250th anniversary of Ruinart Rose
Did you know that Ruinart were the first champagne house to ship rosé champagne back in 1764? That fact was only recently discovered by the house when the was doing a bit of research into their archives. Although Veuve Clicquot was the first to do an assemblage rosé back in 1880, Ruinart was the first to ship a rosé champagne in 1764. According to the House accounts books, on March 14th 1764 a shipment of ‘120 bottles, 60 of which were Oeil de Perdrix’ was sent off to the Baron de Welzel as well as to the Austrian Empress Marie-Thérèse.
credit: wikigallery.org
‘Oeil de Perdrix’ refers to the colour of the eye of a dead Partridge. After the bird has been shot, its eyes take on a delicate pink coppery colour which perfectly describes the colour of Ruinart brut rosé. Throughout the years, the French had various terms to describe a rosé, roset, oeil de perdrix, rozet, paille, clairet and cerise. However, by the end of the 18th century, oeil de perdrix had disappeared and was replaced by rozet and finally with rosé.
This year is the 250th anniversary of that first shipment of ‘Oeil de Perdrix’ and Ruinart has a variety of activities planned to mark the occasion. One of the first was the debut of edible pearls at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden this past February. The pearls are soft, slippery beads, reminiscent of the texture of caviar, that are filled with either a rose or raspberry gel, not too sweet, which complements the rosé. The edible pearls will be available at select venues with the purchase of a glass of Ruinart rose.
Something different that’s for sure. It’s nice to see the Champagne Houses continually striving to expand and enhance the champagne drinking experience.