This month, my Champagne Club decided to go looking for suitable Christmas champagnes under $75. We were pleasantly surprised by the selection that was readily available in that range. But first a little little discussion about our Champagne Club, or the CHIC Circle. The CHIC Circle started when I realised there were quite a few…
champagne
When Louis met Jacques
Let me tell you a little story about the night Louis met Jacques. That’s Louis Roederer and Jacques Bollinger, just to be clear. Louis Roederer (1809 – 1870) and Jacques (Jacob) Bollinger (1803 – 1884) were actually contemporaries, but this is not a story about them meeting for a sneaky drink on a Friday night…
The bubbles always rise!
The Bubbles always rise! At least that is the message I am taking from this year. I started the year in Champagne, loudly proclaiming that I was starting the year as meant to continue. And what a champagne year it has been. There were plenty of bubbles, a few occasions that the bubbles burst but…
Scarily Good Champagne for Halloween!
Blanc de Noirhahahahaha! We have the Celts to thank for the Halloween tradition. 2000 years ago, they believed that at the end of summer a kind of portal opened up between the spirit world and the earthly world which meant that all kinds of ghosts and ghouls were roaming the earth. So they threw big…
The Champagne Countdown is on!
The Champagne Countdown is on! In only 10 days I will be back in beautiful Champagne with another group of enthusiastic champagne lovers excited to discover more about the magic of champagne! As the anticipation builds, I have put together my list of the Top 10 reasons to visit Champagne 10. To discover the history…
The day I actually tasted the stars
I have just come back from a whirlwind one week trip to Champagne. And while I was there, I actually tasted the stars! In fact, I tasted a whole lot of things during the course of the week. I was lucky enough to attend ‘Champagne Week’ or ‘Printemps de Champagne’. It is a yearly series…
Highlighting Women in Champagne on International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is the perfect day for highlighting women’s achievements in Champagne! I have often written about the great, strong female innovators who have shaped the champagne industry in the past. People such as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin (Veuve Clicquot), Madame Louise Pommery and Madame Lili Bollinger to name a few. These were all women who stepped…
When the Chefs de Cave came to town
Last week, when two Chefs de Cave came to town, I was in my own little piece of heaven. So what is so special about the Chefs de Cave? In Champagne, the Chefs de Cave are the alchemists. They are the ones responsible for looking after what will become the beautiful nectar in our glass from…
