Comet vintages are years during which an astronomical event, involving generally a " Great Comet", occurs prior to

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

. Throughout the history of wine, winemakers have attributed successful vintages and ideal weather conditions to the unexplained effects caused by the comets.''The New York Times'' archives (August 13, 1872)
The Comet
/ref> Some of the most heralded vintages in the last couple of centuries—such as the 1811, 1826, 1839, 1845, 1852, 1858, 1861, 1985, and 1989 vintages—have coincided with a notable appearance of a comet.G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pg 45–47, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 There is no scientific basis for any effect of comets on viticulture, but the term nevertheless remains in use. The term "comet wine" is sometimes used in the wine world to describe a wine of exceptional quality in reference to the high reputation that comet vintages have. The 1811 comet vintage, coinciding with the appearance of the Great Comet of 1811, is perhaps the most famous. The 1811 Château d'Yquem has exhibited what wine experts like Robert Parker have described as exceptional

longevity The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...

with Parker scoring the wine a perfect 100 points when tasted in 1996. The 1811 vintage of Veuve Clicquot is theorized to have been the first truly "modern" Champagne due to the advancements in the ''

méthode champenoise Sparkling wine production is the method of winemaking used to produce sparkling wine. The oldest known production of sparkling wine took place in 1531 with the ''ancestral method''. Pressure and terminology In popular parlance and also in t ...

'' which Veuve Clicquot pioneered through the technique of '' remuage''.Johnson, Hugh (1989) ''Vintage: The Story of Wine''. Simon and Schuster. pp. 337.

Effects of the comets

There is no accepted viticultural impact of comets on grapevines, and there have been many successful vintages throughout the world in years where there were no noticeable comet sightings. Over centuries a great number of events and phenomena have been attributed to the appearances of comets in the sky—such as devastating

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, a 1668 epidemic among cats in Westphalia, or an increase in the birth of twins in a particular area. While many of the phenomena associated with comets tend to be negative, the association of comets and wine has almost always been held as beneficial by viticulturists and oenologists.

1811 vintage

The 1811 comet vintage has had the most lasting notoriety. The comet that year was the Flaugergues comet, named after

Honoré Flaugergues Pierre-Gilles-Antoine-Honoré Flaugergues, usually known as Honoré Flaugergues (16 May 1755 in Viviers, Ardèche – 26 November 1835 or 20 November 1830different sources give different years of death) was a French astronomer. Biography Flauger ...

who first spotted the comet in March. The comet was visible for most of the growing season, which saw optimal conditions for many of the world's major growing regions, but particularly for France. After a string of bad vintages at the start of the 19th century, the 1811 vintage was a reversal of fortune in regions like Bordeaux, Cognac, Champagne and Sauternes. For Cognac, the vintage was considered one of the greatest in history, with many producers today including images of stars on their labels as an

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

to the 1811 vintage. Notable wines from this include the 1811 Château d'Yquem, which received a perfect 100-point

wine rating A wine rating is a score assigned by one or more wine critics to a wine tasted as a summary of that critic's evaluation of that wine. A wine rating is therefore a subjective quality score, typically of a numerical nature, given to a specific bottl ...

by wine critic Robert Parker at a 1996 tasting over one hundred and eighty years after it was bottled. In Germany, the 1811 vintage was so successful that producers along the Rhine would label their wines as "comet

hock Hock may refer to: Common meanings: * Hock (wine), a type of wine * Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg * To leave an item with a pawnbroker People: * Hock (surname) * Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer Other uses: * A t ...

". The 1811 bottling of vintage Champagne from the

Champagne house The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation ''Union de Maisons de Champagne'' (UMC),sediment-free. This was due to the new technique of ''remuage'' or

riddling The traditional method is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines (not called “Champagne”), in Spain to produce Cava, in Port ...

developed by Veuve Cliquot that tackled the historical problem of how to remove the ill tasting and unpleasant looking sediments from the sparkling wine without losing the carbon-dioxide gas that makes it bubble. The development of riddling was a hallmark moment in the evolution of the modern Champagne industry. In the early 19th century, Veuve Clicquot tried to keep their techniques a secret, but the clarity and limpidity of their Champagne captured worldwide attention and eventually their secret escaped.Johnson, Hugh (1989) ''Vintage: The Story of Wine''. Simon and Schuster. pp. 330–341. In the summer of 1812, following Napoleon's invasion of Russia, despite a decree from

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Alexander I of Russia banning the importation of French wine in bottles,

Louis Bohne Louis Bohne (died 1821), born in Mannheim, Germany, was the sales agent for Veuve Clicquot whose exploits during the French invasion of Russia (1812), French invasion of Russia and subsequent fall of Napoleon I of France, Napoleon substantially incr ...

, lead sales agent for Veuve Clicquot, was able to smuggle a large quantity of the 1811 ''Cuvée de la Comète'' into Königsberg. As word of the wine's quality spread, Bohne found eager customers among the Russian elite, with even the Tsar himself seeking out the wine.

Literary references

There have been several references in literature to the 1811 vintage, which was often described as the "Year of the Comet". It is referenced in the title of Ray Russell's 1967 short story "Comet Wine", and the vintage contributes to the story's plot. Ernst Jünger's 1939 novel '' On the Marble Cliffs'' has central characters drinking wine from the "year of the comet". In "

The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk" is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the fourth of the twelve collected in ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'' in most British editions of the canon, ...

" by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, Dr. Watson describes

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, upon being told the clerk's story, as being pleased, "like a connoisseur who has just taken his first sip of a comet vintage." In the 1992 romantic comedy ''

Year of the Comet ''Year of the Comet'' is a 1992 romantic comedy adventure film directed by Peter Yates and starring Tim Daly, Penelope Ann Miller, and Louis Jourdan in his final film role. The film was written by William Goldman and produced by Alan Brown and P ...

'', a bottle of 1811

Château Lafite A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

is central to the story line. In The Uncommercial Traveller Charles Dickens refers to a clergyman as one "acquainted with 'Twenty port and comet vintages".

Other notable comet vintages

The 1858 comet vintage attributed to the

Donati Comet :''There are three Donati comets: C/1855 L1 (a.k.a. 1855 II), C/1858 L1 (this one), and C/1864 R1 (a.k.a. 1864 I).'' Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian ...

was widely praised for the quality of Bordeaux claret that came out of that vintage. The 1874 comet vintage was considered especially favorable for the German wine regions of the Mosel and

Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part of the Rheing ...

.''The New York Times'' archives (August 27, 1874)
Influence of the comet on the German vintage
/ref> *1826 — Biela's Comet *1832 — Biela's Comet *1839 — Biela's Comet *1845 —

Great June Comet of 1845 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

*1846 — Biela's Comet *1852 — Biela's Comet *1858 —

Comet Donati :''There are three Donati comets: C/1855 L1 (a.k.a. 1855 II), C/1858 L1 (this one), and C/1864 R1 (a.k.a. 1864 I).'' Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian ast ...

*1861 —

Great Comet of 1861 The Great Comet of 1861, formally designated C/1861 J1 and 1861 II, is a long-period comet that was visible to the naked eye for approximately 3 months. It was categorized as a great comet—one of the eight greatest comets of the 19th century. ...

*1874 —

Comet Coggia C/1874 H1 (Coggia) is a non-periodic comet, which in the summer of 1874 could be seen by the naked eye. On the basis of its brightness, the comet has been called the Great Comet of 1874; on July 13 of that year its apparent magnitude peaked at b ...

*1985 — Halley's Comet *1989 —

Comet Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

References

{{Comets, nonobject=yes Viticulture Wine terminology History of wine