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    Guy paints a tale of 18th-century British aristocrats who traveled to the northern part of France each year in winter to purchase barrels of wine. Come spring, as the temperatures warmed up, they were startled to find that the wine they had stored in their cellars had produced bubbles. “Nobody really knew why it happened, but they kind of liked it,” Guy says. “Something about it seemed festive; and in many ways, it was kind of a novelty.”

    Whatever theory you ascribe to about Champagne’s origins, what is indisputable is the fact that it’s always been a luxury item, commanding a higher price than most ordinary bottles of vin. “It’s such a laborious product to make,” explains Ed McCarthy, the author of “Champagne for Dummies” and a Champagne columnist for winereviewonline.com. “It’s very intensive to make and goes through a second fermentation process…It’s a very costly product. Frankly, it’s amazing the price is as good as it is.”