History
How sparkling wine became what it is, date by date, with traditions marked apart from documented history.
TimelineEvery dated event in sparkling wine history, with sourcesDated events from 1531 to 2021Dom Pérignon: documented and legendWhat documents show about the monk, and where the inventor story beganHautvillers Abbey, 1668-1715Christopher Merret, 1662The 1662 paper that recorded sugar being added to wineRoyal Society, London, 17 December 1662How Champagne got its bordersCourt rulings, decrees and laws that drew the Champagne boundaryFrom the 1887 court ruling to the 1941 CIVCProtecting the name ChampagneAngers 1887, "Spanish Champagne" 1960, "Champanillo" 2021Court rulings from 1887 to 2021When the Champagne houses were foundedWhen Gosset, Ruinart, Moët, Clicquot, Bollinger, Krug and others beganFounding dates from 1584 to 1932Cava, Asti, Prosecco, Sekt: other historiesKey dates of sparkling wine outside ChampagneLimoux, Cava, Asti, Prosecco, Trento, Sekt, Russia, England, South AfricaInventions: cork, bottle, riddling, museletWhen cork, the strong bottle, riddling, the muselet and cold disgorging appearedFrom cork stoppers in 1685 to cold disgorging in 1884Champagne shipments by yearBottles shipped in France and abroad since 1947, with the stated causes of recent changesFrance and export, 1947-2025Prosecco bottles by yearConsortium bottle figures for Prosecco DOC and the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCGProsecco DOC and Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, 2009-2025Cava bottles by yearBottles of Cava per year from the regulatory council, with the drought years 2024 and 2025D.O. Cava totals, 2000-2025