Dom Pérignon (monk) blind. Contrary to popular belief, Dom Pérignon did not introduce blending to Champagne wines but rather the method of blending the grapes "prior" to sending them to press. Dom Pérignon (monk) Dom Pierre Pérignon, O.S.B., (December 163814 September 1715) was a French Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of champagne wine in an era when the region's wines were predominantly still red. Popular myths frequently, but erroneously, credit him with the invention of sparkling champagne, which didn't become the dominant style of Champagne until the mid-19th century. The famous champagne Dom Pérignon, the prestige cuvée
History of Champagne in. By the end of the 19th century, Champagne was making its mark and embedding itself into popular culture. The early 20th century brought its share of challenges. Some of the seeds of these challenges were planted during the century before when Champagne's growing popularity encouraged Champagne houses to look outside the Champagne region for a cheaper supply of grapes. The French railway system made it easy for truckloads of grapes from the Loire Valley or Languedoc to be transported to Champagne at prices nearly half of what the houses were paying Champenois vine growers for their grapes. Newspapers published