Dom Perignon
From LoveToKnow Wine
A Legend
I think James Bond put it best when he said in the movie Goldfinger, "My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!" Now if you’re a fan of the Beatles, you may not agree with it, but needless to say Dom Perignon champagne has had a place in our hearts and minds as THE champagne. This history of how Dom Perignon came about is quite interesting.
Prestigious Wine-Famous Monk
Dom Perignon is the téte de cuvée (basically means top of the line) of Moët et Chandon Champagne house. It is named after the famous monk, who was the most important early influence in the development of Champagne into the sparkling wine that has become so famous today.
The Man
Dom Perignon was born Pierre Perignon in 1640 in Saint-Menehould, a small town to the east of the Champagne region in France. At the age of 19 he entered the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of Saint-Vannes at Verdun. When he was just 28 he was appointed cellarmaster at the Abbey of Hautvillers.
Ahead of his Time
Some books quote Dom Perignon as saying, after the first time he tasted his sparkling wine, “Come quickly, for I am tasting stars!” This is probably not true, since sparkling wine had been around nearly a century before at another Benedictine Abbey in the region, but it sounds romantic and adds to the mystery and romance of champagne. Although Perignon was not the first to create champagne, nevertheless he was a remarkable grape grower and winemaker and clearly well ahead of his generation. It is likely that he was the first to teach blending skills in the Champagne region, and he also appears to have been the first person to successfully contain the local sparkling wine in reinforced glass bottles by sealing them with Spanish corks. (Before reinforced bottles, explosions and injuries were very common.)
The Wine Today
In the mid 1920’s Moët et Chandon acquired the naming rights of Dom Perignon, and started naming its top-of-the line champagne exactly that. Most champagne houses have a “téte de cuvee”: Roederer has Cristal, Perrier Jouet has their Fleur champagne, Krug has their Clos du Mesnil, etc. As with all high-end Champagne houses, only certain vintages are made (good growing years only). So you can expect to find that not every year is available to you.
Special Occasions
With the popularity of this famous bottle in Hollywood, the name Dom Perignon is surely recognized by the public, whether you’ve had it or not. The price per bottle usually starts around $100 or so, and the older and rarer ones can get to $600-$900, and more! Perhaps it’s not your everyday drinking Champagne, but Dom Perignon is wonderful for special occasions and life events worth celebrating. So, open a bottle and maybe you too will find yourself “tasting stars”. Cheers!
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