Christopher Merret was a British winemaker who in 1662 presented the Royal Society with a paper called The ordering of wines in which he detailed the secondary fermentation of wine in order to create sparkling wine. This was done over 30 years prior to the work of Dom Perignon who is generally considered, erroneously, to have invented Champagne, the most famous type of sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France. In fact, the true inventor of sparkling wine is currently unknown and hotly contested. Dom Perignon can refer to: Dom Perignon (person), a monk frequently credited with the invention of Champagne. ... Champagne is often drunk as part of a celebration Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the secondary fermentation of wine. ... Champagne is often drunk as part of a celebration Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the secondary fermentation of wine. ...