The French Fire the Latest Round in the Champagne Wars

The accident that turned into a multi-billion dollar industry

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This is the story of an accident and a fight. The accident created what is today a $5 billion industry—and that kind of money explains the fight. So we’ll take this in order, then.

As legend has it, way back in 1700 a French monk named Dom Pérignon, cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers in Reims, made the mistake of corking his wines before they were fully fermented, allowing carbon dioxide to build up inside.

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