The Secret History Behind the Royal Love Affair with Champagne
Champagne is the drink of kings, queens, princesses, princes and their official mistresses. The great maisons of Champagne have been involved in many royal and aristocratic affairs. Reims is a center of winemaking in the Marne Valley. 25 French monarchs were crowned there between 1223 and 1825. The cathedral was occupied by the English during the Hundred Years’ War. It was liberated by Joan of Arc in 1429. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles granted royal warrants to a select group of champagne houses. They spread the reputation of the Champagnes.
Queen Elizabeth drinks gin and Dubonnet on the rocks with lemon before lunchtime and Champagne before bedtime. Moët's cellars lost 600,000 bottles of Champagnes to the occupying Russian army after the defeat of Napoléon. George V served guests his "special bottle" of Bollinger at Balmoral Castle in 1911. The bottle was a nonvintage brut from the same producer. The importer of the wine, Mentzendorff, wrote to Bollingers to name it "Special Cuvée"
