Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 371 Champagne

Everyone wiped their hands and chopsticks with hot towels and started eating, while the waiter opened champagne and poured it for everyone.

Champagne refers to white wine produced in the Champagne region of France. However, the word Champagne was first used for wine in 1657 in a Swiss village called Champagne. The word Champagne was first used for wines from the Champagne region of France in 1906.

In 1998, France demanded that Switzerland stop using the term "Champagne" in exchange for opening up European skies. Switzerland agreed, and thus "Champagne" became the exclusive French term for alcoholic beverages, making Champagne a French specialty. However, Champagne actually originated in England, at least twenty years earlier than in France, when it didn't yet have bubbles at six times the pressure of air.

Later, the secondary fermentation method was developed in France, which made Champagne a sparkling wine. China also produced Champagne using the French method, but production ceased later due to protective clauses in European and American laws.

The waiter holds the bottle neck from the bottom with his left hand, tilting the bottle opening outward at a 15-degree angle. With his right hand, he peels off the wrapping paper from the bottle neck and loosens the twisted part of the wire mesh lock. As he removes the mesh with his right hand, his left thumb presses down on the cork that is about to burst out. Then, he replaces his left thumb with a napkin and pinches the cork with his palm.

The moment the cork popped out, my right hand quickly pried it off to the right. The "pop" sound wasn't very loud, but it was quite clear.

When pouring champagne, the server holds the bottle in the middle with their left hand, supporting the neck with their index finger, and gently supports the bottom with their right hand. When first poured into the glass, bubbles will rise up. The server pours a small amount first, and then continues to pour until the glass is about half full as the bubbles subside. Finally, the server holds the bottle upright to prevent the wine from spilling.

Of all wines, only Champagne must be sealed with a cork. Other types of wine don't require a cork, and most don't. Only wines sold in my country, regardless of quality or type, use corks, and I don't know why.

Champagne is the king of wines and is known as the wine of victory.

Anji Old Shop sells Sec and Demi Sec sweet white wines from the French Beaumont-Sur-Vesle winery. These are the best wines to pair with Chinese food and are suitable for Chinese people to drink. Old Chen somehow managed to get them in. The wines are from the 88 and 90 vintages, which are considered to be the best quality champagne ever made.

When Chinese people learn something from abroad, they always prioritize their own interests, and taking things out of context and cleverly extracting superficial information is a common approach.

The definitions of so-called famous brands and famous wines are all self-defined by Chinese people. Foreigners drink wine as a cultural practice, and there is no such thing as a brand or famous wine. All wines do not have brands. The so-called brand is just the name of the winery that produces it.

The term "Lafite" simply means that the Lafite winery produced a batch of relatively high-quality wines that year due to favorable sunlight conditions; it does not mean that all wines from the Lafite winery are famous, high-quality, or big-brand wines.

The price of wine is determined by its quality, not its brand.

Perhaps this winery produces a batch of high-quality wines this year, becoming famous and sought after overnight. But the following year, for some reason, the quality of the wine declines, and it immediately becomes worthless and is rejected. Therefore, wineries abroad are working hard to research processes, improve grape cultivation techniques, and enhance wine quality, rather than engaging in self-promotion and relying on brand recognition.

It seems like something changes its flavor once it gets to China.

The waiter, holding the champagne bottle on a napkin, gave a slight bow and said, "The wine is poured, please enjoy." He gently corked the champagne and placed it on a special stand with ice underneath to effectively maintain the wine's temperature.

Aunt Wang picked up her wine glass, looked at it, and said, "What kind of wine is this? It smells quite nice. Is it intoxicating?"

The waiter bent down and whispered in Aunt Wang's ear, "Auntie, this is French champagne, which is white wine. It's sweet, and drinking a little won't make you drunk or give you a headache. It feels similar to soda, but the alcohol content is only slightly higher than beer."

Aunt Wang took a slow sip and said with a smile, "It's delicious! Much better than that cheap beer, it's like fruit juice. I'll keep a few bottles at home to drink in the evenings. By the way, how much is a bottle?"

The waiter glanced at Xiaowei, who smiled and said, "This is imported from France, and we sell one bottle for 1,200 yuan."

Aunt Wang was drinking when she heard Xiao Wei's words and choked, coughing. Xiao Hong and the waiter quickly patted her back to help. After coughing a dozen times, Aunt Wang took several deep breaths to stop coughing, patted the waiter to express her gratitude, and then said, "My goodness, you scared me to death! More than a thousand yuan a bottle? This isn't drinking, it's just spending money! Forget it, I can't afford this stuff, let's not do it."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "If you like to drink, then drink. How many bottles can you drink if you keep going? I can afford it. Just make sure you and your uncle are doing well. Eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want. Being happy and healthy is the most important thing. Money is meant to be spent, right? Why save it?"

Chen Hui said, "Yes, Auntie, don't always think about how much money we have. We always earn more than we spend. You should learn from my parents: just enjoy life. Earning and spending money is Xiaowei's and my business."

Aunt Wang glanced at Xiao Wei, then looked at her daughter's face and said with a smile, "Alright, whatever, I'll drink it as soon as you bring it."

The restaurant got busier, with about half the downstairs seats occupied, and I didn't know how many tables were left in the private rooms upstairs. With more people, it got noisy, and more people started smoking, so the waiter went over and turned on the ventilation.

As soon as the music stopped playing from the speakers, the performers, dressed in classical costumes, slowly walked to the center of the stage with their guqin (a seven-stringed zither). They bowed slightly to all four sides, then sat down, laid the guqin flat, closed their eyes, and remained still for a moment. With a flick of their fingers, a "zheng" sound rang out, silencing the entire audience. Everyone closed their eyes and listened intently, and even those walking by noticeably slowed their pace.

As the guqin piece ended, its lingering melody still echoed. The girl who had played stood up, bowed, and left the stage with her instrument. A boy in ancient costume stepped onto the stage, saying nothing, but holding a bamboo flute horizontally, a melodious flute tune began to play. Xiao Wei raised an eyebrow and whispered to Chen Hui, "They've added someone?"

Chen Hui looked at the stage and said, "They're from the music academy. They signed an internship base agreement, and now the stage is always full. There are too many people wanting to come, so we can only pick and choose who gets to perform."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Sure, let's choose several different ancient musical instruments and try out different styles. Are there any songs that can be sung with instruments? Have you asked?"

Chen Hui scratched his head and said, "Yes, but there aren't enough. I listened to a few and none of them seemed quite right. We'll keep looking, and if all else fails, we can find someone to write a few."

Xiao Wei glanced at Chen Hui and said, "You think you're writing pop songs? This isn't easy. Don't try to imitate something you'll end up with a mess."

Chen Hui said, "No, I know what I'm doing. You'll hear what I say later." Xiao Wei nodded, picked up a fried dumpling, took a bite, looked at the filling, and nodded.

Chen Hui took a sip of champagne and asked, "Hey, your house is so big, is there a room for me?"

(End of this chapter)