Timeline

Dated events from 1531 to 2021

This timeline lists dated events in the history of sparkling wine from 1531, the year a Limoux cooperative gives for the first sparkling wine,1 to the 2021 EU court ruling on the name Champagne.2 Each line carries its source; legends and producers' claims about themselves are marked.

How to read this table: "per the house" or "per the company" marks a date that a producer gives about itself. "Legend" marks a tradition that documents do not confirm. Topic pages explain the main events in more detail: Dom Pérignon, Merret's paper, Champagne's borders, protection of the name, house founding dates, other regions and inventions.

Legend: the claim that sparkling wine was first made in Limoux in 1531 comes from a local cooperative; INAO gives 1544, and no archival document was found for either date.1,8

Before 1700

YearEventWhere
1531Legend: the Sieur d'Arques cooperative says monks of the abbey of Saint-Hilaire made the first sparkling wine this year. No archival document for it was found.1Limoux, France
1544INAO appellation pages say the monks of Saint-Hilaire made effervescent wines from this year.8Limoux, France
1584Per the house, Pierre Gosset starts a wine business trading still wines, mostly red.9Aÿ, Champagne
1654William Harvey nominates the physician Christopher Merret as first Harveian librarian of the Royal College of Physicians.10London, England
1662On 17 December Merret's paper on the "Ordering of Wines" is read to the Royal Society. It says wine-coopers add "vast quantities of Sugar and Melosses" to wines.3,10London, England
1668Dom Pierre Pérignon takes charge of the vines of Hautvillers Abbey, a post he keeps until his death in 1715.11Hautvillers, Champagne
1670-1720Comité Champagne places the deliberate choice to make sparkling wine in the region in these decades.2Champagne
1685Cork stoppers are introduced in Champagne.2Champagne

1700-1850

YearEventWhere
1715Dom Pérignon dies after 47 years at Hautvillers.11,12Hautvillers, Champagne
1729Per the house, Nicolas Ruinart founds Ruinart on 1 September and opens a ledger for "wine with bubbles".13Reims
1734Per Taittinger, the Château de la Marquetterie is built. The house pages consulted give no founding year for Forest-Fourneaux.14Champagne
1743Per the house, Claude Moët founds Moët.15Épernay
1754Aureliano Acanti names "Prosecco" in the poem "Il Roccolo, Ditirambo", the first written mention of the wine.16,17Italy
1770A new Champagne bottle of much thicker, more resistant glass appears.2Champagne
1772Per the house, textile merchant Philippe Clicquot founds the Clicquot business.18Reims
1772Francesco Maria Malvolti first links Prosecco with Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the Giornale d'Italia.16Italy
18th centuryChampagne Houses emerge (Comité Champagne names Dubois, Veuve Clicquot and Heidsieck among the first) and champagne is exported worldwide.2,7Reims, Épernay
Late 18th centuryMakers begin adding sugar to bottled wine.2Champagne
1785Per Piper-Heidsieck, Florens-Louis Heidsieck founds the house.19Reims
1798Per the house, Claude and Memmie Jacquesson found Jacquesson.20Châlons-sur-Marne
About 1800Riddling racks (pupitres) appear at the turn of the 19th century. Comité Champagne names no inventor.2Champagne
1805After François Clicquot dies, his widow Barbe-Nicole, aged 27, takes over the house.18Reims
1807Georg Christian Kessler joins Veuve Clicquot.21Reims
1810Per the house, Madame Clicquot creates the first vintage champagne.18Reims
1811Per the house, Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adélaïde Jouët found Perrier-Jouët.22Champagne
1816Per the house, Madame Clicquot invents the riddling table.18Reims
1818Per the house, Veuve Clicquot makes its first rosé champagne by blending red and white wine.18Reims
1821Dom Grossard, last procureur of Hautvillers, credits Dom Pérignon with "the secret of making sparkling white wine". Legend: this is the start of the inventor story, not contemporary evidence.11Champagne
1826Per the house, on 1 July Georg Christian Kessler founds Kessler, which it calls Germany's first sparkling wine cellar.21Esslingen, Germany
1829Per the house, Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie is founded on 6 February.23Aÿ, Champagne
1832Per the company, Adam Henkell's wine merchant business is founded.24Germany
1837Pharmacist Jean-Baptiste François develops a reliable way to measure the sugar added for sparkle..2Châlons
1842Per the company, Robert Alwin Schlumberger founds Schlumberger.25Austria
1843Per the house, Joseph Krug, formerly at Jacquesson, founds Krug.26,20Reims
1844Per the house, Adolphe Jacquesson patents the muselet.20Champagne
1848Carlo Gancia begins training at Piper-Heidsieck.27Reims

