WINE OF KINGS

The Champagne region in north east France, from which the e ervescent tipple hails, is also historically where the kings of France were crowned. So it’s no surprise that the drink has had royal associations from the beginning. Reims Cathedral, at the region’s centre, was the site of 29 coronations of the kings of France, from Henry I in 1027 to Charles X in 1825, including the 1429 crowning of Charles VII in the presence of Joan of Arc. Local wine would have been served and as such champagne became the drink of kings. Thanks to marketing campaigns in the 19th century, as champagne houses jumped on the royal connection, champagne continued to be associated with such elevated status.