor procureur nor monk ever knew it. I declare to you, sir, that we never did put sugar in our wines; you can attest this when you find yourself in company where it is spoken of. Monsieur MoËt, who has become one of the gros bonnets of Champagne since 1794, when I used to sell him plenty of little baskets, will not tell you that I put sugar in our wines. I make use of it at present upon some white wines which are vintaged in certain crÛs of our wine district. This may have led to the error. ‘As it costs much to dÉpoter, I am greatly surprised that no wine-merchant has as yet taken steps to learn the secret of clearing the wine without having to dÉpoter the bottles when once the wine has been put into them.’ ‘LÀ le nombre et l’Éclat de cent verres bien nets RÉpare par les yeux la disette des mets; Et la mousse petillante D’un vin dÉlicat et frais D’une fortune brillante Cache À mon souvenir les fragiles attraits.’ ‘Quant À la muse de St. Maur Que moins de douceur accompagne. Il lui faut du vin de Champagne Pour lui faire prendre l’essor.’ ‘Alors, grand’ merveille, sera De voir flÛter vin de Champagne.’ ‘Sur ce rivage emaillÉ, OÙ NeuillÉ borde la Seine, Reviens au vin d’HautvillÉ MÊler les eaux d’HypocrÈne.’ ‘PhÉbus adonc va se dÉsabuser De son amour pour la docte fontaine, Et connoÎtra que pour bon vers puiser Vin champenois vaut mieux qu’eau d’HippocrÈne.’ In Dialogue XIII. on ‘Vines,’ the Count remarks that, after studying the methods of viticulture followed in different provinces, he ‘could not discover any to be ranked in Competition with those Precautions that have been taken by the Inhabitants of Champaign’ in the production of their wine. By ‘a long Course of Experience’ they had ‘acquired the proper Method of tinging it with the Complexion of a Cherry, or the Eye of a Partridge. They could likewise brighten it into the whitest Hue, or deepen it into a perfect Red.’ In the succeeding Dialogue on ‘Wines,’ the Count states that ‘Vines vary in their Qualities. Some are planted in a very light and strong Soil, and they yield a bright and fragrant Wine; others are placed in a more nourishing Tract of Land, and they produce a Wine of a greater Body. The reasonable Combination of these different Fruits will produce an exquisite Liquor, that will have all the Advantages of a sufficient Body, a Delicacy of Flavour, a Fragrancy of Scent, and a Liveliness of Colour, and which may be Kept for several Years without the least Alteration. It was the Knowledge of those Effects that result from intermixing the Grapes of three or four Vines of different Qualities, which improved the celebrated Wines of Sillery, Ai, and Hautvillers to the Perfection they have now acquired. Father Parignon, a Benedictine of Hautvillers on the Marne, was the first who made any successful Attempt to intermix the Grapes of the different Vines in this manner, and the Wine of Perignon d’Hautvillers bore the greatest Estimation amongst us till the Practise of this Method became more extensive.’ The Count notes that white wines from white grapes being deficient in strength, and apt to grow yellow and degenerate before the next return of summer, had gone out of repute, except for some medicinal prescriptions, whilst ‘the grey Wine, which has so bright an Eye and resembles the Complexion of Crystal, is produced by the blackest Grapes.’ ‘The Wine of a black Grape may be tinged with any Colour we think proper; those who desire to have it perfectly White have recourse to the following Method. The People employed in the Vintage begin their Labours at an early Hour in the Morning; and when they have selected the finest Grapes, they lay them gently in their Baskets, in order to be carried out of the Vineyard; or they place them in large Panniers, without pressing them in the least or wiping off the dewy Moisture or the azure Dye that covers them. Dews and exhaling Mists greatly contribute to the Whiteness of the Wine. ’Tis customary to cover the Baskets with wet Cloths in a hot Sunshine, because the Liquor will be apt to assume a red Tincture if the Grapes should happen to be heated. These Baskets are then placed on the Backs of such Animals as are of a gentle Nature, and carry their Burdens with an easy Motion to the Cellar, where the Grapes continue covered in a cool Air. When the Warmth of the Sun proves moderate, the Labours of the Vintage are not discontinued till Eleven in the Morning; but a glowing Heat makes it necessary for them to cease at Nine.’ Yet even these precautions were liable to fail, since ‘the Heat of the Sun and the Shocks of the Carriages are sometimes so violent, and produce such strong Effects upon the exterior Coat of the Grapes, that the Fluids contained in that Coat, and which are then in Motion, mix themselves with the Juice of the Pulp at the first Pressing; in consequence of which, the Extraction of a Wine perfectly white is rendered impracticable, and its Colour will resemble the Eye of a Partridge, or perhaps some deeper Hue. The Quality of the Wine is still the same; but it must be either entirely White or Red, in order to prove agreeable to the Taste and Mode which now prevail.’ The Count describes the two pressings and five cuttings, the latter term derived from the squaring of the mass of grapes with the cutting peel, and the system of ‘glewing’ this wine, ‘the weight of an ecu d’or’ of ‘Fish Glew, which the Dutch import amongst us from Archangel,’ being added to each piÈce, with the addition sometimes of a pint of spirits of wine or brandy. He then explains the method practised of drawing off the wine without disturbing the barrels, by the aid of a tube and a gigantic pair of bellows. The vessels were connected by the former, and the wine then driven from one to the other by the pressure of air pumped in by means of the latter. A sulphur-match was burnt in the empty vessels, so that it might ‘receive a Steam of Spirits capable of promoting the natural Fire and bright Complexion of the Liquor.’ Noting that the wines should be again ‘glewed’ eight days before they are bottled, Pluche says: ‘The Month of March is the usual Season for glewing the most tender Wines, such as those of Ai, Epernai, Hautvilliers, and Pieri, whose chief Consumption is in France; but this Operation should not be performed on such strong Wines as those of Sillery, Verzenai, and other Mountain Wines of Reims, till they are twelve Months old, at which Time they are capable of supporting themselves for several Years. When these Wines are bottled off before they have exhaled their impetuous Particles, they burst a Number of Bottles, and are less perfect in their Qualities. The proper Method of bottling Wine consists in leaving the Space of a Finger’s Breadth between the Cork and the Liquor, and in binding the Cork down with Packthread; it will also be proper to seal the Mouths of the Bottles with Wax, to prevent Mistakes and Impositions. The Bottles should likewise be reclined on one Side, because if they are placed in an upright Position, the Corks will grow dry in a few Months for want of Moisture, and shrink from their first Dimensions. In Consequence of which a Passage will be opened to the external Air, which will then impart an Acidity to the Wine, and form a white Flower on the Surface, which will be an Evidence of its Corruption.’ The MÉmoire of 1718 also points out the necessity of leaving a space between the cork and the wine, saying that without this, when the wine began to work at the different seasons of the year, it would break a large number of bottles; and that even despite this precaution large numbers are broken, especially when the wine is a little green. The ordinary bottles for Champagne, styled flacons, or flasks, held ‘a pinte de Paris, less half a glass,’ and cost from 12 to 15 francs the hundred; and as wood abounded in the province, several glass-works were established there for their manufacture. As the bottling of the wine, especially in the early years, was mostly to order, many customers had their flasks stamped with their arms, at a cost of about 30 per cent more. The corks—‘solid, even, and not worm-eaten’—cost from 50 to 60 sols per hundred. Wire was as yet quite unknown. The cost of bottling a poinÇon of wine in 1712 was: for 200 bottles, 30 livres; 200 corks, 3 livres; 2 baskets and packing, 8 livres; bottling, string, and sealing, 3 livres; total, 44 livres, or say 36 shillings. It would appear from the MÉmoire that the pernicious practice of icing still Champagne, already noticed, continued in vogue as regards sparkling wine. The wine was recommended to be taken out of the cellar half an hour before it was intended it should be drunk, and put into a bucket of water with two or three pounds of ice. The bottle had to be previously uncorked, and the cork lightly replaced, otherwise it was believed there was danger of the bottle breaking. A short half an hour in the ice was said to bring out the goodness of the wine. Bertin du Rocheret counselled the use of ice to develop the real merits of a vinous wine of Ay. ‘Nam suum Rhemi licet usque Bacchum Jactitent: Æstu petulans jocoso Hic quidam fervet cyathis, et aura Limpidus acri. Vellicat nares avidas; venenum At latet: multos facies fefellit, Hic tamen spargat modico secundam Munere mensam.’ The French version, by M. de Bellechaume, entitled an ‘Ode au Vin de Bourgogne,’ and published in his Recueil des PoÉsies latines et franÇaises sur les Vins de Champagne et de Bourgogne, Paris 1712, is as follows: ‘Vante, Champagne ambitieuse, L’odeur et l’Éclat de ton vin, Dont la sÈve pernicieuse Dans ce brillant cache un venin, Tu dois toute ta gloire en France, A cette agrÉable apparence, Qui nous attire et nous sÉduit; Qu’À Beaune ta liqueur soumise Dans les repas ne soit admise, Que sagement avec le fruit.’ M. de la Monnoye, himself a Burgundian, has rendered this passage somewhat differently in an edition published the same year at Dijon: ‘Jusqu’aux cieux le Champagne ÉlÈve De son vin pÉtillant la riante liqueur, On sait qu’il brille aux yeux, qu’il chatouille le coeur, Qu’il pique l’odorat d’une agrÉable sÈve. Mais craignons un poison couvert, L’aspic est sous les fleurs, que seulement par grÂce; Quand Beaune aura primÉ, Reims occupant la place, Vienne lÉgÈrement amuser le dessert.’ ‘Quantum superbas vitis, humi licet Prorepat, anteit fructibus arbores Tantum, orbe quÆ toto premuntur Vina super generosiora Remense surgit. Cedite, Massica Cantata Flacco Silleriis; neque Chio remixtum certet audax Collibus AÏacis Falernum. Cernis micanti concolor ut vitro Latex in auras, gemmeus aspici, Scintellet exultim; utque dulces Naribus illecebras propinet. Succi latentis proditor halitus Ut spuma motu lactea turbido Crystallinum lÆtis referre Mox oculis properet nitorem.’ La Monnoye renders this as follows: ‘Autant que, sans porter sa tÊte dans les cieux, La vigne par son fruit est au-dessus du chÊne; Autant, sans affecter une gloire trop vaine, Reims surpasse les vins les plus dÉlicieux. Qu’Horace du Falerne entonne les louanges Que de son vieux Massique il vante les attraits; Tous ces vins fameux n’Égaleront jamais Du charmant Silleri les heureux vendanges. Aussi pur que la verre ou la main l’a versÉ, Les yeux les plus perÇants l’en distinguent À peine; Qu’il est doux de sentir l’ambre de son haleine Et de prÉvoir le goÛt par l’odeur annoncÉ, D’abord À petits bonds une mousse argentine Etincelle, petille et bout de toutes parts, Un Éclat plus tranquille offre ensuite aux regards D’un liquide miroir la glace cristalline.’ ‘Non hÆc malignus quidlibet obstrepat Livor; nocentes dissimulant dolos Leni veneno. Vina certant Inguenuos retinere Gentis Campana mores. Non stomacho movent Ægro tumultum; non gravidum caput Fulagine infestant opacÂ.’ Bellechaume renders these lines in the Recueil as follows: ‘Il n’a point, quoiqu’on insinue De poison parmi ses douceurs, Et de sa province ingÉnue La Champagne a gardÉ les moeurs. Il n’excite point de tempÊte Dans les estomacs languissants; Son feu lÉger monte À la tÊte, Eveille et rÉjouit les sens.’ La Monnoye gives them thus: ‘Taisez-vous envieux dont la langue cruelle Veut qu’ici sous les fleurs se cache le venin; Connaissez la Champagne, et respectez un vin Qui des moeurs du climat est l’image fidÈle. Non, ce jus qu’À grand tort vous osez outrager De images fÂcheux ne trouble point la tÊte, Jamais dans l’estomac n’excite de tempÊte; Il est tendre, il est net, dÉlicat et lÉger.’ ‘Ergo ut secundis (parcere nam decet Karo liquori) se comitem addidit Mensis renidens Testa; frontem, Arbitra lÆtitiÆ, resolvit Austeriorum. Tune cyathos juvat Siccare molles: tunc hilaris jocos Conviva fundit liberales; Tunc procul alterius valere.’ Bellechaume has rendered this: ‘SitÔt que sur de riches tables De ce nectar avec le fruit On sert les coupes dÉlectables, De joie il s’ÉlÈve un doux bruit; On voit, mÊme sur le visage Du plus sÉvÈre et du plus sage, Un air joyeux et plus serein: Le ris, l’entretien se reveille; Il n’est plus de liqueur pareille A cet Élixir souverain.’ La Monnoye’s version is as follows: ‘Vers la fin du repas, À l’approche du fruit, (Car on doit mÉnager une liqueur si fine), AussitÔt que parait la bouteille divine, Des GrÂces À l’instant l’aimable choeur la suit Parmi les conviÉs, s’ÉlÈve un doux murmure; Le plus stoÏque alors se deride le front.’ ‘Hinc inversa scyphis tumet, fremitque; Spumasque agglomerat furore mixtas Æstuans, levis, inquies proterva;’ Bellechaume’s translation is as above— ‘EnflÉs du mÊme orgueil tous ses vins bondissants N’ÉlÈvent que des flots Écumeux frÉmissants Leur liqueur furieuse, inconstante et lÉgÈre Etincelle, petille, et bout dans la fougÈre.’ ‘Quid medicos testa implores Burgunda? Laboras Nemo velit medicam poscere sanus opem. Cur fugis ad doctum, Burgundica testa, Fagonem? Arte valet multa, sed nimis Ægra jaces.’ ‘A ce que je me persuade Sur la qualitÉ des bons vins, Grenan, ta cause est bien malade, Tu consultes les mÉdecins. Quand on s’adresse au mÉdecin C’est qu’on Éprouve une souffrance; Bourgogne, vous n’Êtes pas sain Puisqu’il vous faut une ordonnance.’ ‘Pour connaÎtre la diffÉrence Du nectar de Beaune et de Reims, Il faut mettre votre science A bien goÛter de ces deux vins.’ ‘Un franc Bourguignon se fait gloire D’Être avec un Remois À boire; Ils sont tous deux bons connaisseurs, Et ne sont pas moins bons buveurs.’ ‘Vieux Bourguignon, jeune Champagne Font l’agrÉment de nos festins.’ From La Critique, an opera of Panard’s, produced in 1742. ‘Count: If we will be determined by the finest palates, the Champaign wine is much preferable to Burgundy. Prior: It is a sufficient honour for Champaign to be admitted to the same degree of estimation with Burgundy; and it may very well dispense with the priority. I always thought Burgundy had some similitude with a solid understanding, which affects us with lasting impressions, and that Champaign resembles a lively wit, which glitters more upon the imagination, but which is not always serviceable to its possessor. Count: If you had made the froth of some Champaign wines and the sallies of a sprightly wit your parallel, I should have thought it unexceptionable; and several pleasant remarks might be made on this sprightliness without solidity. But such a Champaign wine as that of Sillery unites all the vigour of Burgundy, with an agreeable flavour peculiar to