I Am Drinking Stars!

Book excerpt: I¿m Drinking Stars tells the luxurious story of champagne over 400 years. Pivoting around one of champagne¿spioneers Dom Pérignon and the brand named after him, the book explores the delectable overlap between history andlegend. In late 17th-century France the modest abbey in the Champagne village of Hautvilliers collected its taxes from farmers in the form of grapes. The Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon was responsible for the production of wine at the abbey, and by refining his techniques over 47 years he anticipated the méthode champenoise and created in his own words, ¿the best wine in the world¿. Through Dom Pérignon¿s wine both the abbey and its region became famous.I¿m Drinking Stars traces Dom Pérignon¿s elaborate history through the 17th, 18th, and 20th centuries: from the monk¿sinitial experiments, to Louis XV¿s hedonistic court at Versailles; from Marilyn Monroe¿s glamorous patronage of thechampagne, to Karl Lagerfeld¿s recent creations for the brand.