A Century of Upheaval: Podcast Series Charts How Champagne Became Champagne

What happened

Wine Industry Advisor published the second and final part of its podcast series on the history of Champagne on 19 June 2026. Drawing on a 200-page encyclopaedia of the region's past, the series traces how Champagne evolved from a still wine into a product that sparkles with intention and consistency. This concluding episode moves through the innovations of the 1800s, examines the contributions of Veuve Clicquot to the region's production methods, and carries the story through to the upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century, including phylloxera, the Champagne Riots, German occupation during the First World War, and the Prohibition era.

Why it matters

The arc from accidental effervescence to controlled, repeatable sparkling wine production is not merely a technical footnote — it is the foundation upon which Champagne's global reputation rests. The 1800s represented a decisive period: producers moved from managing an unpredictable secondary fermentation to mastering it, and that mastery became the bedrock of the region's commercial identity. Understanding how that transition was achieved, and how it survived successive crises, offers essential context for appreciating why Champagne occupies the singular position it does in the world's wine markets today. The Union des Maisons de Champagne, as a body representing the region's houses, is among the entities whose historical role the series addresses.

Context

Champagne's path to modernity was far from smooth. The phylloxera louse devastated French vineyards in the latter decades of the nineteenth century, and the region was not spared. The Champagne Riots, which erupted in the early twentieth century over questions of grape sourcing and regional boundaries, reflected deep tensions within the industry itself. The First World War then brought German occupation to parts of the region, placing production and livelihoods under direct threat. Each of these disruptions tested the resilience of Champagne's producers and, ultimately, shaped the regulatory and commercial structures that govern the appellation today. The podcast series, rooted in a substantial historical encyclopaedia, provides a structured account of how the region navigated each of these episodes.