At The Hamper Lounge, we stock a carefully curated range of luxurious hampers and gifts, including the wonderful Dom Perignon champagne and many champagne hampers and gifts. Whilst this brand is famous the world over for excellence, few people know the true story behind the name. Here’s our brief guide…
Who was Dom Perignon?
Dom Perignon is a vintage champagne brand produced by Moet & Chandon. It’s the house’s premiere champagne - but has roots which extend far beyond any links to the modern age. Much of what makes Dom Perignon great can be attributed to one man, a monk named Pierre Perignon, who has wielded significant influence. The brand’s namesake was a Benedictine monk, who helped to pioneer Champagne creation. Perignon was born in 1638 and controlled the wine cellars of his abbey in Hautvillers. He took his task seriously, and helped improve the wine quality significantly, as well as introducing an early form of wine cork by fasting the corks to bottles with oil-soaked string, as a method of keeping the wines tasting fresher for longer. Amongst Perignon’s other achievements was the use of thicker glass on his wine classes, which prevented the breakages which had previously become commonplace. Whilst he worked with sparkling wine, Champagne didn’t begin to gain its reputation as a ‘sparkling’ wine until the 19th century, long after Perignon’s death in 1715.
Development of Dom Perignon brand
While Perignon can be considered the grandfather of Champagne thanks to his experimentation and dedication, the drink was only approximately 10% of the Champagne region’s output during the 18th century – though it grew in popularity, and by the 1800s there was a thriving sparkling wine industry. The first bottle of Dom Perignon was made in 1921 - and made available for sale as a vintage champagne in 1936. The wine was immediately popular, with hundreds of boxes shipped to the United States alone. The 1943 vintage of Dom Perignon marked a turning point for the brand, now acquired by Moet & Chandon and stored in 18th century style bottles to add an extra lustre. Subsequent vintages have been cultivated, marketed and sold by Moet & Chandon, right up to the present day.
Eager to try Dom Perignon champagne for yourself? Then head over to the Hamper Lounge online store to browse a selection of champagne hampers, perfect for toasting to the successes of the brand’s namesake!
