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Monday, March 16, 2009

Bubbly Basics

I wheedled my way into a Krug Champagne tasting in Barcelona the other day – my birthday no less! - getting a chance to sip on some pretty fancy stuff.

I can’t say buying a bottle of their bubbly is the first thing I’d do with a few extra c-notes, but I liked LVMH (Krug’s parent company) enologist Xavier Montclús’ back-to-basics, grapes-to-glass approach to the tasting, even in a room full of food-industry pros that included sommeliers and Michelin-starred chefs.

A few highlights:

THE GRAPES:
Montclús’ metaphors to understand part of each grape’s role in Champagne…

Pinot Noir – “The backbone and the muscles that hold up the wine” – anti-flab, if you will.

Pinot Meunier – “The bones which give fruit flavors like pear, peach and quince…remember that the best taste in meat is closest to the bone.”

Chardonnay – “The skin.” The skin? Eww. “Like on a peach. It contributes smell (honey, for one)
and golden color.” Mmm.

PRESENTATION:
- The Cork - “Loosen the cage that holds the cork, but keep it on top of the bottle, with your hand on it at all times,” he says, reminding me of a moment when I was a waiter on a San Francisco Bay dinner cruise (dressed like Gopher from “The Love Boat,” no less) and put a quarter-inch dent in a ceiling tile with a cork before beaning a woman on the top of her head. Hoo, dear, I couldn’t stop laughing. “Hold the cage & cork in one hand and turn the bottle with the other.”

- The Bucket – “Fill it three-quarters of the way with ice, then halfway up with water.” A bottle that hasn’t been cooled should be kept on ice ½ hour, but not more. “Minimum temperature should be five degrees Celsius (41 F) – lower than that just brings out the defects.”

- The Pour – “Never serve more than half a flute.”

Bottoms up!



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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Stories for Wine Lovers

Good news for wine lovers! A pair of my recent articles about French winemakers is now on brandchannel.com.

“Is ‘Made in France’ Enough?” mulls the debate of whether France should take the high road on the export market or push out plonk.
“Brands are supported by marketing and other countries spend a lot more on it. Here, with government restrictions on advertising, you can’t concentrate on it much and, abroad, we’re useless. We were passed,” says ‘flying winemaker’ Stephane Derenoncourt. Hidden in his bleak outlook for French wine brands, however, is what many consider to be the solution… READ ON.

Just in time to ring in the new year, “De-vine Intervention” interviews two top guns at Louis Roederer Champagne on the pros and cons of using art and artists – whether you want to or not – to promote a brand…and what to do when it all goes wrong… READ ON.



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