Food Holidays: December 31st, 2021

Welcome to New Year’s Eve the perfect time to celebrate National Champagne Day. If you don’t have a bottle of Champagne chilling and would like to celebrate the Holiday your welcome to come here. David has several different varieties I am sure he would be happy to share with you.

National Champagne Day

National Champagne Day, celebrated informally on December 31st, is all about enjoying sipping on Champagne. The Holiday comes at a perfect time on New Year’s Eve, especially for Champagne lovers. Giving Champagne drinkers an even better excuse to pop open a bottle — or two!

HISTORY OF NATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY

Before everyone was mentioning this Holiday with hashtags on Social Media, National Champagne Day was introduced in a few books during the mid-2000s. In 2007, the books “Practically Useless Information on Food” and “Drink Wine Enthusiast” both recognized the Holiday on August 4th. However, National Champagne Day doesn’t have an official registration date. Since Champagne is traditionally popped on New Year’s Eve, the majority of the world unwittingly celebrates it in that way!

After first appearing on Twitter in 2010, the Hashtag #NationalChampagneDay has increased in popularity, especially during December and January. Restaurants and Alcohol traders take full advantage of this National Holiday by hosting events centering around Champagne to attract customers.

Where did Champagne originate from? You could probably imagine yourself sipping Champagne somewhere in the Countryside of France, which would be pretty accurate because this type of Wine came from North-Eastern France. It has transformed from originally being a pinkish, pale still Wine to the sparkling Wine that is associated with the region today. The Romans planted the first Champagne Vineyards and had begun cultivating them by around the 5th Century, or earlier.

After the death of Louis XIV of France in 1715, the Court of the Duke of Orléans, Philippe II, made the sparkling version of Champagne the drink of choice among the French Aristocracy. During the 19th Century, the modern Champagne industry began to take shape. This period saw the establishment of several of today’s famous Champagne houses, including Krug, Pommery, and Bollinger. However, the two World Wars in the early 20th Century caused major stumbling blocks for the rise of this industry. The Russian and American Champagne markets were also lost due to the Russian Revolution and Prohibition.

Fast forward to the modern era, and Champagne’s popularity surged once again. The Wine was once more associated with both extravagance and celebration, and sales quadrupled since 1950. Today, the Champagne region of France — made up of the Aube, Marne, Haute-Marne, and Ardennes departments and they produce over 200 million bottles with a worldwide market, enticing French authorities to look into expanding the 86,5000-acre region to facilitate more production.

HOW TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY

1. Since its New Year’s Eve there’s every reason to pop open a bottle of Champagne and celebrate in style. Champagne is a celebratory party drink, associated with luxury. If you have been saving a bottle, consider savoring the taste.
2. There’s a reason Champagne breakfasts are a thing! Mimosas first thing in the morning go well with everything, from Bacon and Eggs to Croissants, Hash Browns, and, Strawberries.
3. If you’re a rap and hip-hop soul at heart, you’ll enjoy this. Some mainstream rappers love to mention Champagne in their songs, including artists such as Oasis, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffett.. Here are a few songs you can add to your playlist: “Champagne Problems” by Meghan Trainor, “Champagne” by Sugarcult — the list goes on!

5 FACTS ABOUT CHAMPAGNE THAT WILL POP YOUR MIND

1. Did you know there are about 49 million bubbles inside a standard bottle of Champagne?
2. A standard size glass of Champagne emits 30 bubbles every second.
3. Did you know the pressure in a Champagne bottle is about three times the amount of pressure inside car tires?
4. Here is a fun fact you can share with the Beer Lovers in your life. Champagne has three times more Carbonation than Beer.
5. Winston Churchill was one of the biggest Champagne drinkers on record. Between 1908 and 1965, the former British Prime Minister drank an estimated 42,000 bottles!

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL CHAMPAGNE DAY

1. People might assume the French love Champagne the most, but they are not the only ones! The U.K. is actually high on the list of Champagne consumption. Ranking in 4th place with 0.45 liters per person. Behind only Switzerland, Belgium, and France.
2. Champagne was traditionally associated with luxury, nobility, and celebration in 18th-Century France, but the theme still applies today! Most of us might not be from a line of French nobility, but this doesn’t mean Champagne is not a fun party drink! The most expensive bottle of Champagne costs $2.07 million, which was designed by Alexander Amosu in collaboration with Swarovski, and handcrafted from 18-carat solid gold, with a deep-cut 19-carat white diamond at its center.
3. Well, apart from shaken not stirred Martinis. If you’re a Bond fan, you would know how much 007 loved his Champagne. In fact, James Bond has been spotted drinking Champagne more than 35 times during the films. It’s the drink he reaches for more than any other. When it comes to labels, Bond prefers Bollinger. The brand has specifically been shown in 14 of the James Bond flicks.

National Vinegar Day*

Science experiments and home remedies, a cooking staple and a sour smell. We’re talking about and celebrating one of the mysteries of the kitchen that seems as at home under the sink as it does in the pantry: Can you guess what we are talking about? Vinegar. With so many uses and recipes, it’s no wonder why the whole Country will be celebrating National Vinegar Day on November 1st. If someone asked you what Vinegar is, could you explain it? This typically falls under the Umbrella of information we file away in the “things we say we know but hope no one will ask about” folder, along with how Pineapples grow and how magnets work. In short, Vinegar is made by fermenting something passed the point of an Alcoholic drink until it’s Acidic. This is why we have different kinds of Vinegars, just as we have different kinds of Wines and Liqueurs. Get ready to try something new and learn more about this complex concoction we rarely think twice about.

NATIONAL VINEGAR DAY ACTIVITIES

1. There are several home remedies for common ailments that you can use Vinegar for. If you’ve been putting off trying these remedies, or haven’t even heard of them, try them out. One of the most common is using Apple Cider Vinegar to improve Gut Health or Acid Reflux. Be careful though — always dilute the Vinegar in Water to make it easier to drink and use a straw to avoid direct contact with your teeth.
2. What better way to get kids interested in Science especially if you’re Homeschooling than promising exploding Volcanoes, soaring Rockets, or Fire. Vinegar’s Chemical properties mean fun safe experiments that will have your kids wanting to learn more about Chemical reactions.
3. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, so get a jump on cleaning the house with a few tried and true Vinegar cleaning mixes. Mix Vinegar with Lemon for a powerful and natural bath and shower cleaner or use Vinegar straight to brighten coffee cups. Vinegar can also be a lifesaver for getting tough stains out of your favorite fabrics.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL VINEGAR DAY

1. As far back as 5,000 BC, the Babylonians were believed to have Fermented Palm Dates to create both Palm Wine and Palm Vinegar. We can assume what they did with the Wine, but it’s what they did with the Vinegar that’s more interesting. This was most likely the first instance of pickling to preserve foods to eat at a later time. 7,000 years later, this is still one of Vinegar’s most useful properties.
2. Vinegar’s unique taste interact in great ways with common ingredients. Specifically, Vinegar can kick up a dish that’s lacking flavor, or save a recipe that maybe a bit too spicy for people. It only takes a few dashes though to make the food chemicals react, so be careful. Otherwise, you may end up eating Salt and Vinegar flavored everything.
3. Beyond the standard Volcano, Vinegar can play a powerful role in teaching kids about the basics of Chemistry. There are experiments that can show how CO2 interacts with fire, what Vinegar can do to an Egg, and how to build your own battery.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates