Rerun. Benedictine monk Dom Perignon is said to have discovered champagne on 4th August, 1693. 200 million bottles are now produced and sold every year.

The sparkliness was originally considered a defect - because carbonated wine caused the fragile bottles of the era to burst. Until stronger glass was developed in the mid-19th century, mass-produced champagne was impossible to manufacture, so it gained a reputation as a high society tipple.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the boredom of wine-tastings; explain how to make fake champagne; and reveal how the bombing of French vineyards, ironically, helped to save the industry...

Further Reading:

• ‘Dom Pérignon 'Drinks the Stars' (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/08/dayintech-0804/

• ‘6 things you can carbonate with your SodaStream’ (CNet, 2016):

https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/things-you-can-carbonate-with-your-sodastream/

• ‘How Dom Perignon Became The King Of Champagne’ (Alux, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUB8bFV0lM

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.

For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

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