The Champagne Festival is movable because it is celebrated on the fourth Friday of October. It is young, as its origins date back to 2009. Its initiator was Californian blogger and wine teacher Chris Oggenfus. There is a Wine Bar in the Da Vinci Restaurant, where you can try delicious drinks, including champagne. How did we celebrate this year? Have a look.

Some historical facts about champagne

The oldest registered sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux. It was allegedly invented in 1531 by Benedictine monks at the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire, near Carcassonne. This process involved bottling the wine before initial fermentation was completed. A century later, English scientist Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar to finished wine to induce a second fermentation. In 1662 he described in detail to the Royal Society the method now called “méthode traditionnelle”. However, it began to be used to produce champagne only in the 19th century, about 200 years later. In France, the creation of the first sparkling champagne was a coincidence. They were called “devil’s wine” because the bottles exploded or the corks burst due to the pressure in the bottle. At the time, bubbles were considered a defect. The invention of the muselet by Adolphe Jaquesson in 1844 helped prevent corks from blowing out. Even when it began to be consciously produced as sparkling wine, champagne was produced using the “country method” for a very long time. According to her, the wine was bottled before the initial fermentation was completed.

Champagne production

Champagne production increased significantly in the 19th century. From a more regional production of 300 thousand. bottles per year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850. In that century, champagne was noticeably sweeter than today’s. The passion for dry champagnes began when Perrier-Jouët decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage before exporting it to London. Thus, in 1876, the name “brut” champagne was coined for the British to identify the driest champagne, made with less than 0.4 ounces of added sugar per liter.

Champagne Festival at Da Vinci

At Da Vinci Podzamcze we celebrate this day with Champagne Météyer Père et Fils. Our proposal is cream of sauerkraut with Champagne Meteyer Tradition. Champagne Meteyer Prestige is our favorite champagne – we love Frank Meteyer for the passion you can feel in every glass, his devotion and respect for the land, agriculture and vines. He selects the best bunches of fruit monitored throughout the season and bottles their taste and aroma. His hard work, knowledge and experience were rewarded by UNESCO – in 2017, Frank Meteyer received an individual award. The establishment of the Meteyer Champagne House dates back to 1863. Of course, I invite you to the restaurant for wine stories about champagne – we have a very large selection of Meteyer champagne at a very good price – this is due to our love for this drink. At Da Vinci, we invite you to taste Meteyer champagnes every summer. It is always run by Anna Meteyer – a Polish woman who went to France and there discovered the charm of vineyards, then became an exceptional winemaker, and then became the winemaker’s wife and mother of his children. Meteyer champagne is partly a Polish drink – the marketing conducted by Anna Mateyer is 100% Polish and the hospitality at the Meteyer winery is also Polish.