Champagne (wine region) soon followed by Chanoine Frères (1730), Taittinger (1734), Moët et Chandon (1743) and Veuve Clicquot (1772). The nineteenth century saw an explosive growth in Champagne production going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850. A strong influence on Champagne wine production was the centuries-old rivalry between the region and Burgundy. From the key market of Paris to the palace of Louis XIV of France at Versailles, proponents of Champagne and Burgundy would compete for dominance. For most of his life, Louis XIV would drink only Champagne wine with the support
Sealed bottles as "onion bottles". Around 1636 English law prohibited the sale of wine by the 'bottle' in England, according to Jancis Robinson's "Oxford Encyclopedia of Wine". Individuals were encouraged to have private bottles made carrying their own seals which they then took to a wine merchant who filled them with wine from a cask using a liquid measure. Sealed bottles Sealed bottles have an applied glass seal on the shoulder or side of the bottle. The seal is a molten blob of glass that has been stamped with an embossed symbol, name or initials, and often it included a date. Collectors