In a way, Perrier brought Champagne to another level of complexity it might have completely missed out on, as vintage ties Champagne to winemaking and time. In 1854, Perrier Jouet produced the first brut champagne in history. The first stone of the famous Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut is laid. From 1870, the new dry style was introduced for all Perrier champagnes, and it did not take long for the whole competition to follow. Treat rosé sparkling wine as you would treat any Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and other sparkling wine of comparable quality. For storing in any long-term sense, these should be kept at cellar temperature, about 55F. For serving, cool to about 40F to 50F. As for drinking, the best glasses have a stem and a flute or tulip shape to allow the bead (bubbles) and beautiful rosé hue to show. How long do rosé Champagne and sparkling wine last? It’s made using just three grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier (the latter two being red grapes). Each champagne house will have its own cellar master — a figure responsible for selecting just the right quantity of each, to perfectly represent the brand’s signature style.

In that classic tale of “one brother works, the other brother throws himself into an extravagant flourishing arts scene,” Henri Gallice and his brother Octave took over for their uncle Charles. Henri managed the family business while Octave headed to Paris to enjoy the aforementioned Beautiful Age. While Henri worked and Octave, presumably, loafed, that loafing paid off: In Paris, Octave met Art Nouveau artist Emile Gallé, who made a career putting elegant floral prints on vases, among other things. Octave commissioned Gallé to create the iconic Belle Epoque bottle design in 1902. And thus, it’s entirely possible the less hardworking brother had a more lasting impact on the Perrier-Jouët legacy than his hardworking brother. There are two main methods to make rosé sparkling wine. Typically, either white wine is blended with red wine to make a rosé base wine, or only red grapes are used but spend a short period of time on their skins (maceration) to make rosé colored juice before pressing and fermentation. In either case the base wine goes through a second fermentation (the one that makes the bubbles) through any of the various sparkling wine making methods. What gives rosé Champagne and sparkling wine their color and bubbles? After artist Emile Gallé came up with the now iconic flower print you’d likely recognize on the bottle (they’re Japanese anemones, beautiful in real life, too), the bottles were too expensive to mass-produce, so the handful of magnums with the design were cellared — and lost for about 60 years until cellarmaster André Bavaret rediscovered them in 1964 and shared the find with the house’s marketing and sales director, Pierre Ernst (who was, reasonably, super excited). The long-lost magnums were re-released in 1969 and named the Belle Epoque Cuvée. Only one other Belle Epoque bottle design, called “Florale,” has been commissioned since, and over a century later, from renowned Japanese floral artist Makoto Azuma in 2012.The original husband-and-wife team was inspired by the winemaking possibilities of the Cramant and Avize regions within Epernay, and this chalky terroir went on to define the Perrier-Jouët style. While chardonnay tends to bring with it elegance and finesse, pinot noir will make the juicy red fruit pop. If you like your fizz with a savoury, toasted note — think brioche and biscuit — look out for one that’s had a few years ageing in oak. Rosé champagne pairings Unlike regular champagne, which can be slightly more limited, rosé champagne is versatile when it comes to food pairings. Lighter styles work wonderfully with the natural sweetness in prawns and grilled lobster, while fuller bottles can hold their own with earthier flavours, including game and truffles.

When couples tie the knot, they often celebrate with a Champagne toast. Nicolas Perrier and Rose Adelaide Jouët did that, too, just with a lot more of it. The couple, who founded the Champagne brand, both had prior ties to the wine industry. After getting hitched, they extended their partnership to the Perrier- Jouët Champagne house in 1811, a year after they were married. Unless you’re the one person at the party who knows how to say Moët & Chandon, you probably also didn’t know that you’re supposed to pronounce the “et” part of Jouët. Those two dots mean everything you learned about trailing off at the end of French words ending in “et” was wrong. Per this very helpful video from Social Vignerons, it’s pronounced “Pair-e-yay Zjhooooo-ET” (you don’t have to overemphasize the “et,” but we like people to know so they can learn, too). The secrets of the Perrier-Jouet house are transmitted from cellar master to cellar master. In two centuries, Perrier-Jouet has employed only 7 cellar masters. When Charles Perrier took over for his parents in 1854, he managed the family business pretty well. He also helped alter the way Champagne is consumed and understood by emphasizing the vintage, or crop year, from bottle to bottle. Not only did that become a marketing tool, it connects Champagne to the seasons and (most vitally) the terroir, which is why the Champagne region is a proud, if confusing, patchwork of vineyards where yearly climate, soil, and winemaking impacts are carefully monitored and manipulated to create the most sublime vintage possible. The high acidity helps to cleanse the palate when paired with raw and cured foods, so don’t be afraid to serve it alongside oysters and carpaccio. As for sweeter varieties? Save those for young, buttery cheeses and fruit-forward desserts. How we test rosé champagne

We owe the iconic bottle to a lazy nephew.

Like all Champagne, Perrier- Jouët lives and dies by its terroir. The Champagne house acquired two incredibly important parcels of land for its Chardonnay production in the mid-19th century: the Bourons Leroy and Bourons du Midi. Both are almost pure chalk, which ups the delicacy and minerality of the Chardonnay grapes used in the blend, not to mention is blossomy floral notes. Our panel of 10 testers popped the corks of 26 leading rosé champagnes. They were asked to rate each, looking for fruity flavours, refreshing acidity and lively bubbles.

To find the finest rosé champagnes to drink right now, our discerning panel of consumers and experts were presented with 25 bottles from the leading champagne houses.

We’re all pronouncing it wrong.

That one very recognizable Perrier-Jouët bottle? It has a name: Belle Epoque. The term is French for “ The Beautiful Age,” a period in French history from 1870 to 1914 during which industrial and cultural flourishing took place. That said, the “beauty” of the age was largely relegated to upper-echelon society. La Belle Epoque symbolized whimsey, excess, and, according to this article, “the very rich’s inability to deal with the grim reality of modern life” — in other words, industrialization. The Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé cuvée is at once sensual and voluptuous, fresh and intense. Its manifold subtleties will best reveal themselves with the generous flavours of a lightly cooked salmon, or be brought out by an accompaniment that combines the aromas of red fruits and the freshness of baby carrots, tomatoes or sorrel sauce.