9 Fun Facts About Dom Perignon
Widely reputed as a celebratory Champagne, Dom Perignon is a sparkling bubbly associated with luxury and class. Thanks to the brand’s iconic bottle and quaint label designs, Dom Pérignon stands tall wherever luxury, classic Champagnes are mentioned.
How well do you know this classic Champagne? Here are 9 fun facts about Dom Perignon Champagne to expand your knowledge about the brand.
1. Dom Perignon is produced by Moet & Chandon
Dom Perignon is a prestige cuvée - a producer's top Champagne - created by Moet & Chandon from aged, vintage cuvees in 1921, but the brand's vintage was not released until 1936. This means that Dom Pérignon is a brand and not a Champagne House.
2. It's named after a Benedictine monk
This fact tops the list of fun facts about Dom Perignon, Dom Pierre Perignon (1638-1716) after whom the famous Champagne brand is named, was a monk and cellar master who lived in the Abbey of Hautvillers, near Reims in France. Perignon believed in hard work, and it was this diligence that inspired him to craft “the best wine in the world.”
3. Perignon didn't invent the Champagne method
While Dom Perignon is often credited for creating the official Champagne-making method, the truth is that this is a myth. The methode Champenoise, which consists of adding sugar to wine to initiate a second fermentation in the bottle, was already recorded about 6 years before Dom Perignon got into the Abbey at Hautvillers.
Of course, Pérignon brought his innovations into Champagne production: he invented the technique for producing white wines from red grapes and crafting superior wines from a blend of different grapes.
4. Dom Perignon isn't exactly a Grand Cru Champagne
For a Champagne to be labeled as a Grand Cru Champagne, it must only be produced from certain vineyards classified as Grand Cru in Champagne, France. While Dom Pérignon is a blend of many grapes from Grand Cru vineyards, each blend also contains grapes sourced from the Abbey of Hautvillers, which is classified as Premier Cru fruit.
5. Dom Perignon is always produced as a vintage Champagne
Producing approximately 5 million bottles per year, Dom Pérignon does not make a non-vintage wine. Rather, each bottling, containing grapes only from a single year, is aged for a minimum of 7 years.
Each Dom Perignon vintage is released 3 times. The first release is typically aged for about 9 years, the second release is around 18 years, and the third is around 25 years. Dom Perignon's time-aging on lees imparts complexity and richness to the luxury bubbly.
6. Dom Perignon is typically a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
The classic Dom Perignon Champagne is always based on two key grapes - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. However, every Dom Perignon offering is unique as the percentages of these grapes may vary between 50/50 and 60/40 from vintage to vintage, depending on the season's peculiar flavour profiles.
7. Dom Perignon is popular in the music world
R&B, hip-hop, and rap artists, such as A Tribe Called Quest, 50 Cent, Blue, Drake, Future, Nas, Notorious B.I.G., and many more, have paid homage to the legendary sparkling wine in various songs.
8. Dom Perignon was the toasting wine at the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles
At their wedding, the royal couple toasted to the 1961 vintage of Dom Perignon as a tribute to Princess Diana’s birth year. Reportedly, all the 99 bottles of the iconic Champagne delivered to the wedding were consumed.
9. Dom Perignon has appeared in 2 James Bond movies
In addition to appearing in Ian Fleming’s "Moonraker", Dom Pérignon has also featured in 2 Bond films - "Dr. No" and "Goldfinger". In "Dr. No", the British agent gives a nod to the 1953 vintage of the iconic bubbly and even uses a bottle of the 1955 vintage as a weapon.
We hope you found the 9 fun facts about Dom Perignon Champagnes, which of these facts is your favourite?
