Ships and Champagne

HMS Queen Elizabeth

In light of the launch of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest ever war ship produced in Britain being launched today I wondered about the origins of breaking Champagne on a ship as it is launched.

Of course that tradition was broken when Islay Malt Whisky from the Bowmore Distillery was used instead. A nice touch  as this was the first ever distillery Her Majesty had visited in an official capacity. I also wonder if there was a political element to this as the Scottish Referendum looms ever closer.

Her Majesty the Queen launches the ship of her own name
with a breaking of malt whisky

Anyway, enough about politics and whisky (that would be a good name for a blog, anyone?) you're here about wine. The tradition of wine with ship launch is thought to have originated after the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century when the religious element was removed and military figures or members of the monarchy would do the christening honours.

Originally this took the form of the 'standing cup' ceremony where the presiding official would drink from a large goblet made of precious metal (often silver) then throw the remaining liquid over the ship before throwing the 'cup' to one lucky bystander. As the Royal Navy became ever larger in the 17th century this practice began to become expensive and was replaced by the practice of breaking bottles of wine much as we see today.

But Why Champagne?
The christening of ships in the U.S.A borrowed much of the British tradition. In 1797 the USS Constitution included the breaking of a bottle of Madeira and the practice of breaking bottles was a regular feature but the liquid of choice varied from water to bourbon to brandy. The first time Champagne was used was the launch of the USS Maine in 1890. Queen Victoria launched the HMS Royal Arthur in 1891 Champagne was smashed against it as has happened pretty much ever since. Champagne has always been thought of as an aristocratic drink, especially in the 19th century, and of celebration.

Have you ever tried to smash a bottle of Champagne? No, me neither. Why would you? It's expensive enough. Due to the pressure in the bottle the glass has to be heavier and thicker than still wine. And it takes some smashing. A bit of a worry then when a failure to break is thought to bring bad luck to any ship where that happens. Need an example?

Duchess of Cornwall at the Christening
of MS Queen Victoria

At the Champagne failed to break at the Christening of the MS Queen Victoria in 2007 presided by the Duchess of Cornwall the cruise ship was beset with problems of viral illness amongst its passengers. A similar thing happened to model Eva Herzigova when she launched the Costa Concordia in 2004. The fate of that ship was rather more unfortunate with the death of 32 passengers in 2012.

Ill fated Costa Concordia

In order to prevent a situation where the Champagne fails to break cruise lines in particular score the glass of the bottle to weaken it ensuring it breaks on impact and preventing any bad luck or at the very least bad publicity.

That is all for now. I will return with another blog soon. Thanks for reading. If you would like to meet me in person and home is in the UK why not book an event with me. More information can be found at my website www.gloryofwine.com. Maybe you need an excuse for a party involving some great wines. Or come to one of my events. Do get in touch.

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Enjoy your wine. Cheers!
Simon