Food & Drink

Champagne was a ‘happy accident...’

Champagne plays a part in most Christmas festivities, so I thought I’d relate the history of this famous wine, which almost certainly began with a happy accident!

The Romans began organising viticulture in Champagne in the 3rd Century. Because it’s only just warm enough to ripen the grapes the wines tended to be acidic, so Champagne was still and acidic for centuries. Legend suggests that Dom Pierre Perignon, a French Benedictine Monk, ‘invented’ the drink at the abbey of Hautvilliers in 1697. He apparently discovered a bottle of still wine that had fermented again in the bottle, trapping carbon dioxide and creating bubbles. ‘Come quickly I am tasting the stars!’ he apparently called to his fellow monks before deciding this was too good not to repeat! It’s a lovely story and may even be true, but in fact sparkling wine was fi rst properly recorded in 1531 — though once again monks were responsible! Benedictines at the Abbey of St Hilaire produced Blanquette de Limoux at that time, by the simple expedient of bottling the wine before fermentation ended. Champagne was quite sweet for many years. It wasn’t until 1846 when Perrier-Jouet decided not to sweeten his wine when exporting to England that drier wines became fashionable — he even coined a new term — Brut. The latest trend is for NOT adding any sugar to the wine during second fermentation. This results in a very dry, even austere, style of wine with between 0 and 3 grams of sugar (Brut is 6-12 grams) so be wary as they’re not to everyone’s taste. Champagnes and other sparklers are normally labeled ‘Brut Nature’ or ‘Brut Zero’. Curiously, the term ‘Methode Traditionelle’ (the practice of fermenting a wine in a barrel or tank and then fermenting it a second time in a sealed bottle) was coined by an English Physicist called Christopher Merrett several years before Dom Perignon even arrived at his Abbey. This was the time when glass-blowing in England produced bottles capable of withstanding the pressure contained in a fermenting bottle of wine. The French couldn’t produce such bottles and some historians even believe the English may be the real inventors of sparkling wine (just don’t tell anyone French!). Global warming has caused signifi cant problems in Champagne. Temperatures have risen by 1.2 degrees in 30 years. To put this in perspective the harvest has moved forward 2 weeks, and the balance of acid and sugar in the grapes is becoming harder to achieve. Those of you who have been watching the rise of English Sparkling wine may be aware that the south coast of England is now arguably the best place to grow grapes for Champagne - is that a silver lining or not?! n

Dave Anning Dave Anning

New fl agship restaurant in Royal William Yard

Work is underway on the new Hub Box restaurant at Royal William Yard, which is expected to open this Easter. The renowned South West purveyors of mighty fi ne burgers will make the new 3400sq. ft waterfront restaurant its fl agship site in Plymouth, bringing awardwinning burgers, barbecue and beer to the popular waterfront destination. Taking up residence in the ground fl oor of the Melville building, Hub Box will be the fi rst business to open following extensive renovations to restore the iconic building at the centre of Royal William Yard. A busy programme of work over the coming weeks will see the historic space transformed to create a bar and 180-seat restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor courtyard and waterfront areas. The new restaurant will become the sole focus for Hub Box in Plymouth, with the city centre restaurant closing in January and staff moving across to the new premises in due course. The Royal William Yard restaurant marks an expansion for the business, offering double the space of the previous restaurant and blank canvas for the cool and creative brand to make its mark. Behind closed doors over the coming months, Hub Box will bring its signature unique and vibrant style to the Yard. The design will be a celebration of South West coast and surf culture, with a modern and spirited feel. The décor will be

light and fresh, showcasing local makers, and focusing on sustainability with reclaimed materials. New images released by the restaurant give a sneak peek of what to expect. Emily Handslip, commercial director, said: ‘We are so excited that Hub Box is joining us at Royal William Yard and adding to the amazing hospitality offer here; this is an incredible place to visit with something for everyone, and it’s just about to get even better. “ The Royal William Yard restaurant marks ‘Melville is a truly iconic building, sensitively and skilfully restored to its former glory and fi t for the future. It an expansion for the feels especially rewarding to have a business, offering successful local independent business be the fi rst to open here and make this double the space of the special space its new Plymouth home.’ previous restaurant and Richard Boon, founder and CEO of Hub blank canvas for the Box, said: ‘Refurbishing old and historic buildings has long been a passion of cool and creative brand ours and is at the heart of the Hub Box to make its mark. ” ethos. Teamed with our coastal roots, it means Royal William Yard – with its wonderful setting, amazing history and architecture – is the perfect location for our next restaurant. ‘We are thrilled to be creating a new fl agship venue in the Yard; it’s an exciting expansion to a bigger premises and job opportunities will be made available. It’ll be a busy start to the year, bringing our vision to life in this incredible space, but will be well worth the wait and we can’t wait to throw open the doors.’n