History - The Champagne Pommery at St. Louis in 1904

The 1904 World Exposition was held in St. Louis, United States, Missouri. It's one of the most important exposition of the time and had welcomed nearly 20 million visitors.

I wanted to talk you about a giant barrel set in the French section in St. Louis.This giant barrel was produced by the Barrels Mechanics Adolphe Fruhinsholz Nancy, and has a total capacity of 20,000 US gallons, or approximately 75,000 liters!

Okay, it's not the bigger, because during the Expo 1900 in Paris, Adolphe Fruhinsholz had a giant barrel even bigger, the biggest barrel of the world, with a capacity of 433,000 liters!

But back to St. Louis, and this beautifully carved barrel. The master carpenter is the renowned Mr. Emile Gallé, from Nancy, pioneer of Art Nouveau!

In this artwork carried out in 1903, Emile Gallé wanted to pay tribute to the brotherhood that exists between America and France. America is this magnificent creature riding a sphynx with Indian head, receiving a Pommery champagne from the hand of France personified by a woman standing in the vineyards.

On top of this masterpiece, a third woman is the Genius of Commerce.

At the top left, we can see the Statue of Liberty in New York, "Liberty Enlightening the World."

At the bottom of the barrel to the left of the plug, we recognize the panorama of Reims and the famous Cathedral where kings of France were crowned.
After the Exposition of St. Louis, the giant barrel was reinstated in Pommery caves and stayed in service until 1975. We can still admire in the lobby for visitors to the house Pommery.

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