Drinking the Stars

The team of Lerner and Loewe wrote nine musicals (almost as many as Rodgers and Hammerstein), most notably My Fair Lady. But when the Canadian music critic Gene Lees decided to write a biography of the duo, he chose for his title not a number or a line from My Fair Lady, or Camelot, or Brigadoon. Rather, he titled it Inventing Champagne, a nod to a showstopper tune from the composers' Academy Award winning film, Gigi.

That number is The Night They Invented Champagne and it is a captivating and effervescent one, to be sure, but whether or not it was meant to be literal, it is completely inaccurate. Though, as Joan DeJean in her delightful book, The Essence of Style, notes, the evolution of champagne happened relatively rapidly considering it was one of the most groundbreaking developments in the history of wine making, it still took longer than one evening.

You may be familiar with the oft-told story of the advent of champagne. It reports that a monk, Dom Perignon, who was posted at the Abbey of Hautvillers in France, quite by accident discovered the libation when he unknowingly opened the very first bottle of champagne there in the late 1660s. The wine had not thoroughly fermented and thus had continued to brew in the bottle, which, when opened with a pop, bubbled and fizzed. The good cleric's curiosity got the better of him, so he poured himself a glass. He found the taste exhilarating, and as the foam tickled his nose he called out to his fellow monks, "Brothers, come quickly, I am drinking the stars."

Foam and fizz like this were at first thought to be a defect in wine, but once tasted soon became the identifying feature of a real celebration.Submitted by Tom Harte

Such a charming story ought to be true, but even though accepted as fact for nearly two hundred years, especially by the French, it is not. The story originally was promulgated by another monk, Dom Groussard, who had he lived today might have had a career on Madison Avenue. He told the story, which has some factual basis (there was a Dom Perignon and he worked as a cellar-master at Hautvillers) as a way to promote the Champagne region and its wines. It took hold and today perhaps the world's most famous champagne bears Perignon's name.

But Dom Perignon did not set out to make sparkling wine. In fact, initially he tried his best to avoid it. Bubbles back then were considered a defect — and a hazard, as an abundance of them could make a bottle explode. Cellar workers had to wear metal masks for safety's sake. To the chagrin of the French, recent evidence has been uncovered showing that it was the English, believe it or not, who first developed the modern method of making champagne.

All this does not mean, however, that Dom Perignon didn't make significant contributions to the development of sparkling wine. He just didn't invent it. So as we head into that time of year when champagne may be flowing most freely there's no reason not to toast him as you imbibe the bubbly.

Though a rarity when first discovered, sparkling wine has since become ubiquitous on wine store shelves at the holidays.Submitted by Tom Harte

Champagne libations

You can, of course, use champagne as a major ingredient in cocktails, but you run the risk that the bubbly, which is enjoyable in and of itself, will be overshadowed by whatever you mix with it. Rather, these libations call for only small amounts of flavoring to enhance the look or the flavor of the sparkling wine.

Classic Champagne Cocktail: Saturate a sugar cube with 1-3 dashes Angostura bitters and drop into champagne flute. Fill with champagne and serve immediately, garnished with a lemon twist or maraschino cherry.

Grand Royal: Place 3 parts Grand Marnier in a champagne flute and top with champagne. Garnish with orange slice.

Kir Royale: Place one tablespoon creme de cassis in a champagne flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a blackberry.

Cotton Candy Cocktail: Place wisp of cotton candy in a champagne flute and top with champagne.

Ginger Champagne: Place a piece of candied ginger in a champagne flute and top with champagne to enhance fizz.

Sparkling Limoncello: To four ounces champagne in a flute add one ounce limoncello.

Holiday Mimosa: Place two ounces each champagne and cranberry juice in a champagne flute, add a splash of orange liqueur, and garnish with rosemary sprig and cranberries.

Regardless of who first discovered champagne, a bottle of it has always marked an occasion as special ever since.Submitted by Tom Harte