Dom Perignon

Selecting the last French wine for my top ten took a lot of consideration. I could have gone with a wine from the Chateauneuf du Pape region in the Rhone and selected a producer like Clos du Pape or Chateau Beaucastel. Or I could have chosen a different Champagne, perhaps Louis Roederer's Cristal, Krug's Grand Cuvee, Tattinger's Comtes de Champagne, or Clicquot's La Grande Dame. But of all the Tetes du Cuvees (best wines of Champagne), I selected Dom Perignon by Moet & Hennessy (yes, the same wine group that owns the infamous Chateau d'Yquem). I chose Dom because I believe it's the ultimate symbol of celebration and class. While it may have been popularized by rap stars and celebrities, the wine is iconic, and displays the very essence of Champagne: glitz and glamor, yet refined elegance. Today the winery's total production is kept secret, but is definitely in the five figure range. A bottle from a great vintage like 1996 (an outstanding year) sells for between $150 and $400, depending on the condition.

Dom Perignon is named after the famous "blind", Benedictine monk. It turns out many of the stories surrounding Dom Perignon are questionable at best. The first was that he was not blind at all, but tasted blind, meaning he would taste his wines without knowing the source of the vineyard. Beyond not being blind he is quoted as saying, "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!" Which turns out was a late 1800's print advertisement for the wine, not an actual quote. But the biggest misconception about Dom Perignon is that he is recorded by some, specifically Moet & Chandon for marketing purposes, as being the discoverer of how to make wine sparkle. He, in fact, was not the first to make sparkling wines. It was actually discovered by an Englishman in the mid 1600's.

In short, his story, while romantic and quasi-believable, is a long list of misconceptions and falsifications. The wine that bears his name, however, is some of the finest in the world. While a bit overpriced, Dom Perignon is the absolute definition of world-famous. Because no matter where you go in the world, when you order a bottle of Dom Perignon, people know you are looking to celebrate something marvelous, even if it's simply delicious Champagne