Champagne & diplomacy

More than any other wine type, Champagne goes hand in hand with diplomacy.

In 1979, Lord Christopher Soames, son-in-law of Sir Winston Churchill, arrived in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as interim governor for a peace conference, bringing with him sizeable quantities of Champagne. At some point during discussions, Lord Soames is said to have been asked how matters were progressing. He purportedly replied: ‘ Rhodesia will be at peace in exactly 30 days.’ When asked how he could be so exact, Lord Soames answered: ‘ I have 30 bottles of Pol Roger left.’ According to author Janet Clarkson (the source of this anecdote from her research on culinary history), the peace treaty was concluded less than 30 days afterwards.

Like Churchill and his son-in-law, former French President Charles de Gaulle also placed great store by Champagne’s diplomatic credentials, often serving Drappier (his favourite) at state functions. In 1990, Drappier unveiled a new bottling in his honour: a vintage cuvée (80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay), produced in very small quantities. As of 2006 (the last declared vintage), the label has been switched to non-vintage to better reflect the sort of Champagne de Gaulle most enjoyed from Drappier.

Many other politicians have turned to Champagne for aiding diplomacy. On 29 August 1864, half the government of Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Québec) boarded the steamer Queen Victoria from Québec City to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), having heard that representatives of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI were set to hold a conference to discuss the creation of a maritimeonly union. The steamer’s most important passengers, Sir John A Macdonald (first Prime Minister of Canada) and George Brown, had brought with them enormous quantities of Champagne. A few days later, the subject of a maritime union was dropped, Macdonald having convinced enough delegates (many bottles later) that an ocean-to-ocean confederation was a much better idea.