Maggie's Farm

I don't get all this complaining about climate change. If it weren't for climate change we might might not have Champagne!

"Prior to the late 1400's, the Champagne region of France was in a neck and neck race with Burgundy to produce the finest wines for the French King. Because of its geological proximity to rivers that could easily reach Paris, it typically had the upper hand. But that all changed when a dramatic climate shift moved through the Northern hemisphere in the 1490's.

Plummeting temperatures not only caused the premature freezing of major rivers like the Thames, but also brought with them a shorter growing season that hit Champagne particularly hard. Yeast that converted the sugar in pressed grape juice to alcohol suddenly stopped processing mid-season. When the spring came and the temperatures began to rise again the yeast began processing sugars for a second fermentation. This produced an excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the wine and that, as they say, was that. Wine from Champagne would never be the same. "

http://www.savoreachglass.com/articles.php/17

John, I hesitated even posting this ironic piece of trivia, not wanting to give Francophliles like John Heinz Kerry one more reason to keep their snouts held high in the air. But alas, we must give credit where credit is due, and the past 225 years have been tough on the French. Since the naval blockade of Yorktown, they have not contributed much to the US of A, save a great real estate deal, Alexis de Tocqueville, and the Le Car....well 2 outa 3!

Bird Dog, since PETA is using Global Warming to drive their anti meat agenda, I wonder which of my two favorite foods produce more CO2, meat or alcohol! Not that it matters, I ain't given either of them up.