A Toast to Champagne

No other drink embodies

celebration as well as Champagne, from the moment that the cork is popped, the festivity begins. Around the world, Champagne is used to toast a new year, honor significant achievements and mark special occasions. It even christens the first launch of new ships, said to bring good luck to future voyages

As legends go, the creation of Champagne can be traced back to a young monk named Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine in the Hautvillers Abbey monastery in France. In the 1600s, he mistakenly created bubbles during wine production, thanks, in large part, to refermentation as a result of the Champagne region's cold temperatures. Upon trying a glass, he supposedly said, "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars." Though he later tried to rid his wine of the accidental bubbles, there is no doubt that his discovery played a role in the birth of the industry.

Over the years, other large Champagne producers advanced the winemaking process and increased the drink's popularity. The widow Barbe-Nicole Clicquot of Veuve Clicquot made innovations that sped up production, allowing her to take over a significant portion of the market. Near the end of the Napoleonic wars, she smuggled her wine into Russia, creating a large. demand in the transcontinental country as well. Her breakthrough in manufacturing remained a secret for years, much to competing houses' chagrin.

While it has been a long time since the widow cracked the code and created a sparkling wine that people were clamoring to find, neither Champagne's prominence nor its popularity has faded over the years. Hotel Bennett, Salamander's luxury hotel on King Street in Charleston, South Carolina, boasts an elegant, pink-hued bar named Camellias, perfect for a light. bite in between meals or a slice of the signature cake after a night out. It serves numerous bottled and by-the-glass Champagnes and cocktails and the bar offers luxury with an approachable feel Camellias has an extensive list of entry level bubbles to the high-end grower Champagnes.

Camille lames, the lead bartender in Camellias, was inspired by the bar's floral namesake in the creation of its signature drink, the "Pink Perfection." She started by producing a light and refreshing prickly pear puree with just the right amount of sweetness, paired with the hotel's locally distilled vodka. St. Germain adds the perfect light and airy notes of elderflower and the drink is topped with high quality Champagne's effervescence and colorful edible flowers, capturing the delicate style of Camellias perfectly. In addition to creative new ways to enjoy Champagne, part of the beverage's current appeal is due to a resurgence in trends of the past. "Vintage in Champagne is back, just like it happens in fashion," says Jose Curci, resort manager at Salamander Middleburg, in Virginia. "Beverages follow trends just like culture." The resort changed its glassware to maximize the flavor of the sparkling wine; instead of more familiar flutes, it drew on the education from Champagne growers and now uses 1950s-style coupe glasses The shape of the glass allows for the aroma of the sparkling wine to develop further, bringing out the true flavor while also reducing interference from the bubbles, Salamander Middleburg mirrors its locally sourced food movement with its choice in sparkling wine, Greenhill Winery's blanc de blancs. Made exclusively from white grapes with flavors of crisp green apple, pear, lychee and minerals, the blend is created just a few miles down the road in Northern. Virginia's wine country. It's even included in the rooms' minibars, for guests to access easily.

Champagne differs from other sparkling wines such as Italian prosecco and Spanish cava based on the region in which it is produced. In order for a beverage to be true Champagne-a designation granted by the Comite Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne, an organization associated with the French government that is responsible for protecting the name and reputation of the term it must be grown only in the Champagne province in northern France, in the chalky limestone subsoil that keeps the vines watered throughout the year. The area's harsh, wet climate gives the wine unique characteristics, though the traits still vary from house to house. Joyful occasions, formal or casual, are all more jubilant with Champagne. Whether picking a certified Champagne or enjoying a a crafted sparkling wine, the ritual of popping the cork and sharing a toast makes any event seem more noteworthy.