THE HISTORY OF

The practice of making wine has been part of human civilization for thousands of years and has its earliest history in Egypt.  In the beginning, wine was made from many types of things.  Figs, Dates, Pomegranates, grapes, and honey were all used.  In other cultures, in Asia, Northern Europe, or the Americas wine was made from grains such as rice or corn, or cactus plants such as the agave or other blends with Honey.  It is said that the Egyptians were the first to embrace the grape as the easiest and most effective way to make great-tasting wine.  

It is said that Phoenician traders introduced grape wine to the Greeks.  Wild grapes grew easily in Greece and with little cost and became very popular and known in ancient Greek culture and achieved its status in religious ceremonies. 

The Romans then were the next to take the grape wine concept and then spread it all over as they conquered Europe.  The Romans were famous in the advancement of grape wine for decades.

And let’s not forget about the Monks.  The Monks who had been there all along, slowly watching and perfecting the techniques of grape wine making and creating the science of winemaking.  The monks brought us many of the winemaking techniques we still use to this day.  The using of Bentonite clay to purify and clarify wine is still considered one of the best natural ways to finish and age your wine.

Monks and Champagne

The modern idea of Champagne was first documented in 1662.  This actual hand method of carbonating wine by a series of natural techniques that trapped carbon dioxide in the bottle.  It was perfected and turned into an art by the Monk Dom Perignon.  It was he who discovered how to create thicker bottles to hold the higher pressures and wire cages to keep the corks secure, and many other aspects of modern grape wine carbonation.  At the time of this research, it is said that the Monks would have to wear iron masks in order to check the bottles because they could explode.  But in medieval times, that was the highest technology available.

In these past times, those with passion like Dom Perignon brought forward the craft of carbonated winemaking and created a vision for others to follow.  He pushed the boundaries of how carbonated wines were envisioned and created modern Champagne.  It is in that forward-thinking vision that we follow.