Wine 101: The History of the Champagne Toast

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today, in honor of New Year's Eve, Shannon Spare explores the history of the Champagne toast.

This Friday night, all across our great (albeit snowy) state of New Jersey, people will be pouring bubbly and toasting at midnight. It's a time-honored tradition, we do it without thinking much about it: On New Year's, at weddings, at holiday parties and even "just like that." But where did it come from? Why do we clink our glasses so ceremoniously?

There are a few different legends, and it's hard to pinpoint which one is correct as they've all been passed down from generation to generation with no real basis on actual fact. The best legend I found dates back to medieval times, when water was often polluted so wine was thought to be one of the only "safe" liquids to drink. Interestingly, the primitive winemaking methods introduced large amounts of sediment into the wine, so it was easily poisoned. When hosting an event, to prove to the guests that their wine was not tainted, the host would pour a small amount of the guests' wine into his own glass and take a sip. When the guests and host were more intimate acquaintances, the guests naturally already had trust for the host, so to signify that he could skip the tasting ritual, the guests would simply clink their glass with the host's glass and drink. Thus, the "toast" was born.

People toast across the world. Many countries traditionally toast to "health": The Dutch say "Prost!," the French proclaim "Sante," Russians shout "Vashe zdorovie!" and everyone knows the traditional Irish "Slainte!" In Asia, toasts are celebrated by saying "Ganbei!" in China and "Kanpai!" in Japan, both which mean "Dry your cup!"

Here in America, in addition to our "Cheers!", we generally raise our glasses and make a speech about the occasion. Occasionally you'll hear chants of "Hear hear!" before the toast is made. This is thought to come from the days of the Towne Crier, who shouted "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" in order to gain everyone's attention before he began with the announcements.

At any rate, pour yourself some bubbles this Friday night or any night, and "drink the stars," as Dom Perignon would say.

Happy New Year, and CHEERS!