About the House Champagne Jacquart was created in 1964 by a group of about 30 vignerons who came together with the vision that by pooling their resources and their shared passion of terroir, they could achieve something greater than its individual parts. Extremely passionate and dedicated to creating wines to reflect this vision, their brand…
vintage
The magic under the stairs – or Mindfulness Part 2
I recently wrote about the joy and anticipation of being offered a bottle of 1986 Moet et Chandon that had been long forgotten under the stairs of a Queensland suburban home. Would magic emerge from under the stairs? Since this whole exercise was about appreciating what is actually in the glass we are drinking, I…
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…
Sparkle your way into a magical New Year
New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to Sparkle. And to really sparkle, I mean drink French champagne! I wish I didn’t have to say ‘French’ champagne, because champagne by definition is French, but it seems to be taking a while to get the message through! Back in the mid- 18th century, Madame de Pompadour, mistress…
Disaster to triumph and a bottle of Mumm
Sometimes the most highly anticipated meals don’t go quite as planned, and neither do the wines that were chosen to accompany them. This happened to me a few years ago, but I was able to turn my disaster into triumph in the most unanticipated way. And it was all a due to a rather old…
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…
Tasting Notes
After a short time living in France, I realised that there was more to Champagne than just quaffing it as an ‘aperitif’. I think this tasting epiphany happened while sitting down one day to a vintage something or other with some very close cousins who live just on the outskirts of the Champagne region. These…
