Dom Pérignon (person)

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Statue of Dom Pérignon at Moët et Chandon

Dom Pérignon is buried in the church of Hautvilliers, région Champagne

Dom Pierre Pérignon (ca. 1638–1715) was a Benedictine monk frequently credited with the invention of champagne. The famous brand of champagne Dom Pérignon is named after him.

The quote attributed to him—"Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!"—is supposedly what he said when tasting the first sparkling champagne. However, the first appearance of that quote appears to have been in a print advertisement in the late 1800s by the producer of Dom Perignon Champagne. While the Dom did work tirelessly and successfully to improve the quality and renown of the still wines of the Champagne, he did not invent sparkling wine, nor was he the first to make champagne. Indeed he worked hard to prevent a secondary fermentation which was seen as a fault and most likely to break the wine bottles. New documentary evidence suggests that a fizzy or sparkling wine was first made in England at least several decades before it was produced in France.

In his era the in-bottle refermentation that gives sparkling wine its sparkle was an enormous problem for winemakers. When the weather cooled off in the fall, fermentation would sometimes keep fermentable sugars from being converted to alcohol. If the wine was bottled in this state, it became a literal time bomb. When the weather warmed in the spring, dormant yeast roused themselves and began generating carbon dioxide that would at best push the cork out of the bottle, and at worst explode, starting a chain reaction. Nearby bottles, also under pressure, would break from the shock of the first breakage, and so on, which was a hazard to employees and to that year's production. Dom Pérignon thus tried to avoid refermentation.

He did introduce some features that are hallmarks of champagne today, particularly extensive blending from multiple vineyards. Other innovations by him include the stopper that was fixed to the bottle with hemp rope (and later metal wire), the agrafe, and the use of bottles made of thicker glass.

Prior to blending he would taste the grapes without knowing the source vineyard to avoid influencing his perceptions. References to his "blind tasting of wine" have led to the common misconception that Dom Pérignon was blind.