itself. Prior: I prefer useful qualities to those that are merely agreeable. Burgundy seems to be a more salutary wine than Champaign, and will always be triumphant for that reason. Its colour alone declares it to be a wine of a good body, and I must confess I am apt to be diffident of all dazzling appearances. Count: People believe that this deep colour, so esteemed in Burgundy wines, is an indication of their wholesomeness; but it is observable in the grossest wines, and results from an intermixture of the husky parts of the grape. Wine, in proportion to the quantity of these particles blended with it, will be less qualified for digestion. The gout, therefore, and the stone, with which the inhabitants of wine-countries are so frequently afflicted, are distempers hardly known either at Reims or on the banks of the Marne, where the wines are very moderately coloured.... Wines may be made almost as white in Burgundy as they are in Champaign, though not so good; and, on the other hand, the Champenois press a wine as red as the Burgundy growth, and the merchants sell it either as the best species of Burgundy to the wine-conners, who are the first people that are deceived in it, or as red Champaign to the connoisseurs, who prefer it to any other wine. If we may judge of the merit of wines by the price, we shall certainly assign the preference to Champaign, since the finest species of this wine is sold in the vaults of Sillery and Epernai for six, seven, or eight hundred livres, when the same quality of the best Burgundy may be purchased for three hundred. Countess: Let me entreat you, gentlemen, to leave this controversy undecided. The equal pretensions that are formed by these two great provinces promote an emulation which is advantageous to us. The partisans for Burgundy and Champaign form two factions in the State; but their contests are very entertaining, and their encounters not at all dangerous. It is very usual to see the zealots of one party maintaining a correspondence with those of the other; they frequently associate together without any reserve, and those who were advocates for Burgundy at the beginning of the entertainment are generally reconciled to Champaign before the appearance of the dessert.’ The foregoing duly rehearsed, there follows the decree permitting ‘to be sent in bottles into the province of Normandy, for the consumption of the said province, gray wine of Champagne in baskets, which must not hold less than one hundred bottles,’ but prohibiting the introduction in bottles of any other growth or quality, under the penalty of confiscation and one hundred livres’ fine. Permission is also given to pass gray and red wine of Champagne, or of any other cru or quality, in baskets of fifty or one hundred bottles for conveyance into other provinces, or for shipment to foreign parts by the ports of Rouen, Caen, Dieppe, and Havre. The wagoners, however, in all cases are to have certificates signed and countersigned by all manner of authorities, and are only to enter the province by certain specified routes. All wine, too, is to pay the droit de dÉtail, except in the case of people not continuously residing in the province, who may be going to their estates, or those bound for the eaux de Forges, a celebrated watering-place, both of whom may take a certain quantity in bottle with them for their own consumption free of duty. ‘Chloris, EglÉ me versent de leur main D’un vin d’Ay dont la mousse pressÉe, De la bouteille avec force ÉlancÉe, Comme un Éclair fait voler son bouchon. Il part, on rit; il frappe le plafond: De ce vin frais l’Écume pÉtillante De nos FranÇais est l’image brillante.’ ‘De ce vin blanc dÉlicieux Qui mousse et brille dans le verre, Dont les mortels ne boivent guÈres; Et qu’on ne sert jamais qu’À la table des dieux Ou des grands, pour en parler mieux, Qui sont les seuls dieux de la terre.’ ‘Ce n’est point sur les monts de Rhodope et de Thrace Que j’irai t’invoquer; ces monts couverts de glace, Sont-ils propres À tes faveurs? Non, Reims te voit rÉgner bien plus sur ses collines; LÀ je t’offre mes voeux; de nos cÔtes voisines Embrases moi de tes ardeurs. Soit que d’un lait mousseux l’Écume pÉtillante, Soit qu’un rouge vermeil, par sa couleur brillante, T’annonce À mes regards surpris, Viens, anime mes vers; ma muse impatiente Veut devoir en ce jour les accords qu’elle enfante A la force de tes esprits.’ ‘Non, telles gens ne boivent pas De cette sÈve dÉlectable, L’Âme et l’amour de nos repas, Aussi bienfaisante qu’aimable. Leur palais corrompu, gÂtÉ, Ne veut que du vin frelatÉ, De ce poison vert, apprÊtÉ, Pour des cervelles frÉnÉtiques. Si, tenons-nous pour hÉrÉtiques Ceux qui rejettent la bontÉ De ces corpusculs balsamiques Que jadis Horace a chantÉs. Non, telles gens ne boivent pas De cette sÈve dÉlectable, L’Âme et l’honneur de nos repas, Aussi bienfaisante qu’aimable. De ce vin blanc dÉlicieux, Qui dÉsarme la plus sÉvÈre; Qui pÉtille dans vos beaux yeux Mieux qu’il ne brille dans mon verre. Buvons, buvons À qui mieux mieux, Je vous livre une douce guerre; Buvons, buvons de ce vin vieux, De ce nectar dÉlicieux, Qui pÉtille dans vos beaux yeux Mieux qu’il ne brille dans mon verre.’ The above was set to music by M. Dormel, organist of St. GeneviÈve. ‘Vois ce nectar charmant Sauter sous ces beaux doigts; Et partir À l’instant; Je crois bien que l’amour en ferait tout autant. Et quoi sous ces beaux doigts Bouchon a donc sautÉ pour la premiÈre fois? Croyez-vous que l’amour Leur fit un pareil tour?’ ‘Le jus que verse GanimÈde A Jupiter dans ses repas A ce vin de Champagne cÈde, Et nous sommes mieux ici bas.’ From the edition of his Poesies published in 1757. ‘Et quand je dÉcoiffe un flacon Le liÈge qui pette Me fait entendre un plus beau son Que tambour et trompette.’ Panard’s Œuvres, Paris, 1763. ‘Diaphorus au marchand de vin Vend bien cher un extrait de riviÈre; Le marchand vend au mÉdecin Du Champagne arrivÉ de Nanterre, Ce qui prouve encor ce refrain-ci A trompeur, trompeur et demi.’ ‘Pour jouir d’un destin plus tranquille et plus doux De ce bruyant sÉjour, amis, Éloignons nous, Allons, dans mon cellier, du Champagne et du Beaune GoÛter les doux appas. Les plaisirs n’y sont pas troublÉs par l’embarras, Et le funeste ennui qui monte jusqu’au trÔne Dans les caveaux ne descend pas.’ ‘C’est alors qu’un joyeux convive, Saississant un flacon scellÉ, Qui de Reims ou d’Ai tient la liqueur captive, Fait sauter jusqu’À la solive Le liÈge deficellÉ; Tout le cercle attentif porte un regard avide Sur cet objet qui les ravit; Ils prÉsentent leur verre vide, Le nectar pÉtillant aussitÔt les remplit. On boit, on goÛte, on applaudit, On redouble et par l’assemblÉe La mousse Champenoise À plein verre est sablÉe. De lÀ naissent les ris, les transports Éclatans, La sÈve et tout son feu, jusqu’au cerveau montants, Font naÎtre des dÉbats, des querelles polies Qui rÉveillent l’esprit de tous les assistants.’ ‘GrÂce À la liqueur Qui lave mon coeur, Nul souci ne me consume. De ce vin gris Que je chÉris L’Écume, Lorsque j’en boi Quel feu chez moi S’allume! Nectar enchanteur, Tu fais mon bonheur; Viens, mon cher ami! Que j’t’hume! Champagne divin, Du plus noir chagrin Tu dissipes l’amertume. Tu sais mÛrir, Tu sais guÉrir Le rhume. Quel goÛt flatteur Ta douce odeur Parfume! Pour tant de bienfaits Et pour tant d’attraits; Viens, mon cher ami! Que j’t’hume!’ ‘Votre palais, usÉ, perclus Par liqueur inflammable, PrÉfÈre de mousseux verjus Au nectar vÉritable.’ It was at the close of Louis XIV.’s reign that the pain d’Épice of Reims reached the summit of its renown. At the coronation of his successor, the Échevins of Reims presented the monarch with several baskets of it; and when Maria Leczinska passed through Reims in January 1725, the notables offered her twelve wicker baskets, covered with damask and ornamented with ribbons, containing fresh and dried pears, conserves, preserved lemons, almond-cakes, and a new kind of gingerbread, which received the name of nonnette À la Reine. ‘MalgrÉ les calembours, les brocards, les dictons, Je veux À mes repas vuider mes deux flacons,’ are the lines assigned to him in Le Vicomte de Barjoleau, ou le Souper des Noirs, a two-act comedy of the epoch. LE GOURMAND: AN INCIDENT OF LOUIS XVI.’S FLIGHT FROM PARIS This caricature, which is neither signed nor dated, is simply entitled ‘Le Gourmand;’ though Jaime, in his Histoire de la Caricature, states that it represents Louis XVI. at Varennes. According to Carlyle, however, the king reached Varennes at eleven o’clock at night, was at once arrested in his carriage, and taken to Procureur Sausse’s house. Here he ‘demands refreshments, as is written; gets bread-and-cheese, with a bottle of Burgundy, and remarks that it is the best Burgundy he ever drunk.’ At six o’clock the following morning he left Varennes, escorted by ten thousand National Guards. Very likely there may have been a story current at the time to the effect that the arrest was due to the king’s halting to gratify his appetite. Or the caricature may represent some incident that occurred, during his return to Paris, as he passed through the Champagne district, and halted at the HÔtel de Rohan at Epernay. ‘J’aime mieux les Turcs en campagne Que de voir nos vins de Champagne ProfanÉs par des Allemands.’ BÉranger’s Chansons. ‘RÔtis sur la haute montagne Tout flamme et miel, le MÉdÉah, Le Mascara, le Milianah Feront pÂlir le gai Champagne.’ PoÉsies de J. Boese, de Blidah. ‘Il a conduit Pomponnette Chez Vachette, Dans le cabinet vingt-deux; Et lÀ, mÊme avant la bisque, Il se risque A lui dÉclarer ses feux. Elle demeure accoudÉe, ObsÉdÉe, RÉsolue À rÉsister, Inexorable et charmante Dans sa mante, Qu’elle ne veut pas quitter. Un troisiÈme personnage, A la nage Dans un seau d’argent ornÉ, Se soulÈve sur la hanche, TÊte blanche, Cou de glace environnÉ. C’est le Champagne; il susurre: “Chose sÛre! Quand mon bouchon partira, Tout À l’heure, cette belle Si rebelle Mollement s’apaisera. BientÔt tu verras, te dis-je, Ce prodige Cesse d’invoquer l’enfer; Ton courroux est trop facile; ImbÉcile, Arrache mon fil de fer! Car je suis maÎtre Champagne, Qu’accompagne Le dÉlire aux cent couplets; Je dompte les plus sÉvÈres. A moi, verres, Coupes, flÛtes et cornets!” Aussi dit le vin superbe, Moins acerbe, La femme se sent capter. C’est une cause que gagne Le Champagne; Son bouchon vient de sauter.’ Le Parfait Vigneron, Paris, 1870. ‘Perdre le goÛt de l’huitre et du vin de Champagne Pour revoir la leur d’un dÉbile soleil Et l’humide beautÉ d’une verte campagne, N’est pas À mon avis un bonheur sans pareil, La faveur de la Marne, hÉlas, est terminÉe, Et notre montagne de Reims, Qui fournit tant d’excellens vins, A peu favorisÉ nostre goÛt cette annÉe. O triste et pitoyable sort! Faut-il avoir recours aux rives de la Loire, Ou pour le mieux au fameux port, Dont Chapelle nous fait l’histoire! Faut-il se contenter de boire Comme tous les peuples du Nord? Non, non, quelle heureuse nouvelle! Monsieur de Bonrepaus arrive, il est icy, Le Champagne pour lui tousjours se renouvelle, Fuyez, Loire, Bordeaux! fuyez, Cahors, aussy!’ Œuvres de Saint-Evremond: In these verses we trace the custom, elsewhere spoken of, of drinking the Marne wines when new. St. Evremond himself, in a passage of his prose works, says that the wines of Ay should not be kept too long, or those of Reims drunk too soon. ‘May Locket still his ancient fame maintain For Ortland dainties and for rich Champaign, Where new-made lords their native clay refine, And into noble blood turn noble wine.’ ‘Vos, Ô Britanni (foedera nam sinunt Incoepta pacis) dissociabilem Tranate pontum. Quid cruento Perdere opes juvat usque Marte. LÆtis Remensam quam satius fuit Stipare Bacchum navibus; et domum Anferre funestis trophÆis Exuvias pretiosiores!’ Coffin’s Campania vindicata, 1712. The force of the reference to England is better understood when it is mentioned that no other nation is alluded to as purchasing the wines of the Champagne. ‘Tu n’auras ni chien ni chat Pour te chanter Libera, Et tu mourras mau-chrÉtien, Toi qu’a maudit Saint TrÉzain.’ The fountain of St. Tresain, which enjoys the reputation of curing diseases, and in the water of which it is pretended stolen food cannot be cooked, still exists at Mareuil. ‘Si quis in hoc mundo vult vivere corde jocoso, Vadat Cumerias sumere delicias.’ ‘Je fus jadis de terre vertueuse Nez de Virtuz, pais renommÉ, OÙ il avait ville trÈs gracieuse, Dont li bon vin sont en maints lieux nommÉs.’ Eustache Deschamps’ poem on the Burning of Vertus. ‘Quant vient de si noble racine Come du droit plan de Beaune, Qui ne porte pas couleur jaune Mais vermeille, franche, plaisant, Qui fait tout autre odeur taisant, Quand elle est aportÉe en place.’ Deschamps’ La Charte des Bons Enfans de Vertus. ‘Si vous alez au benefice Mieulx vous vauldra que ung clistÈre.’—Ibid. ‘Qu’Horace du Falerne entonne les louanges, Que de son vieux Massique il vante les attraits; Tous ces vins si fameux n’Égaleront jamais Du charmant Sillery les heureuses vendanges!’ Translation by Le Monnoye in the Recueil des PoÉsies Latines et FranÇaises, &c., Paris, 1712.
In the year 1613, Jehan Pussot, the local chronicler of Reims, notes that a large proportion of the vines were destroyed by ‘a great concourse of worms,’ which attacked those plants which the frost had spared. This would establish that either the pyrale or the cochylis was known to the Champenois viticulturists at the commencement of the seventeenth century. In 1874 the grapes of the Mountain sold from at 55 to 160 francs the caque, according to the crus; and those of the CÔte d’Avize at from 1 f. 25 c. to 2 f. per kilogramme. In 1875, on the other hand, grapes could be obtained at Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, and Bouzy at from 45 to 55 francs the caque; and at Vertus, Le Mesnil, Oger, Grauves, Cramant, and Avize, at from 40 to 70 centimes the kilogramme. By far the highest price secured by the growers for their grapes was in 1880, when the produce of the grand crus of the Mountain fetched as much as 220 f. the caque, equal to nearly 3 f. 60 c. the kilogramme, or about 1 s. 5 d. per lb. It was, as usual, scarcity rather than quality that caused this unprecedented rise in price. A few words on the origin and development of the effervescent properties of Champagne will not be out of place here. These are due, as already explained, to the presence of a large quantity of carbonic acid gas, the evolution of which has been prevented by the bottling of the wine prior to the end of the alcoholic fermentation. The source of carbonic acid gas exists in all wines, and they may be all rendered sparkling by the same method of treatment. Still, no effervescent wine can compare with the finest growths of the Champagne, for these possess the especial property of retaining a large portion of their sugar during, and even after, fermentation; besides which, the soil imparts a native bouquet that no other wine can match. Carbonic acid gas is one of the two products of the fermentation of grape sugar, the other being alcohol. In wine fermented in casks it rises to the surface, and escapes through the bunghole left open for the purpose. The case is different with wine fermenting in bottles tightly secured by corks. Part of the gas developed rises into the chamber or vacant space left in the