Perhaps he, like many of us, shared the sentimental view espoused on the back label of a million bottles that wine is a simple agricultural product, the fermented juice of grapes that is maybe aged for a time and then bottled.
In an area 129 square miles in size, white wine grapes are grown, the product of which will be fermented a second time inside the bottle to create the fizz that is the hallmark of champagne.