Glass Shape

However, Champagne has another more colourful background, just filled with sex and scandal, and it has its origins back in Greece, well before the bubbly was invented.  The Victorians decided that Champagne was such a special drink that it deserved its own shape of glass, and thus the Champagne saucer evolved.

Glass Shape: Greek Gods. But the Champagne saucer or coupe was not invented by Victorian England, but rather originally belonged to the Greek Gods. Now, you might say, this is a bit far fetched, but we're told by the French author Maurice des Ombiaux, in his book 'Sein, d'Helene' that one day, a few Greek gods were having a fête, and the party included such notables as Dionysus, Phoebus Apollo and Venus Aphrodite. The group decided that Helen ought to be associated with the enchanted juice of the grape, and the best way of achieving this goal was to have a chalice moulded from her breast.  
The task of producing a cast was given to Paris (a shepherd and Apollo's protégé). The rest we'll quote, we could not write better than what is to follow.

Glass Shape: Helen of Troy. Helen appeared with her attendant, looking as radiant as Phoebe among the stars... the veil which covered her bosom was lifted and one of the two globes was revealed, pink as the dawn, white as the snow of Mount Rhodopus, smooth as the goats' milk of Arcadia. The Gods just had to sneak another look at Helen's gorgeous breast... her admirers had glimpsed a teat whose freshness was as tempting as a strawberry. So now you know why strawberries and champagne go so well together!  
The breast-shaped chalice was the creation of what was to become the forerunner of the Victorian Champagne coupe, and Champagne producers were not adverse in promoting that divine illusion of drinking from the breast of the daughter of Jupiter and Leda.

Glass Shape: Marie Antoinette. However, there is a more contemporary player, the 'Austrian whore' as she was known Marie Antoinette, who is heralded as being the inspiration of the Victorian coupe. Marie Antoinette was determined to leave her mark in history apart from eating cake.  Her reputation shocked even the libertarians of her own age, much less the prudish Victorians. Marie Antoinette had countless lovers (well connected of course) and she even confessed herself that she led the life of a despicable prostitute!  Her prowess was remarkable and in order to outdo her rivals Helen, Cleopatra, Catherine de Medici and everyone else, she had four coupes made, cast in rose-white porcelain, moulded from her breast.

Glass Size

Now there's another marketing coup (coupe) for the Champenoise, and no doubt the forerunner of the half bottle, (one coupes), a full bottle (two coupes) and magnum (four coupes). At 370ml per coupes would that make the lady a 36 or 46 cup? Interesting question, one for more research, and no doubt far more interesting than drinking out of a glass slipper.  But it wasn't only the size of Marie's coupes that intrigued the public. The night before her coronation in 1775, she spent on the Porte Neuve at Reims, an inlet of love, dressed as a Bacchante. The story goes that she spent three hours copulating with a selected Hercules (was Paris in town that night?). She is alleged to have learnt new positions from Comte d' Artois, and at Trianon experimented with the ladies of the hoold. Wow! What a lady and what a story for the bubbly producers to get hold of. It's no wonder Champagne is associated with having a good time!

Romantic Qualities

However, having delved into history for an answer about the Romantic qualities of Champagne, one feels one has to conduct a contemporary survey. No, it's not out with the yellow pages looking up Escorts, but it is asking customers a question - What's so different about champagne? The men say it's the pop, the ladies say it's the froth and bubble. Sounds like the expectations are not too different from Marie's.

Celebration

The Millenium of the year 2000, or 2001 more correctly, will be the first time in history that the change of a Millenium has been toasted with Champagne. We are witness to the greatest sparkling party of the Galaxy, as exciting as the birth of a new star, an extraordinary time to be alive. Millions and millions of Champagne corks popping all night, froth and bubble lasting long into the night (Marie's 3 hour endurance record could be broken). A truly extraordinary moment, filled with all sorts of expectations and mystery. This is living in exciting times indeed! The millenium is also a time for some serious contemplation - particularly about the human psyche and its ability to turn on other humans in the most callous of ways. If there be but one wish, one prayer, let us then pray at the dawn of the new Millenium that mankind has learnt one thing - to love and respect all life. A simple prayer and hopefully not an impossible one. Peace, love and health.

Contemplation

The millenium is also a time for some serious contemplation - particularly about the human psyche and its ability to turn on other humans in the most callous of ways. If there be but one wish, one prayer, let us then pray at the dawn of the new Millenium that mankind has learnt one thing - to love and respect all life. A simple prayer and hopefully not an impossible one. Peace, love and health.

Measure Champagne Quality

How does one describe Champagne? Sight, nose, palate is a good start to make some reasoned observations, but that would be too simple a method to be adopted by French producers. From a simple name of a French Province, Champagne has become a magic word that needs no translation in any language to be understood. The French have done such a good job in promoting their product that the name Champagne is synonymous with elegance and savoir vivre, style and refinement.  
Champagne Charles Heidsieck developed a unique way of analyzing the product. It starts conservatively enough with a statement  
ON THE EYE, followed by a statement about the nose, ON THE NOSE, and then ON THE PALATE.

Analysis

Describing a Product