Fizz & Film Night - Sparkling: The Story of Champagne

About this experience

Directed by Frank Mannion, the film features Stephen Fry, Oz Clarke, Vitalie Taittinger, Bruno Paillard and the A List from the champagne and sparkling wine world. It was filmed at English sparkling wineries such as nearby Domaine Evremond, Bolney, Hush Heath Estate, Hattingley Valley, Squerryes, Wiston Estate and the late Queen’s Vineyard at Windsor Great Park. Major champagne houses featured with British connections include Pol Roger (Winston Churchill famously drank over 40,000 bottles in his lifetime), Bollinger (appearing in 15 James Bond movies), as well as Piper-Heidsieck (Marilyn Monroe's favourite), Taittinger and Veuve Clicquot. The film explores the legend of the French monk, Dom Perignon, who famously exclaimed "I can taste the stars" when he discovered champagne, and examines the theory that the English actually invented sparkling champagne decades before Dom Perignon. It also looks at the impact of climate change - the Champagne region is gradually becoming too hot for the growing of grapes leading to the likes of Pommery and Taittinger acquiring and planting vineyards in the south of England (the chalk soil there - best manifested by the White Cliffs of Dover - is the same as the Champagne region). By exploring the origins of the drink, the film provides an affectionate look at Anglo-French relations. The New York Times described it as a "lush valentine to French and English bubbly".