Tiny Bubbles

Disclaimers: I use Champagne in reference to the real deal from Champagne, France and champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine. I use "I" a lot since this is purely my opinion and NOT a scientific essay on bubbly.

While most people drink champagne to celebrate special occasions, I tend to agree with Napoleon who said “In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it”. I find that a decent glass of Champagne will make a good time better and make a bad situation tolerable!

Bad

I didn’t start out liking Champagne. My first experience was probably a sip at a wedding in one of those silly old fashioned glasses with the wide shallow bowl (called a coupe). It was probably not even real Champagne (that is from the Champagne region of France) but some cheap knock off that will give you a headache faster than if the Road Runner dropped an anvil on your head. I remember my turning point – a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Rose some 16 or so years ago. It was a bit pricey for what I expected the experience to be but after the first sip I was hooked. I started broadening my champagne experience from there. In fact, during my first visit to Napa Valley I only visited champagne houses.

So what do I like in Champagne? Pretty much everything. I like Champagne (from Champagne, France) as well as the sparking wines from the other regions of France (cremant), Spain (Cava), Italy (Proscecco) and the US (sparkling wine). I like bubbly made from all white grapes (blanc de blanc), all black grapes (blanc de noir e.g. Pinot Noir) and Rose (where the skin is left on for a short time during fermentation to add color and depth). I like brut (some sugar), extra dry (more sugar) and can appreciate a demi-sec (most sugar) for dessert. I let the situation, food and/or mood dictate the champagne selection.

Good

I think every civilized meal should start with a glass of champagne and I enjoy that first glass with a savory appetizer usually something with a salty cheese like blue, feta, goat or Parmesan. Olives, prosciutto, salami and pate are good choices too. I’ve been known to have a glass of champagne by myself while waiting for someone and see no shame in that. I am picky about the stemware that champagne is served in and am biased towards the Fine flutes from Schott Zwiesel. I love to see the tiny bubbles originate from the center of the glass and float to the top. I have been brazen enough to tell a couple fine dining restaurants in Charlotte that their flutes sucked (they did!). Every chance I get, I practice opening the bottle so that it sounds like a sigh when the cork comes out and think that the shaking and subsequent spouting of perfectly good champagne at sporting events should be considered a crime.

Here are some of my memorable champagne moments. I celebrated the turn of the century with my family and a bottle of Dom Perignon that I picked up at Moët et Chandon in Epernay when I visited in the summer of 1999. I celebrated my 40th birthday with a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Palme d'Or at Mickey and Mooch (that I paid for). And I celebrated getting through last Saturday with a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noir. See -- every day is an opportunity to drink champagne.