Debate a Bubble - Champagne News and Reviews

A New Way To Judge Wines

I've always been wary of relying too much on recommendations by 'wine gurus'. It's useful to have some pointers, but when all is said and done, we are all individuals with different tastes and so no one really knows what you like except you.

I wrote a blog post about this last year 

http://bit.ly/Experttasters

 and it seems that I was not the only one thinking the same thing.

That's why I was excited to read an article in the Wall Street Journal explaining about a new type of wine tasting competition.

The project is the brain child of a gentleman called Tim Hanni a Master of Wine who wants to change the way things are done.

No more 'gurus' doing the tasting, just regular wine drinkers. After all they are the ones who are going to be buying and drinking the wine.

No more taking notes and confering afterwards. In fact the whole thing will be a lot simpler and the results may well  reflect more accurately what most amateur wine drinkers enjoy.

Says Mr. Hanni:

"experts 'do things no normal human being would ever do' in a social setting, including slurping, gurgling and 'creating metaphors about place, fruit and vegetables' while writing tasting notes."

Unfortunately that's all too true and the result is that most amateur wine drinkers find the gurus' comments confusing and that can make the amateurs feel inferior or inadequate. Of course this applies to champagne just as much as to any other wine.

So a change is long overdue and it looks as though the time has finally come thanks to Tim Hanni and no doubt to a few others involved in the project.

You can read the whole article here  http://bit.ly/5TEcuc 

and it really is a breath of fresh air

 

Advice From France On Staying Healthy

Dont show this to your local health authorities; they might not be amused!

Good to see that champagne figures so prominently.

A Champagne Event You've Probably Never Heard Of

There’s an awful lot going on in Champagne that most people never get to hear about and it’s only because I lived and worked there for 10 years that I got to find out some of these secret delights.

In October each year you can enjoy what is called La Semaine du Goût which, roughly translated, means ‘ Tasting Week’. It’s all about combining champagne with food and it’s a collaboration between, on the one hand, the regions chefs and food producers and on the other hand, the champagne makers.

This year the dates are Saturday 10^th to Sunday 18^th October and if you visit Champagne during this period you’ll find that there are lots of small-scale events organised all over the region.

A whole host of champagne producers welcome you to visit their cellars where they offer you a taste of their champagne plus some food delicacy or other that goes well with whatever champagne you’re tasting.

The event is designed to show you that champagne is not just for toasts and celebrations but that it is an amazingly versatile wine that can be enjoyed with a wide range of foods.

BUT before I give you a few specific recommendations, here’s a word of caution – few, if any, of the big brand names bother taking part in this event. So there’s nothing special going on at Moët & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, Laurent Perrier, or any of the other big names.

La Semaine du Goût is all about the small producers and visiting them and their families out in the countryside. So, if you enjoy exploring a bit, getting off the beaten track and meeting some of the local people, then this is a lot of fun.

O.K. so if you think this is for you, why not try :

 

Champagne Dinner at Champagne Lallement in Verzy - One night only. Saturday October 17^th

Come along at 20.00 hr sharp for a rustic dinner with champagne and wine included.

The meal is being prepared by our good friend Christophe Ponsart who is a caterer based in the same village, Verzy.

Christophe used to be a chef in one of the region’s Michelin-starred restaurants, so he’s sure to prepare something a bit special. During dinner you’ll have the chance to try not only M. Lallement’s excellent champagne - it could be rosé champagne, vintage champagne, or his excellent Brut Sans Année (non vintage) -, but also some great burgundy from another small producer: Domaine Cinquin.

For great atmosphere, a unique experience and a real taste of life in Champagne this is something not to be missed and don’t worry if your French isn’t perfect, you’ll have a warm welcome: M. Lallement is used to visitors and Christophe speaks excellent English – his wife’s Welsh!

Oh, the cost – terrific value at just 35 euros per person, but you do have to book in advance, so let me know if you want to book and I’ll help you out. (my e-mail address is below)

If you want somewhere to stay in Champagne, then our home is available for rent. For prices and pictures, take a look at

www.debateabubble.com/your-place-in-champagne.html

 

Gourmet meals at the Château d’Etoges

I’m sure you’ll be in Champagne for more than just one night, so why not treat yourself to another culinary experience, this time at the very luxurious Château d’Etoges.

www.etoges.com

Every evening during La Semaine du Goût and at lunchtime on 17^th & 18^th October Château d’Etoges is offering a gourmet meal for lovers of fine food.

Each course matches the finest local ingredients with a wine to match. An aperitif is also included for the price of 68 euros per person

To reserve you can call + 33 326 59 30 08

E-mail me if you have any questions or need any help

jiles@madaboutbubbly.com

Are you a Wine-ese speaker?

