LE HISTORY

The story of sparkling wine is a fairy tale as enchanting as the wine itself. A stylish culture of cultivation, custom and care. Its origins lie in a rich blend of historic circumstance, age-old ingenuity and a healthy dose of mysticism that dates back to the 16th century European traders.

Sparkling wine (or champagne, as it is known in France) was first made three centuries ago, and since then, wherever it is enjoyed its magical sparkle turns any occasion into a sophisticated and stylish one.

The unique sparkle attributed to sparkling wine was actually the indirect result of a second fermentation caused by the wines travelling to a warm Mediterranean climate.

These delicate new wines were often bottled immediately upon their arrival in order to primitively retain their lively sparkle. The process of capturing these “bubbles” would, however, remain a mystery, until a century later.

During the late 17th Century, by order of their respective abbeys, Frère Jean Oudart and Dom Pérignon, cellar masters of neighbouring monasteries in Northern France were individually tasked with essentially “capturing” the sparkle from these wines.

As their monasteries were barely two miles apart, the two monks frequently consulted each other on their progress, in addition to sharing grapes that they had harvested. Ultimately Dom Pérignon was credited with creating the first bottle of sparkling wine, and on first tasting cried out, “Come quickly, I have tasted the stars!”

Even though they had captured the bubbles, an abundance of yeasty sediment had clouded the wine, requiring a host first decant a bottle before serving it to guests.

It was the widow Clicquot, head of one of France’s most prolific champagne cellars, who first tried to remove the sediment through a resourceful process she christened “remuage” or “rummaging”.

Always wanting to improve the quality of her sparkling wines she ordered her servants to drill holes into her dining room table, and then stacked the bottles at a slant, causing the sediment to collect in the neck of the bottle. These bottles were then rotated so as to ensure that no residual sediment remained. The sediment could then be easily removed through a process of “degorgement”.

The result was a crystal clear sparkling wine that retained all its body without compromising its taste or unique “pop”.

During the time of religious persecution in France, a large number of French Huguenots made their way to the Cape of Good Hope to start a new life. No doubt, the fertile valleys and the Mediterranean climate reminded them of the homeland they had left behind. Their influence on life at the Cape proved to be decisive, as they brought with them their considerable skills and knowledge of viticulture.

Among them was the prominent Huguenot Jean le Roux, who left his home in Normandy to settle in the heart of Stellenbosch area in 1704. He planted 8000 vines in total in Stellenbosch district and continued the tradition of viticulture in Devon Valley. Today the House of J.C. le Roux nestles on part of this historic farm that Jean Le Roux first settled on.