Champagne Moments Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bette Davis

Not all sparkling wine is Champagne! In fact, in the EU and some countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it came from the Champagne wine region of France and is produced under the comprehensive rules and regulations rules of the appellation, which is supervised by the Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC).

They include most suitable growing places; the most suitable grapes (most Champagne is a blend of up to three grape varieties, though other varieties are allowed); and a lengthy set of requirements specifying most aspects of viticulture. "Bette Davis Eyes" was Billboard's biggest hit of 1981.

The Adverts had a 1977 hit with "Looking through Gary Gilmore's Eyes" but as far as I know, no songs have been written about the eyes of the two Royals.

Answer: Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (1883 - 1971) and Jean Patou were credited with being responsible for "the little black dress" (LBD). It is a simply cut black evening or cocktail dress, often quite short. Women love them because they are long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a slimming neutral colour. Chanel Number Five, the perfume she launched in 1921, was still a big seller in 2020.

Answer: Mark Twain

Also known as "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", the original published title of Mark Twain's 1865 short story was "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog". British author John le Carré (real name David John Moore Cornwell) also wrote about Smiley, but in his case George Smiley.

As far as I know Jules Verne never wrote about frogs.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Born Napoleone di Buonaparte in 1769 in Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte first came to prominence as an artillery commander during the French Revolution. He dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade, while leading France against a series of coalitions during the Napoleonic Wars as the first Emperor of France.

In summer 1812 he launched a major invasion of Russia but the Grande Armée collapsed in the Russian winter. In 1815 he lost the battle of Waterloo, which was immortalised in song by Abba when they won the 1974 Eurovision song contest. Adolf Hitler also ran into 'a spot of bother' in Russia, but as a teetotal vegetarian non-smoker in later life, he probably didn't drink champagne. Stalin and Roosevelt were also WWII leaders.

Answer: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Champagne became associated with royalty in the 17th to 19th centuries. The leading manufacturers made strenuous efforts to associate their champagnes with nobility and royalty through advertising and packaging, which led to its popularity in the emerging middle class.

Some Royals obviously still enjoyed it in the 20th and 21st centuries! Idi Amin may have been self-proclaimed 'King of Scotland', but wasn't.

Answer: Noel Coward

Noel Coward wrote and performed the song "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" and was also the author of many other songs and plays. Although Shakespeare (1564-1616) could have drunk a sparkling wine, of which the oldest recorded is Blanquette de Limoux, which was apparently invented by Benedictine monks in 1531, the word "champagne" does not appear in any of his plays. Oscar Wilde was an Irishman and Arthur Miller an American.

Answer: Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist. Her poetry is witty and moving. She was the author of "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." I shouldn't think Marilyn Monroe ever lacked for passes... Sylvia Plath was also an American poet, and Virginia Woolf an English writer.

Answer: Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) did, in fact, live through many hard times in his life. When he was 12, his father's debts saw him sent to Marshalsea debtors' prison in Southwark, London. His wife and youngest children joined him there, as was the practice at the time, although Charles himself was boarded with a family friend. To pay for his board and to help his family, Dickens was forced to work ten-hour days at a Blacking Warehouse, where he earned six shillings (30p) a week pasting labels on pots of boot blacking.

Many of his novels reflect autobiographical details of his life. He is still an extremely popular author, and his name has even become an adjective in the word Dickensian. The wrong answers were all prolific British novelists, but although Terry Pratchett wrote "Interesting Times", Charles Dickens was the author of "Hard Times".

Answer: Graham Greene

Graham Greene (1904-1991) wrote both "The Third Man" and "Our Man in Havana", along with verse, many other novels, four(!) autobiographies, screenplays, travel books, plays, screenplays, short stories, children's books and non-fiction. He is regarded by many as one of the finest English writers of the 20th Century.

There is even apparently a Graham Greene cocktail, though sadly it contains Vermouth, Crème De Cassis, London Dry Gin and a couple of crushed juniper berries - no champagne!

Answer: Winston Churchill

Churchill admitted he relied on alcohol as Prime Minister. He always had a glass of whiskey by him, and he drank brandy and champagne both at lunchtime and dinner. In retirement (aged 80!), he never missed having a bottle of champagne for lunch and very often had another one for dinner. However, he always maintained that "I've got more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me."