CHAMPAGNE BETWEEN HISTORY, ART AND CULTURE 

This question comes more and more often, so I would say that it is appropriate to talk about it and try to give an answer. Yes, because... Louis Roederer Cristal

Well, the symbol of preciousness applied to champagne belongs first of all to him, without a doubt. 

When we talk about champagne we always think exclusively of a specific product of viticulture, perhaps associated with the most famous and noble French companies, but we rarely connect it to the set of history, art and culture that are undoubtedly linked to it and that have therefore influenced over time not only its image but also its presence on the market. Undoubtedly as has also emerged from many posts on the subject of wine and derivatives that I have published in the past, the culture of the vine has always been deeply important not only for our country but for the whole of Europe, understood as a set of geographically and culturally different territories but united by some fundamental aspects, one of these religion. It was in fact the success of Christianity that determined over time the survival first and then the spread of viticulture, to meet practical needs of a liturgical type. From this, new and different forms of processes were formed to create products from the raw material grapes. The first point I wanted to address was the role of culture and cultivation of the vine in the European cultural sphere.

Another important factor is history, understood not only as a simple succession of facts but as a catalyst for experiences, discoveries, innovations and experiments. The champagne production area, in this regard, is an example of all this, always suited to winemaking, it was also the scene of important events, both historical and cultural. In fact it is from the distant 898 d. C. that Reims, the heart of the area, was the scene of the celebrations for the investitures of the kings of France, during these occasions rivers of champagne flowed. Already from the twelfth century the prestige of the wines of this area was constantly growing. In the seventeenth century the art of preserving it in barrels and then bottling it, sealing the bottles with corks, was established and perfected.

Another important aspect is the presence of our protagonist not only in the cultural landscape of many territories but also, inevitably, in the different faces assumed by culture. In fact, it appears in the private writings of the French artist Monet, deeply passionate about food and wine and connoisseur of excellent raw materials; however, the quotes that could be made are endless and pass from literature, with the passion of Anton Pavlovic Chekhov for the renowned product so as to dedicate two stories to it: "Memoirs of a rascal" and "Champagne", up to the cinema. 

By Edoard Manet, The bar at Les Folies Bergeres, 1881-1882, London, Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, is a clear example of the presence of our protagonist in art. The scene is famously set in a café, the place of the realization of nineteenth-century Parisian worldliness. The champagne, similar in appearance to today's, has here the function of celebrating the identity French, highlighting at the same time how the place is frequented by high-ranking patrons. On the opposite side of the counter, the presence of beer (dark bottle with red triangle) is the symbol of the affirmation of the artist's anti-Germanism, a reflection of the complicated European geopolitical situation of the time, and the consequent repercussions on cultural aspects. Finally, the mirror has the function of reflecting the number of patrons of the restaurant, providing information on the liveliness of public life of the time, as well as on the customers of the place. Cultural, historical, social, artistic and literary aspects that could be further explored but that I wanted to mention in this article as a further example of how a product can be the catalyst of the history of man and the territory to which it belongs and, at the same time, become an object of desire and consumption past and present.