Last night a little piece of France popped up in the inner west of Brisbane. And it was quite lovely. A ‘pop-up’ French Restaurant called Bistro Éphémère, to be precise. The concept intrigued me from the start. When I heard that there was going to be a French restaurant opening for two nights only at a mystery…
Educational
A friendship worth bottling
If a friendship could be measured in bubbles, then the one I share with my champagne sister, Kiron, could certainly be bottled. It would be a Jeroboam, and a remarkable Grand Cru. I have just returned home after spending an hilarious evening in Kiron’s company, taping an episode of ‘The Flute Enthusiast” for Bubbly Talk Radio. I met…
Tasting Notes 3 – Rosés
We thought for the 3rd Episode of The Flute Enthusiast, we would talk about some Rosé champagnes and explain a little bit about how they are made. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it seemed like it would be perfect timing. I chose 3 smaller producers to demonstrate some of the variations in style…
Cap Collectability Rating
Champagne tasting, while pleasurable, can be really hard work and quite overwhelming – especially if you do it seriously and take notes along the way. There are years and weather conditions to take into consideration. There are percentages of different grapes, the date of disgorgement, the eye, the bubbles, the nose, the mouth…..the list goes…
I sabered alone
I did it, and I didn’t even feel guilty. I felt empowered! I sabered a bottle of champagne alone. No crowd, no occasion, no fanfare and no witnesses except the slightly surprised kookaburra in the tree to my left. Sabering a bottle of champagne, like drinking one, is usually done in company. You do it with…
Tasting Notes 2 – Non Vintages
I was pretty excited to be invited back to talk on Bubbly Talk Radio again about grower-producer champagnes on The Flute Enthusiast. Since we are hoping to make this a regular show I decided we should start from the very beginning and compare three non-vintage champagnes from 3 different producers. The interesting thing about non-vintages from grower-producers…
Champagne 101
It has recently been bought to my attention that some people, who would really like to know more about champagne, are too afraid to ask about the basics. So while I know a lot of people who read this blog already have some knowledge about champagne, this post is for those real debutantes. So they…
The Art of Sabrage
If you believe the folklore, we have the Napoleonic soldiers to thank for the Art of Sabrage. During the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800s, legend has it that as the troops moved through France on their way to Russia, the Veuve (widow) Clicquot opened up her house for the soldiers to rest. She is…
