The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-07
Popl Fizzl CIink,
Welcome To 1871

many months resounded to the su11en
roar of big guns, t. spiteful crack of
death-dealing Madms, the blare OF
martial music, and the groans and
shrieks of the dying there will be no
lack on this side Of the Atlantic of
the wine which has long been consid-
cred the appropriate beverage for a
proper celebration of the. New Year.
Little 1915 will be properly christen-
ed with the wine Of kings-and Amer
icans-in the gilded restaurants OF
Nevery big American city There will
be the sound of revelry by night, and,
more seductive than the music of
the spheres
Pops FizzI Cnnk! -
So far beneath the ground that the
most destructive of shells have not
damaged them nestled the rows on
rows of bottles in which the nectar of
the Champagne district is imprison-
ed. While some of the wine celers'
have been sacked by the Germans, and
the contents have gone to-malxe leu
ton holiday, the wine growers have
saved the greater part of their pro-
duct, and much of it has round its
way to America in time for a joyous
welcome to 1915 While the consun1-
err will have to pay more than in for
mer peaceful times, it is not likely that
that will deter many from the usual
indulgence The infant year will be
baptized in a Niagara of wine
The New Year which was ushered
in last week will mark the 25Oth an
niversary of the discovery of the wine
that pops and fixes. ~
1t was away back in 1856 that Dom
covered quite by accident the secret
of the nakingrof 'tJoy water"
The wine growers of the Marine dis
trict, the center of the true cham
payne industry, and of Rheims and
Epernay-aI1 names now fam GUS in
~, III IL Of he Of
wars-had planned for the coming
year a great celebration of the quar-
millennium of the wine of kings.
The whole world was to be invited to
the Champagne district, there to quaff
near the vineyards that produced it
the wine which-if consumed in suf-
f1cient quantfties-makes the world go
round.
Dom Perfgnon must go without his
memorial jubilee. Along the banks of
the Aube and the Upper Marine, and
throughout the most celebrated of
ne-growing districts, the people are
engaged in life and death struggle
which leaves them no time for ceIe-
brating. But hundreds Of thousands
of Americans will consume multitude
nous bottles of the nectar, and much
of the money received from the sale
of the Champagne districts famous
product will find its way into the
Golfers of the republic and be used to
the soil of France.
Hautvi1Her's Abbey, three miles
from Epernay, now and long since a
ruin, is the birthplace of the cham
payne that fixes.
In 1866 Dom Perignon, pfous Ben
edictine, was the master of the cellars
of the abbey. For centuries the
Champagne district had been famous
for wines, but they were still wines,
without a fzz or a pop in a hogshead-
The red and pink wines of the Marine
were even then considered the finest
in the world, and every royal cellar of
Europe was well stocked with them.
Dom Per1gnon-blessed be his mem
ory-Was of an inveStgative turn of
mind. He decided to try the effect
of mixing the wines. of different dis
tricts and soils. and he invented wood
en- corks for the TASKS
By what process Dom Perfgnon pro-
duced the first 'shzzy'' champagne will
never be known His wooden corks
certainly played an important part in
the discovery and the extreme depth
of the cellars Of the abbey doubtless
helped to work the miracle
In any event, some time in the
year 1856, the miracle came to pass.
well stocked wine cellars. was sur
prised by a strange sound
Pop! Fizz!
That, as nearly as It can be tran
slated into language, was what Dom
Perignon heard He looked about
him, startled. Yes, he was alone.
Then came a repetition of the noise,
end, near at hand, the monk saw a
cork fly ceilingward from a bottle,
from the neck of which came a small
torrent of foam
Such a phenomenon had never been
witnessed before. Eagerly, tremb-
lingIy, Dom Perignon seized tn bot
II, and
Clinkt
Bottle touched glass which the
to his lips the goblet or roamlng nee
tar.
The odor of the Z fragrant gases
reached Dom Perignon's nostrils be-
fore his lips had touched the glass,
and he shifted with delight Surely
the perfume of the nectar of the gods
was that which assaiJed him
He tasted wee bit, just enough
to moisten his lips and the tip of his
tongue He thrilled with ecstasy. If
the odor was delightful the taste
was-nO, not in all the expressive
French tongue could Dom Perignon
find a word to adequately describe
the ts ste. Shall we, with our cium-
~ English. attempt where he failed.
= And now, a gulp. Yes, it stands
that test. too, although none but the
greedy boor would SO con sumo so
delicate and fragrant Wine 4
but perhaps this nectar. this mir
acIe of wines, is not pleasant to the
eye! In fear and trembling Dom
Perignon holds the reflIed glass to
the candle. Miracle upon miracle!
It is clear as water, and effervescent
bubbles ascend upward from the bot
tom of the glass.
Shouting loudly, half mad, Dom
Perignon rushes from the cellar. He
stands blinking in the sunlight, while
his startled comrades listen to his bah
bling of a wine such as must have
been made in heaven. They gaze
pityingly upon the excited cellar
master, and, tapping their foreheads,
1autter, in effect, Nobody home"
Dom Perignon leads the way back to
the cellar, the robed monks following
He draws the cork from another bot