1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book

CHAMPAGNE

From which it must not be assumed that the history of Champagne began in that austere epoch. Indeed, its glorious history goes right i)ack to at least the First Century A.D., when it is recorded that the great Roman Empire, jealous of the ' good Gallic wines,' decreed that the famous vines of Rheims be dug up, and replaced with corn. Just two hundred years later, the Roman soldiers themselves replanted the vineyards, since when they thrived and prospered exceedingly until the coming of the year 1914, when the shells of the enemy and the trenches of the .Allies turned the precious vineyards once more into a desolate waste. The Great War, combined with the coincident pestilence of a tiny insect called Phylloxera, caused the greatest crisis ever experienced in the Champagne industry. Unfortunately, the com paratively small area from which the whole of the world's Champagne is produced became, by a vicious twist of Fortune's Wheel, a strategic point in the great battleground, and many a famous vineyard was seared iiy the ugly scar of a trench. The task of re-planting the vines was therefore a colossal one which had to be faced by the great growers at the close of hostilities. That they have succeeded, that once more the regal and time-honoured names are taking their proper places at the head of post-war vintages, is a tremendous tribute to the tenacity and purposefulness of the French character. To under stand this fully, it should be explained that the very special cjuality of Champagne is in considerable measure due to a judicious blending of the produce of several particular vines, vines which require an incredible amount of care and attention in actual growth, as well as considerable time for their proper fruition.