I've started a series of quick little videocasts - in them I answer a common question, or offer anecdotal facts about wine... HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM... (oh, and one little correction - Chile is on the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic... SILLY ME!)
Champagne, France, has one of the most historic, ancient, and bloody histories of almost anywhere in the world. Because this area of France borders Germany, it has lived through territorial disputes and been conquered back and forth since Attila the Hun in A.D. 451.
During the World Wars, thousands of French citizens lived underground in the Lime Stone Cellars called Crayeres. These caves were normally used to store vast cellars of Champagne. They were originally carved out during the Roman Empire. During this time of war, the French established hospitals, schools, markets and of course living quarters, all underground while heavy fighting was happening up top.
Up top the French vintners were so passionate about their vineyards that they tended them while crawling on their bellies during massive artillery fighting and air strikes. Many of them lost their lives. Nothing would stop them from pruning, and harvesting their precious fruit even during the worst of the fighting; this was after surviving the phylloxera epidemic I explained in my videocast... TALK about French Nationalism!
And I also wanted to share a little wine history with you today.
Champagne, France, has one of the most historic, ancient, and bloody histories of almost anywhere in the world. Because this area of France borders Germany, it has lived through territorial disputes and been conquered back and forth since Attila the Hun in A.D. 451.
During the World Wars, thousands of French citizens lived underground in the Lime Stone Cellars called Crayeres. These caves were normally used to store vast cellars of Champagne. They were originally carved out during the Roman Empire. During this time of war, the French established hospitals, schools, markets and of course living quarters, all underground while heavy fighting was happening up top.
Up top the French vintners were so passionate about their vineyards that they tended them while crawling on their bellies during massive artillery fighting and air strikes. Many of them lost their lives. Nothing would stop them from pruning, and harvesting their precious fruit even during the worst of the fighting; this was after surviving the phylloxera epidemic I explained in my videocast... TALK about French Nationalism!
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