“Pét-Nat,” or “pétillant naturel,” is the term given to sparkling wines made with a single fermentation. Fermentation is started in-tank, then the wine is put into a bottle and topped with a crown cap, like those on beer or glass soda bottles. The yeast in the bottle will continue to ferment the sugar in the grape juice, and the carbon dioxide that is a byproduct of fermentation has nowhere to go, except into the wine itself, yielding a sparkling wine.
Christening a ship for good luck before its first voyage dates way back. There were blessings in ancient cultures involving drinking of wine or even animal sacrifices, many of which had religious tones to them. Often, friars in the middle ages would board maiden British ships and pray while laying hands on the mast, and would sprinkle holy water on the deck or bow.
Champagne dates back centuries to the days when Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon was the cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers, assigned to oversee wine production. One of his duties was to try to prevent wine from becoming bubbly, which at the time, was thought to ruin the wine. He and his fellow monks altered the grapes used in the wine production and eliminated skins to see if that made a difference.
