I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.

I'm Levy Dalton.

I'm Erin Scala and here's our show today. Oh, What a difference a century makes.

A difference a century makes.

100 years ago, World War I had the Champaign region in its grip.

The far-reaching economic ramifications of such a devastating war are really difficult to comprehend today.

The trenches on the Western Front lanced Champagne on the northeast side

and exposed in particular the city of rents to a near constant barrage of artillery

for a duration of about three years. This kind of disruption upset life on the

most fundamental levels.

There was less time to manage the vineyards due to consistent heavy shelling and

also because much of the labor force had been killed either away at war or by shrapnel or shelling in the vineyards.

And this led to a shortage of harvestable crop, despite the quality of the vintage, which was very good

in 1914, 1916, and 1970. of the less sellable product.

The shelling and rants also destroyed the winemaking buildings, the cathedral, and most of the homes in the region.

Champagne producers lost their crops, their workforce, and when some of the caves collapsed under heavy shelling, some lost their reserve stock.

Reserve stock also felt prey to soldiers on both sides, many who helped themselves to the wine.

The German Front also had a pretty formidable weapon.

They had machine guns.

And they held their border.

The machine gun border put the soldiers fighting in the chalky, muddy trenches of Champagne

at a great disadvantage.

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