Moi, Placomusophile?

Champagne caps (and a cork) collected on my trip

Yes, there is a term for people who collect Champagne caps, les plaques de muselets de Champagne. These are the attractive, shiny little things that top the corks; cap and cork are held together by a wire cage one sees on the bottles of most sparkling beverages once the (usually) gold-colored foil is removed. When you’ve got an average of 90 pounds of pressure per square inch (620 kPa) in a 75 cl (750 ml) bottle, that wire cage is a good thing.

If I recall correctly from the many questions I asked my various hosts, caps were introduced ~1881 to enable the wire to hold the cork in more securely.

But I digress. Despite being merely tin metal, the plaques are decorated in a variety of ways that reflect the Champagne house. Upon seeing a cap removed for the first time during a bottle opening at Champagne LAUNOIS, I was immediately fascinated.

You see, anything like this is terribly alluring for me. I have been an avid postage stamp collector since I was a little kid. Stamps show what is important to a country, a culture, a society. Champagne caps show the philosophy of the house and what it prides itself in.

So of course I had to ask for the little purple cap in front of me (and the cork! Hey, it’s stamped with “Grand Vin de Champagne” at the bottom. How cool is that?). Even though the design initially struck me as a tad cheesy - an old-school photo portrait of a female family member (Clémence, for whom this Grand Cru cuvée is named) - I immediately understood that family is paramount to this Champagne house, and that family is commemorated proudly. Having this cap reminds me what Champagne LAUNOIS stands for.

By way of contrast, the two big houses I visited, Pommery and Mumm, use consistent branding by displaying their logo in varying color schemes to indicate the cuvée. I’m sure there’s a whole lot more in between with different houses that I’ve yet to discover: I recently came into possession of a Veuve Clicquot cap that sports a portrait of Madame Clicquot on a warm pink border - a big house with sustained reverence for its Grande Dame.

Veuve Clicquot "Reserve Cuvée Rosé" cap, wire cage and cork still attached

Having the caps reminds me of the Champagnes I’d tasted and of the experience each house imparted. I confess I also enjoy the satisfaction of thinking, “Yeah, I was there!” whenever I see them - at least for the ones I’d collected on my trip. You bet I’m keeping the caps with each bottle I open, and recent events have shown that I’m not above begging for them at tastings back home, either!

So yes, I’m in grave danger of becoming a placomusophile. And you know what, I’m okay with that.

More Champagne!