Who hasn’t heard of Dom Pérignon? If you haven’t then I must say that you are probably in the minority! Whether you are aware of this brand or not, Dom Pérignon is a world renowned branded champagne originally from Hautvillers, France and this article aims to explain why it should be given as a
champagne gift for celebrations, including as
bride and groom giftsand
engagement gifts as well as
18th Birthday Gifts as special luxury gifts for being of legal drinking age.
Until Dom Pérignon came on the scene, the wine from the champagne region of France had no specific or collective identity and it was not sparkling; there was a myriad of names used to refer to the wine, including wine of champagne, wine of the mountains, wine of Ay and wine of Sillery for example. However, the particular wine from Hautvillers was so well loved that people wanted to know who made it. And, so from then this wine became known as the wine of Pérignon, or the wine of Père Pérignon. At the time, it was unknown, but this in itself was a revolution, as it was the first occasion when the producer was known for the wine they produced.
On 29th September 1694, Dom Pérignon wrote the following sentence (in French naturally!) to a customer from Epernay, who had ordered his wine. “Sir, I have given you twenty-six bottles of the best wine in the world. D. Pierre Pérignon.” – These words, in particular “the best wine in the world” was a rather bold statement to make, but showed the monks ambition and belief of perfection in his wine. The brand still strives to be the best wine in the world even today.
The history of champagne is sometimes referred to as “before Dom” and “after Dom”. Between 1668 and 1715, the Benedictine monk devoted himself to making the best wine in the world. Pérignon invented, developed and refined the technique of producing champagne as we know it today through hard work and experimentation. It was this that went a long way towards the creation of the champagne method (méthode champenoise) used to make bubbly today; which includes the assemblage of grapes (usually chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir) from various vineyards, separate pressings of the must to obtain perfection in the pure and clear juice, as well as aging the wine in cellars with sealed corks to control the fermentation of the yeast that finally produces a sparkling wine.
It seems likely that Dom Pérignon’s champagne had reached Versailles and was most likely consumed by Louis XIV. Other customers included Count d’Artagnan, who was the lieutenant general of the Royal Army.
As we can tell, Dom Pérignon is a special sort of champagne gift containing only the finest grapes, from the finest vineyard presented in the most spectacular packaging. Give a bottle of Dom Pérignon as
wedding champagne gifts for the bride and groom, or engagement gifts today presented with
engraved flutes perhaps for a luxury gift. Dom champagne is a gift that is particularly special due to the longevity of the wine, its colourful history and the connections to royalty and power.
Date posted: 30/03/2010