1850-1945

YearEventWhere
1850Carlo and Edoardo Gancia found Fratelli Gancia & C.27Chivasso, Italy
1856Per the company, Adam Henkell begins making Sekt.24Germany
1860Louis Pasteur identifies the yeast that turns sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide (Comité Champagne's dating).2France
1863Phylloxera reaches Europe.2Europe
1864J.J. Söhnlein founds a sparkling wine cellar.24Rheingau, Germany
1865Per the house, Carlo Gancia makes the first Italian spumante, from Moscato. The Asti consorzio repeats the claim.27,28Piedmont, Italy
1866On 11 May Gancia moves to Canelli.27Canelli, Italy
1870A decree of Alexander II founds the Abrau-Durso crown estate; the company dates it 25 November.29,30Abrau-Durso, Russia
1872Josep Raventós of Codorníu makes the first bottles of Cava by the traditional method.31,6Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Spain
1876The Royal School of Viticulture and Oenology opens, the first of its kind in Italy.17,16Conegliano, Italy
1877Ruinart acquires chalk crayères under Reims. Abrau-Durso starts producing still wine.32,29Reims; Abrau-Durso
1884Armand Walfard, owner of a Champagne House, invents cold disgorging.2Champagne
1887The Angers Court of Appeal rules that "Champagne" means only wine from the region.2Angers, France
1890Phylloxera crisis in Champagne (Comité Champagne's dating).2Champagne
1896Per the producer, first tirage of sparkling wine at Abrau-Durso. The same pages say only still wine was made until 1898.29Abrau-Durso, Russia
1898Growers and Houses found the Association Viticole Champenoise and replant on grafted American rootstock.2Champagne
1898Per the Asti consorzio, Federico Martinotti develops the first rapid sparkling method in large pressure tanks. An 1895 patent date is often quoted, but no primary source for it was found.28Italy
1902Giulio Ferrari founds the Ferrari winery. Per Perrier-Jouët, Émile Gallé designs its anemone bottle.33,22Trentino; Champagne
1905Law of 1 August on fraud lays the first foundations for protecting appellations. Champagne producers lobby for delimitation.34,2France
1908Law of 5 August bases delimitation on constant local usage. Decree of 17 December draws the first boundary of Champagne and leaves the Aube outside.34,4,35France
1911Marne growers attack Houses accused of buying wine from outside the zone, notably in Aÿ and Épernay; the army intervenes. Aube growers then riot in turn.35Marne, Aube
1914Per the company, Pedro Ferrer and Dolores Sala Vivé found Freixenet.24Catalonia, Spain
1919Law of 6 May on appellations of origin: wine appellations can never be considered generic.34France
1927Law of 22 July fixes the Champagne viticole, its grape varieties and fermentation in bottle.4France
1931Ruinart's crayères are listed as a remarkable natural site.32Reims
1932Per the house, Pierre Taittinger and Paul Evêque buy Forest-Fourneaux. On 17 December the Asti protection consortium is founded.36,28Champagne; Asti
1935Décret-loi of 30 July creates the Comité National des Appellations d'Origine and the AOC.34France
1936On 15 May the first six wine AOCs are made official. On 29 June Champagne is recognised as an AOC.34,5France
1938Limoux sparkling wines are recognised as an appellation.37Limoux, France
1941Law of 12 April creates the CIVC. Per the house, Lily Bollinger takes over Bollinger on her husband's death.5,23Champagne

1945-2000

YearEventWhere
1959The name Cava appears in an official document for the first time. Per LVMH, Chandon Argentina is founded.6,38Spain; Argentina
1960The English High Court rules against a sparkling wine sold in Britain as "Spanish Champagne".2London, England
1962On 7 June eleven producers form the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco consortium.16Veneto, Italy
1966The Strada del Prosecco opens as Italy's first recognised wine road.16Veneto, Italy
1967Asti is among the first DOC wines. The English Vineyards Association forms with 14 members and 12 associates.28,39Italy; England
1969On 2 April the Prosecco of 15 communes between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene becomes DOC.16Veneto, Italy
1971Simonsig makes Kaapse Vonkel, the first Cap Classique. Lily Bollinger's leadership of Bollinger ends.40,23Stellenbosch; Aÿ
1972The Regulatory Council of Sparkling Wines is set up and approves the name "Cava".6Spain
1973Per LVMH, Chandon California and Chandon Brazil are founded.38USA; Brazil
1976The Codorníu cellars are declared a National Artistic Historical Monument.31Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Spain
1984The Istituto Trento DOC is founded.41Trentino, Italy
1986Ministerial order of 27 February demarcates the Cava production zones. Per LVMH, Chandon Australia is founded.6,38Spain; Australia
1987Henkell and Söhnlein merge.24Germany
1988Per the producer, Nyetimber plants its first vines.42West Sussex, England
1990Crémant de Limoux is created.8Limoux, France
1991Ministerial order of 14 November approves the current Cava regulations.6Spain
1992The Cap Classique Producers Association is formed and the term Cap Classique comes into use.43South Africa
1993Asti becomes DOCG. Trento becomes DOC by decree of 9 July.28,44Italy
1996The UK Vineyards Association is founded.39United Kingdom

