No, the French monk Dom Pierre Pérignon did NOT invent sparkling wine. He improved the process and made it viable (or as viable as he could for the time), but Méthode Champenoise was invented by a British scientist known as Christopher Merritt 30 years before Dom Pérignon set foot in Hautvilliers.
Nevertheless, his contributions were enough to the industry that he is imortalized by a statue at the Moët & Chandon location in Eperney in the heart of the Champaign region of France. Also, his name is attached to the single most famous brand of Champaign produced.
In addition to the winery shown here is Hôtel Moët & Chandon. Built as a private residence in 1793 by Jean-Rémy Moët, it hosted Napoleon and Josephine among many other distinguished guests.
Those who drank from this location’s flutes all before the hint:
- Graham Hedley
- Garfield
- Martin de Bock
- Phil Ower
- hhgygy
- Zorro the Fox
- Angie CF
- Eloy Cano
- Ashwini Agrawal
- Paul Voestermans
- Lighthouse
- Bas van Limpt