WLTRAVEL // CHAMPAGNE THE GREATEST TOAST OF ALL TIME
“Champagne for my real friends, and real pain for my sham friends.” FRANCIS BACON
What’s a “Grower” Champagne? Most large Champagne houses—Moët, Mumm, et cetera—source their grapes from numerous growers throughout the region. A grower Champagne is one made more like a traditional wine, where the grape grower is also the winemaker, and uses grapes from his or her own land. Unlike the big houses, this, in theory, means the wine may more accurately reflect the terroir of a specific site. It also means the wines are apt to vary in quality and taste from year to year, something the large houses are able to remedy by blending multiple vintages to reflect their “house style.” A further complicating factor: many grower champagnes also subscribe to the low- or zero-dosage theory, wherein very little or no extra liquid is added to the Champagne after the sediment has been removed. This makes for an exceptionally—and some claim excessively—dry style of bubbles.
Flutes Are for Amateurs Don’t shoot the messenger, but you know those lovely Champagne flutes Aunt Bertie gave you for your wedding? Ditch ’em. Here’s the problem: the slim, tapered design of the classic flute was created to concentrate the bubbles in a beautiful, constant stream, and it is excellent at doing this . . . but not at much else. In particular, the design sacrifices the ability to take in the wine’s distinct nose, or bouquet, which, on a bottle of wine that might be $300, is a travesty. Instead, source one of the new breed of glasses, like Riedel’s Veritas Champagne glass, which allows you to appreciate all aspects of the wine. And if you order a bottle at a restaurant and they have only flutes? Ask for white wine glasses while looking askance at the somm. 9 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 / westernliving.ca
Outside of Reims, the majority of the region is dotted with ancient agrarian villages.
THE ONE TIME IT’S ACCEPTABLE TO USE CHAMPAGNE IN A COCKTAIL As a rule, people who use $80 bottles of Champagne in cocktails are . . . indulgent. But the one exception is the beautifully simple creation practised by Veuve Clicquot’s Benjamin West. 1 bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rich (required due to its high level of sweetness) 2 tbsp loose Earl Grey tea Place tea in small sieve or tea strainer. Slowly pour Veuve through strainer into white wine glass. Drink.
Church: Grzegorz Kordus
Old School