Since 2000

YearEventWhere
2009On 17 July the Prosecco system is reorganised: a Prosecco DOC and the DOCGs Asolo and Conegliano Valdobbiadene. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG dates from 1 August, the Prosecco DOC consortium from 19 November.17,16Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia
2011The UK producer body becomes administrator of the English and Welsh PDO and PGI schemes.39United Kingdom
2013Per LVMH, Chandon China is founded.38China
2014UNESCO inscribes the vineyard landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, including the Canelli cellars.28Piedmont, Italy
2015On 4 July UNESCO inscribes "Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars" on the World Heritage List.45,7Champagne
2016WineGB becomes the UK's wine producer association.39United Kingdom
2019UNESCO inscribes the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.46Veneto, Italy
2020The Cava Regulatory Council approves new zoning and quality tiers; 2021 is the first harvest under them.6Spain
2021The Court of Justice of the European Union rules against the "Champanillo" tapas bars.2Luxembourg; Spain

See also

Dom Pérignon: documented and legendHistoryHow Champagne got its bordersHistoryWhen the Champagne houses were foundedHistoryCava, Asti, Prosecco, Sekt: other historiesHistoryInventions: cork, bottle, riddling, museletHistoryChampagneRegions

Sources

  1. Sieur d'Arques (Limoux cooperative). Sieur d'Arques home page
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Champagne and its history
  3. Royal Society (Science in the Making archive). 'Some observations concerning the Ordering of Wines' by Christopher Merrett, RBO/2i/14 (1662-12-17)
  4. WIPO (BIRPI journal archive). La Propriété industrielle, September 1927 (reproduces the French law of 22 July 1927 completing the law of 6 May 1919) (1927-09)
  5. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). The Champagne designation
  6. Consejo Regulador DO Cava. Cava history
  7. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (World Heritage List no. 1465) (2015)
  8. INAO. Crémant de Limoux blanc (product page)
  9. Champagne Gosset. Gosset House history
  10. Royal College of Physicians (history blog). Christopher Merrett and the beginnings of champagne
  11. EPHE-PSL, LabEx HASTEC. P.-M. Sallé, 'Dom Pérignon et le champagne : la construction d'une figure et d'une légende (XVIIIe-XXe siècles)', postdoctoral research project (2023)
  12. LVMH (owner of Dom Pérignon). Dom Pérignon
  13. LVMH (owner of Ruinart). Ruinart
  14. Champagne Taittinger. Le patrimoine
  15. LVMH (owner of Moët & Chandon). Moët & Chandon
  16. Consorzio di Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco. History
  17. Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Controllata Prosecco. History
  18. LVMH (owner of Veuve Clicquot). Veuve Clicquot
  19. Piper-Heidsieck. Our House
  20. Champagne Jacquesson. Le domaine
  21. Kessler Sekt. Chronik
  22. Perrier-Jouët. History: Outstanding Maison since 1811
  23. Champagne Bollinger. Notre histoire (La Maison)
  24. Henkell Freixenet. History
  25. Schlumberger Gruppe. Über uns
  26. LVMH (owner of Krug). Krug
  27. Casa Gancia. La storia di Gancia
  28. Consorzio per la Tutela dell'Asti DOCG. Storia
  29. Abrau-Durso (official site). О нас (About)
  30. Abrau-Durso (official site). Abrau-Durso home page
  31. Consejo Regulador DO Cava. Codorníu (winery page)
  32. Mission Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne: Patrimoine mondial. La plus ancienne Maison de Champagne
  33. Istituto Trento DOC. Trentodoc home page
  34. Frise chronologique: 90 ans des signes officiels de qualité (INAO timeline) (2025-09)
  35. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Champagne ! Bibliographie sélective (exhibition bibliography) (2023-12)
  36. Champagne Taittinger. L'histoire
  37. INAO. Limoux blanquette de Limoux (product page)
  38. LVMH (owner of Chandon). Chandon
  39. WineGB. History
  40. Simonsig Family Vineyards. Simonsig home page
  41. Istituto Trento DOC. Institute and brand
  42. Nyetimber. Our story
  43. Cap Classique Producers Association home page
  44. Camera di Commercio di Trento (control body). Disciplinare di produzione DOC Trento (last amended 30.11.2011) (2011-11-30)
  45. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Champagne, a UNESCO World Heritage site
  46. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (World Heritage List no. 1571) (2019)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19