The history of sparkling wine began in England in the middle of the17th century using still wine from the Champagne area of France. The sparkling wine process developed in Champagne late in the 17th century. Sparkling wine has since spread throughout the world.
The first documented intentional processes for sparkling wine production were from England in 1662. It wasn't until the English began using coal to fire their glass in the early 17th century that bottles were strong enough to make sparkling wine possible.
The first recipe for adding "sugar and molasses" (which would intentionally initiate a second fermentation) was presented in a document on December 17, 1662 by Christopher Merret to the Royal Society in London. At the time, the English were importing still wine from Champagne in casks and bottling it. This practice continued until late in the 17th century.
The English had begun using coal to fire their glass in the early 17th century. Coal fired glass is much stronger than the wood fired glass used in France at the time. Beginning in the 1620s, the English would bottle the wine from the casks using their stronger coal fired glass. It was very difficult for wood fired glass to hold up to the pressure from the carbon dioxide in fully sparkling wine, but the evolution of coal fired glass including further strengthening by the addition of manganese and iron for color, made it possible. The French did not begin experimenting with coal fired glass until late in the century. In addition, the English were using cork as a stopper years before the French, who did not begin experimentation with cork until nearly the end of the 17th century at the earliest.
There is no doubt the production of sparkling wine in champagne was a progression over time. Accidental fermentation in bottles was not uncommon throughout the entire history of world wine production. The current process was more of an evolution than an invention. The intentional production of sparkling wine using a secondary fermentation apparently began in England using French still wine from Champagne.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Champagne area wines were adopted by nobility, but the wines were still, they did not sparkle. Dom Perignon did not arrive at the monastery in Hautvillers until 1668. Dom Pierre Perignon's accomplishments were remarkable. The monk did much to improve winemaking, including improving vineyard management, devising the blending practice, and perfecting the method for making white wine from dark grapes in Champagne. However, he spent much of his early years trying to eliminate fermentation that sometimes occurred after bottling, not inventing it. He died in 1715 at the age of 77. He is buried in the choir of the Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers in the Champagne region of France.
In the last years of the 17th century (probably around 1695) the first sparkling wine production began in France. Ruinart, the oldest surviving Champagne house to exclusively produce sparkling wine, was not established until 1729. Others such as Moet, Roederer, Clicquot and Heidsieck followed.
Go to our Champagne History report for details.