bottle, where, mingling with the atmospheric air, it exercises a constantly increasing pressure on the surface of the wine. This pressure at length becomes so strong as to keep all the gas subsequently formed dissolved in the wine itself, which it saturates, as it were, and thereby converts into sparkling wine. Upon the bottle being opened, the gas accumulated in the chamber rushes into the air, producing a slight explosion, or pop, and freeing from pressure the gas which had remained dissolved in the wine, and which in turn escapes in the shape of numberless tiny bubbles, forming the foam so pleasing to the eye on rising to the surface. Sometimes on opening a bottle of Champagne the pop is loud, but the effervescence feeble and transitory; and, on the other hand, there is merely a slight explosion, and yet the wine froths and sparkles vigorously and continuously. The two bottles may contain the same quantity of gas, but in the one there is more in the chamber and less dissolved in the wine, and hence the loud pop and slight sparkle; while in the other the pressure is low, and the explosion consequently slighter, but there is more gas in the wine itself, and the effervescence is proportionately greater and more lasting. In the former case the wine has received the addition of, or has contained from the outset, some matter calculated to diminish its power of dissolving carbonic acid gas, and is unsuitable for making good sparkling wine. The nature of the effervescence is one of the best tests of the quality of the wine. Gas naturally dissolved does not all escape at once on the removal of the pressure, but, on the contrary, about two-thirds of it are retained by the viscidity of the wine. The better and more natural the wine, the more intimately the carbonic acid gas remains dissolved in it, and the finer its bubbles. The form of the glass out of which Champagne is drunk has an influence on its effervescence. The wine sparkles far better in a glass terminating in a point, like the old-fashioned flÛte, or the modern goblet or patera, with a hollow stem, than in one with a rounded bottom. The reason is that any point formed around the liquid, as instanced in the pointed bottoms of these glasses, or in the liquid, as may be proved by putting the end of a pointed glass rod into the wine, favours the disengagement of the gas. Powder of any kind presents a number of tiny points, and hence the dropping of a little powdered sugar into Champagne excites effervescence. Porous bodies like bread-crumbs produce the same effect. Even dust has a similar action; and the wine will froth better in a badly-wiped glass than in one perfectly clean, though it would hardly do to put forward such an excuse as this for using dirty goblets. The lively pop of the cork is less esteemed in England than in certain circles in France, where many hosts would be sadly disappointed if the wine they put before their guests did not go off with a loud bang, causing the ladies to scream and the gentlemen to laugh. A brisk foam, too, is absolutely necessary for the prestige of the wine, and ‘grand mousseux’ is a quality much sought after by the general public on the other side of the Channel. It is not rare to meet with wines of a high class in which the removal of the cork produces a loud explosion; but unfortunately the brisk report and sharp but transitory rush of foam are features easily imparted by artificial means. The ordinary white wines of Lorraine and other provinces receive a certain addition of spirit and liqueur, and are then artificially charged with carbonic acid gas obtained from carbonate of lime, chalk, and similar materials, after the fashion in which soda-water is made. These wines, sold as Champagne, eject their corks with a loud pop, but three-fourths of the carbonic acid gas escape at the same time, and the wine soon becomes flat and dead; whereas a naturally sparkling wine of good quality left open for three hours and then recorked will be found fresh and drinkable the next day. Both the explosion and the subsequent effervescence are aided by a high temperature, which assists the development of the gas. Cold has the opposite effect, and iced wine neither pops nor sparkles. It, however, retains, if genuine, the whole of the carbonic acid gas held dissolved, which is not the case with the imitations spoken of. Were it not that the question has been seriously started on more than one occasion, and only solved to the satisfaction of the questioner by a chemico-anatomical explanation, it would hardly be worth while touching upon the supposed hurtfulness of the carbonic acid gas contained in sparkling wines. The fact of accidents frequently occurring in breweries, distilleries, wine-presses, &c., from the accumulation of this gas, to breathe which for a few seconds is mortal, has led some people to wonder how Champagne, whilst containing so large a proportion of it, can be swallowed with impunity. The gas, however, which produces fatal results when inhaled into the lungs, by depriving the blood of the oxygen which it should find there, has in the stomach a beneficial effect, serving to promote digestion. In drinking Champagne it is conveyed direct to this latter region, so that no danger whatever exists, any more than in the mineral waters.