I love champagne, always have.

When I was a teenager, I worked at a restaurant where there were a lot of wedding receptions,

and I got to be a pro at opening bottle after bottle of champagne.

And I'm still available for bar mitzvahs and retirement parties.

A few years ago, I got serious about studying wine, and in the process, I got to know a lot

more about sparkling wine.

How it's made, what makes it different from other wines.

And that included learning about this one woman who forever changed champagne.

And part of her story begins back in 1814.

So try and imagine it.

There's a ship that's just left the coast of France with more than 10,000 bottles of champagne

on board.

The goal is to get to Russia and sell the wine, but it's a risky journey.

First of all, it's June and it's getting hot.

If the rocking of the ship does not destroy the sparkling wine, the summer heat likely

will.

It will be a miracle if the champagne survives the month-long journey.

There's also another reason the trip is precarious.

It's illegal.

This is the era of the Napoleonic Wars, when France was fighting with what seemed like

every country in Europe.

As a result, there are blockades to prevent trade with France.

...