Champagne | Bernard Grunberg

This work addresses two themes: the transformation of Champagne wine production into champagne and the commercialization and consumption of champagne, with contributions from historians, geographers, physicists, chemists, and economists. While historians lament the scarcity of studies dedicated to vineyards and wine in Champagne before the 17th century, new research sheds light on the slow evolution of winemaking techniques between 1650 and 1830, revealing the social and economic aspects of wine establishments in rural areas at the end of the Ancien Régime, and uncovering lesser-known aspects of the circulation of Champagne wines during the revolutionary period. The scientific analysis of champagne bubbles introduces us to the recent advances in understanding the physico-chemistry of the foam and effervescence of this wine. Lastly, an economic perspective challenges our view of the traditional aspect of champagne, which, initially crafted as a luxury aristocratic good, has now transitioned into a mass-produced commodity, belonging to the realm of commercial luxury.