—Mainly condensed from E. J. MaumÉnÉ’s TraitÉ du Travail des Vins. ‘Ce diable À quatre A le triple talent De boire et de battre, Et d’Être vert-galant.’ ‘On lui verse le vin de la cÔte voisine, PÉtillant, savoureux qui soudain l’illumine D’Étincelants rayons de joie et de gaÎtÉ; Redevenant poËte, il chante la beautÉ Qui l’aide À conquÉrir doucement la Champagne.’ M. Camille Blondiot’s Henri IV. au SiÈge d’Epernay. ‘Viens aurore, Je t’implore, Je suis gai quand je te voi; La bergÈre Qui m’est chÈre Est vermeille comme toi. Elle est blonde, Sans seconde, Elle a la taille À la main; Sa prunelle Etincelle Comme l’astre du matin. De rosÉe, ArrosÉe, La rose a moins de fraÎcheur; Une hermine Est moins fine, Le lis a moins de blancheur. D’ambroisie, Bien choisie, Dupuis se nourrit À part; Et sa bouche Quand j’y touche Me parfume de nectar.’ As regards the price of the wines of the River during the Revolutionary epoch, an old account-book of Messrs. MoËt & Chandon shows that in 1797 the firm paid for the white wine of Epernay and Avize 200 francs, for that of Chouilly 180 francs, and for that of Pierry and Cramant 150 francs per piÈce; whilst that of Ay cost from 565 to 600 francs the queue. Bottles in 1790 only cost 16 livres 10 sols the hundred. Under date of the 10 Prairial An II. (1793), the citizen Bourbon was appointed by the municipality of Pierry to cultivate the vineyards ‘du gillotinÉ (sic) Cazotte.’ ‘Ay produit les meilleurs vins— J’en prends À tÉmoin tout le monde; Mais vous prÉfÉrez ceux de Reims, Ay produit les meilleurs vins. Ce sont les premiers, les plus fins, Et Saint Evremont me seconde. Ay produit les meilleurs vins— J’en prends À tÉmoin tout le monde. Charles Quint s’y connoissoit bien Il en faisoit la diffÉrence; Et mieux que son maÎtre Adrien, Charles Quint s’y connoissoit bien, Pour en boire, il ne tint a rien Qu’il ne vÎnt demeurer en France. Charles Quint s’y connoissoit bien Il en faisoit la diffÉrence. Pour qu’on ne pÛt le mÉlanger, Et que sa table fÛt complÈte, Lui mÊme faisoit vendanger, Pour qu’on ne pÛt le mÉlanger. LÉon craignant mÊme danger, D’un pressoir d’Ay fit emplÈte, Pour qu’on ne pÛt le mÉlanger, Et que sa table fÛt complÈte.’ The Adrien mentioned in the second verse was Pope Adrian VI., who had been the Emperor’s preceptor, and who by his influence obtained the tiara on the death of Leo X. Unlike his predecessor, he was very simple in his habits. ‘Notre bon roi, le grand Henry, En rÉgaloit sa belle hÔtesse, Quand il couchoit À Damery, Notre bon roi, le grand Henry, C’Étoit-lÀ son jus favori; Et son pain, celui de Gonesse, Notre bon roi, le grand Henry, En rÉgaloit sa belle hÔtesse.’ Published in the Mercure of January 1728. Henry was accustomed to speak of the PrÉsidente as his ‘belle hÔtesse.’ ‘Ne chante dans ses vers heureux Que l’inconstance et la Tocane’— Tocane being usually made of the wine of Ay. CHAMPAGNE. Less for thy grace and glory, land of ours, Than for thy dolour, dear, Let the grief go; and here— Here’s to thy skies, thy women, and thy flowers! France, take the toast, thy women and thy roses; France, to thy wine, more wealth unto thy store! And let the lips a grievous memory closes Smile their proud smile once more! Swarthy Falernian, Massica the Red, Were ye the nectars poured At the great gods’ broad board? No, poor old wines, all but in name long dead, Nectar’s Champagne—the sparkling soul of mirth, That, bubbling o’er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth. ‘I am the blood Burgundian sunshine makes; A fine old feudal knight, Of bluff and boisterous might, Whose casque feels—ah, so heavy when one wakes!’ ‘And I, the dainty Bordeaux, violets’ Perfume, and whose rare rubies gourmets prize; My subtile savour gets In partridge wings its daintiest allies.’ Ah, potent chiefs, Bordeaux and Burgundy, If we must answer make, This sober counsel take: Messeigneurs, sing your worth less haughtily, For ’tis Champagne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That, bubbling o’er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth. Ay, ’tis the true, the typic wine of France; Ay, ’tis our heart that sparkles in our eyes, And higher beats for every dire mischance. It was the wit that made our fathers wise, That made their valour gallant, gay, When plumes were stirred by winds of waving swords, And chivalry’s defiance spoke the words: ‘A vous, Messieurs les Anglais, les premiers!’ Let the dull beer-apostle till he’s hoarse Vent his small spleen and spite— Fate fill his sleepless night With nightmares of invincible remorse! We sing Champagne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That, bubbling o’er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth. Transcriber’s Note: This e-text is based on the 1882 edition. The original spelling, as well as the use of punctuation and quotation marks, have been retained. The following errors have been corrected: # p. xi: ‘Sauturnes’ ? ‘Sauternes’ |