I think I've discovered a new language - it's called "Wine-ese". The problem is that everyone who knows how to speak it, assumes that everyone else can too. In reality, almost no one can, so there's a communication problem. Let me explain...

I was in my local Waitrose supermarket yesterday- Waitrose is an upmarket supermaket chain in the U.K. with a good reputation for wine.

I was looking ( in vain as it happened )  for some useful information to help in my champagne selection.

I picked up a copy of their wine list and was browsing through and came across this entry for Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV champagne. This is what it said...

"Still family-owned, with a high proportion of its own grapes and reserve wines used in its champagne."

That was it - nothing else.

Now I don't know about you, but my reaction was, "Is that all? "

What difference does it make if the company is family-owned; so what if they use a high proportion of their own grapes - doesn' t everyone? And what all this about reserve wines - what does that mean and what difference do they make to the champagne?

I suspect that for the average champagne buyer the information meant little or nothing.

The description was written by a very experienced wine expert who really knows about champagne. The trouble is that she sort of assumes that you know as much as she does and speak the same language. But most people don't speak Wine-ese and when that's the case it doesn't help at all if you just talk louder.

If you'd like some Wine-ese lessons, why not let me be your interpreter? When it comes to  champagne, I can translate for you.

I invite you to sign up for my free Bubbly Bulletins where  you'll find your introduction to Wine-ese plus the answers to all these questions and more: vintage champagne, rosé champagne, non-vintage champagne, everything about champagne.

To find out more just go to www.madaboutbubbly.com and simply leave your first name and a contact e-mail address.

See you soon for your first lesson

Reims Wine Fair

Most people who visit Champagne go to one or two of the big champagne houses, have a good meal in a local restaurant and that's about it

Here's a different and a very good reason for visiting Champagne that you may never have thought of.

To taste or not to taste? A brief guide to choosing wine

Have you ever found yourself in a restaurant and for some reason you’re the one who gets selected to taste the wine before it’s served ?

How do you feel?

• Is this a moment of panic?

• Do you bluff your way through hoping that no one will find out that you don’t really know what on earth you’re doing?

• Do you pretend to be in charge of the situation, pronounce confidently that "Yes. The wine’s fine" whilst all the time secretly praying that some smart so-and-so isn’t going to tell you, a few seconds later, that you have made a complete hash of things?

We've all been there, so don’t worry. Here are a few tips that will take the mystery out of the entire process.

We are ALL wine experts

I can guarantee that every time I do a champagne event one of the first questions that comes up is about the price of each of the champagnes we taste.

Fair enough, if you’re thinking of buying wine or anything else the price is an important piece of information, but I avoid giving out the prices until the very end of the tastings so as to allow everyone the chance to judge the champagnes purely on whether they like them or not. As I always say “ just about the only thing that the price tag tells you is the marketing policy”

In most cases the price is not just irrelevant, but downright misleading....

FOOD AND WINE MATCHING- 4 SIMPLE TIPS

Here are a few quick and easy tips about matching food and champagne and they apply equally well to other wines. All rules are meant to be broken of course and that’s just as true about food and wine as about anything else, but if you’re new to this subject, or if you’re entertaining friends of business contacts and want to look and feel in countrol, then these suggestions may help.

Champagne Dinners Part 3

So what was the actual menu for the recent champagne dinner that led me to start talking about champagne and food?

We based it on a meal I enjoyed a few years ago at Moët & Chandon’s private Château de Saran. Then, each course served was in fact two dishes in one, neatly and elegantly separated on the left and the right of the plate. With each course two champagnes were served and the idea was to demonstrate how, by altering the method of cooking, the seasoning and/or the accompaniments, the nature of the dish could be significantly changed. The two different champagnes complimented the dish on one side of the plate more than the dish on the other – although of course we tried all the different combinations possible whilst we had this fabulous food and drink in front of us.

So the menu on May 16th was.....

Champagne Dinners Part 2

In my last blog I'd just got to the point of telling you the golden rules of food and champagne matching, so here they are

The golden rules of food and champagne (wine) matching

I always feel that there are 4 golden rules.
3 of them are useful to bear in mind, but like any rules, are there to be broken if you don’t agree with them. However there’s no getting around the first one.

Rule No. 1 – get things the right way round
Many people make the mistake of first deciding what they want to cook and then looking for a wine to match. You should really work the other way round; start with the wine, THEN match the food to the wine. The reason is simply that the wine is a given; it’s made; it’s already in the bottle and you can’t alter it. On the other hand the preparation of the food is entirely in your hands and you can alter it in umpteen ways with different seasoning, different herbs, different sauces and different ways of cooking.

So taste the wine/champagne beforehand, or buy a wine that you are already familiar with, make a few mental, or written, notes about the wine and start from there.