10 Facts About: Dom Pérignon

Dom Pérignon set the benchmark for sparkling wines more than seven decades ago as the first prestige cuvée champagne, staking its place as an aspirational beverage and symbol of affluence. That high-end status enamoured Dom P to Hip-Hop culture as rappers sought to flaunt their ascendancy from the streets to penthouse suites in the mid-90s, referencing the pricey champagne in lyrics and visuals – perhaps no more blatantly than Little Shawn and The Notorious B.I.G. on the 1995 single “Dom Pérignon”.

Here, Rhyme & Reason delves into the legacy of the lauded champagne brand that captivated Hip-Hop in revealing 10 Facts About Dom Pérignon:  

1 ) The champagne is named after Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon.

2 ) Pierre Pérignon served as the cellar master at the Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers [northern France] until his passing in 1715.

3 ) Pierre Pérignon pioneered the use of corks and would secure them on bottles with oil-soaked hemp strings.

4 ) Dom Pérignon is a vintage champagne, that is, it is made using grapes grown and harvested in a single specified year, and forgoes production in years of weak harvest. 

5 ) The first vintage of Dom Pérignon is recorded as 1921 and was only made available for sale 15-years later in 1936.

6 ) Billionaire James Buchanan Duke, founder of the American Tabacco Company, was amongst the first to purchase the champagne when it was released - ordering 100 bottles of Dom Pérignon 1921.

7 ) 17 bottles from Duke’s initial order of Dom Pérignon were discovered in his daughter’s cellar upon her death in 1993. Duke’s wine collection, including those 17 bottles, were sold at auction in 2004 for $USD3.75 million.

8 ) Magnums of Dom Pérignon 1961 were served at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, with each bottle carrying a special insignia designed exclusively for the ceremony.

9 ) Dom Pérignon first began producing rosé in 1959 at the behest of the Shah of Iran, who requested several bottles for his wedding that year.

10 ) The 3-litre bottles of Dom Perignon Vintage 1995 White Gold Jeroboam are believed to be the most expensive bottles of champagne marketed to public; valued at $USD17,000 and sheathed in white gold.