A Champagne Fantasy

Let your mind wander and fantasize with me for a brief moment. We are standing in a noisy cabaret. The gas lamps are flickering from the dense smoke wafting in the hot, steamy air. There is music reverberating in every corner of the room from the pulsating rhythms of Jacques Offenbach’s melodies. On the stage we see a line of dancers with ruffled, red skirts of satin and lace exposing one outstretched, gyrating leg in the air, while rhythmically bouncing on the other leg to keep pace with the rollicking cancan music. The tops of their heaving bosoms are accentuated by corseted waists and are partially exposed in low cut white silk blouses. Perspiration is shimmering on their bare shoulders. Their lungs are screaming for air as the music’s pace quickens.

Outside the cabaret walls, on the Boulevard de Clichy, resting at the base of Monmatre (a hill thirty meters high in Paris) it is cold and dark but inside it is bright and steaming hot from the crowd of people. The atmosphere is carefree and festive in the newest dancehall in the Pigalle section of Paris, France. It is a time for gaiety and celebration in an era that will later be called—La Belle Époque! Science and technology are making life easier for everyone with the spreading of electricity across France. The New Year offers great hopes for prosperity in a Europe at peace.

 We are standing on the crowded dance floor of the legendary Moulin Rouge. The date is December 31, 1889. It is the inaugural year of the notorious cabaret frequented by the post- impressionist artist, Toulouse-Lautrec. The Champagne from the House of Clicquot is flowing and bubbling over in the glasses of the revelers. In the ballroom lusty, perfumed woman, with highlighted cheeks of rouge, mingle in the crowd adding an air of excitement to the festivities. It is an eclectic gathering of upper class, waist coated nouveau bourgeoisie and prostitutes mingling and rollicking together. Off in a far corner of the room the diminutive Toulouse-Lautrec sits quietly sketching the festivities on a sheet of paper with a charcoal stick. The time nears, the excitement crescendos and erupts in a mass chorus counting down to midnight,

“Dix, neuf, huit, sept, six, cinq, quatre, trois, deux…Bonne Année!”

The Royal Wine

Champagne bespeaks gaiety, opulence and frivolity. The tiny bubbles, long held captive in bottles frivolously dance their way to the tops of elegant, slim flutes while beckoning the holder to come and play. “Leave your troubles behind for another time.” They seem to say. “Indulge yourself in my richness.

I am not an ordinary wine.

  I am Champagne!

 Champagne is the royalty of wine. To evolve into Champagne, wine undergoes two fermentation processes. The first fermentation takes place in wooden barrels as ordinary wine, and then this still (non-effervescent) wine is transferred to bottles made of thick glass that will transform it from wine to Champagne! The transformation process that is the genesis of Champagne is called Methode Champenoise. It is in this old, time consuming process and the origin of the grapes that makes Champagne different from all other sparkling wines.

In the second fermentation, Methode Champenoise or the Traditional Methode as it is also known; sugar and yeast are added to the still wine to activate the second fermentation. The bottle is corked to prevent the carbon dioxide from escaping. The dead yeast or sediment that forms in the bottle is slowly maneuvered down onto the cork and into the bottle’s neck by a process called riddling (remuage in France). This process consists of inverting the bottles, cork down, on a forty-five degree angle in a specially built rack (pupitre) that was invented by Madame Clicquot in the early eighteen hundreds. Then every three to four days a Remuer (a skilled craftsman) gives the bottle a slight lift and a small turn, by hand, dropping the bottle in the rack with a slight jolt, and then gradually increasing the angle of the tilt downward by lowering the top of the pupitre. This laborious process continues for about six to eight weeks until the sediment is completely collected on the cork and the bottle is upside down. At this point the cork is removed, releasing the collected sediment (disgorgement) and what remains in the bottle is the result of the skillful Remuer’s loving care— crystal clear, sparkling, flavorful Champagne. The bottle is topped-off with a combination of wine, brandy and or sugar, depending on the desired level of sweetness and finally resealed with a new cork and wire.

The use of the name “Champagne” by sparkling wine producers not located in the province of Champagne has, for a very long time been a contentious legal battle among winemakers outside of France. Due to Champagne’s ever increasing popularity and its reputation for painstaking quality it is only natural that other sparkling wines, which are made in the same Traditional Methode, would want to be named Champagne. This name however, denotes more than just a fermentation process; it is also the province in France where the grapes are grown. As I have written many times before in this column and in others, in Europe it is all about the soil—terroir. To the European winemaker the soil plays an integral role in determining the characteristics of the wine along with the winemaking method. Setting international treaties aside for a moment; the question begs to be answered. “If a wine is associated with the place the grapes are grown, then how can wines made from grapes grown elsewhere use the same name?”

In Spain for example, sparkling wine made in the Traditional Methode, is called Cava (see my July 2008 article in the Tubac Villager). Other provinces of France, such as Burgundy and Alsace also make sparkling wine in the Traditional Methode but call them Crémant de Bourgogne and Crémant d’Alsace respectively. The reason is simple—the wine is not from the province of Champagne.

Sparkling wines made in the United States are commonly labeled “Champagne”. The reasons for this are many. For the most part the right to use the name “Champagne” was codified in the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I. The Congress of the Unites States did not ratify the treaty and we consider ourselves free to use the name “Champagne” for our sparkling wine. From my perspective, wine grown in the province of Champagne, made in the Traditional Methode, is “Champagne”. All the other sparkling wines that are made in the Traditional Methode, no matter how good they may be, are simply not Champagne. They are like Champagne, made the same way as Champagne but not Champagne.

     Having Champagne is always a memorable experience; whether it is welcoming in a new year, celebrating a joyous event, accompanying food or just sipping it quietly by oneself, its memory lingers. Champagne is so distinctive that everything associated with it becomes memorable.

Sommelier Champagne Selections

Over the years I have enjoyed some of the finest Champagnes produced. Two that come to mind are Cristal and Gosset Grand Reserve. My memory of Cristal is a light, bone dry, crystal clear, shimmering Champagne, gently dancing on my tongue. My mouth waters with the thought of Cristal and caviar.
The mention of Gosset brings back memories of drinking the NV (non vintage) Brut, for the first time, with lunch in a little French boulangerier (bakery) in the village of Epernay that is home to the House of Gosset. Having Champagne with a simple lunch in a French boulangerier may sound terribly decadent but logically, what else would anyone have in the Champagne producing province of France. The Gosset, NV Brut is not as dry as Cristal but still very delicate with a bit more yeast flavors on the palate. The Gosset Grand Reserve is a bit drier than the NV Brut and more delicate but still not as dry as Cristal.

My favorite though is Ruinart, Blanc de Blanc. I will always be indebted to my generous daughter-in-law for making me a gift of this incredibly tasty bubbly. The House of Ruinart is the oldest, continuously producing Champagne house in Reims, France. The Blanc de Blanc is one hundred percent Chardonnay. Each mouthful titillates the palate with tiny effervescence and is full of rich yeast and wet straw aromas. It is a savory, full bodied Champagne that energizes the taste buds with more yeast richness and hints of citrus. Each sip is seductive and inviting.

Gosset and Ruinart are available in wines stores throughout Arizona and usually sell for more than fifty dollars each. As a less expensive American made alternative, I recommend any vintage version of Gruet, Blanc De Blanc from New Mexico (yes, New Mexico). The Gruet family has been producing Champagne in the small town of Bethon, France since 1952. In 1984 Gilbert Gruet’s son Laurent and his sister, Nathalie started making Sparkling Wine, using the Traditional Methode in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a French family they appropriately do not call their sparkling wine Champagne. It is produced in the Method Champenoise and is a very good value for twenty-five dollars.

Gruet’s Blanc De Blanc is made from Chardonnay, with crisp citrus flavors and is moderately dry to the taste. It starts off a little harsh when the bottle is first opened but softens nicely, after about fifteen minutes of breathing time in the bottle. The bubbles are uniformly tight to delight and reward the budget conscious with a very good value for their dollar spent. Gruet is conveniently available locally.

This year as the clock ticks down to the New Year, lift your glasses with me and let us return to our fantasy celebration at the Moulin Rouge. Come with me where the Champagne is flowing and memories are being born. As we step inside we will hear, “Bienvenue à mon fard à joues de Moulin Rouge. Bonne Année!”

Bernard Berlin

A Thanksgiving Symphony for Food and Wine

Let us create a “Symphony for Food and Wine” this Thanksgiving. Our musical score, skillfully written will meld wine with food to create a classical dining experience and a memorable symphony. The rhythmic melodies of the food, juxtaposed with the haunting refrains of the wine will delight us and our dinner guests.

Wine is the instrument that brings forth the flavors of the food in each course, just as the winds, strings, brass or percussion sections convey the feelings of the symphony’s movements. We choose the wine to go with the food course the same way we select the instruments to illustrate the mood of the movement. We would not select ponderous tubas for a scherzando (playful mood) in our symphony; just as we should not pair overly tannic wines with the light or delicate dishes of our dinner. With rich, fatty foods such as red meat, select red wines that have enough tannins and acids to stand up to the richness of the food. Conversely, choose light, fruitier styled wines for lighter dishes such as fish, chicken or salads.

In our Symphony for Food and Wine, we call on the suitable instrument to express the mood of the movement the same way we select wines that will compliment the food in each course. When the musical movements of our symphony tell our story of romance, love and joy we have orchestrated a classical composition. As the fruits and acids of the wine meld with the flavors of the food, exciting our senses, we are also orchestrating an exquisite dining experience. The time has come to compose our Symphony of Food and Wine for an unforgettable Thanksgiving feast. Iniziamo—let us begin!

Allegro - The Aperitif

The first movement is the Allegro. It sets the stage for everything to come, the same way an aperitif heightens our taste buds for the upcoming courses. The Allegro Aperitif’s music is light and inviting. We hear animato, rhythmic strings in the opening movement like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Emulate the Allegro’s uplifting energy with a whimsical, bubbly Kir Royal (see recipe in the wine menu) as an aperitif. This is a combination of Crème de Cassis (French liquor from black currants) and Champagne. The sugar of the cassis and the effervescence of the Champagne will open up our taste buds with mouth watering acids, titillating our appetite for the coming courses.

Adagio Moderato - The Appetizer

In our second movement the tempo changes from the sprightly Allegro for the Aperitif, without food, to a slower, easy Adagio Moderato with food. Now we hear soft melodic harps with soothing clarinets and piccolos in the background setting an elegantly, slower pace. The mood is romantic, almost wistfully asking for a flavorful, white wine that is a little fruity, with a lingering, resonant finish. Choose a Viognier or a Roussanne varietal or a cuvee blended with these grapes. This wine selection will seduce our palates with citrus and tropical fruit flavors that will whet our appetite for the much anticipated main course—the Scherzo.

Scherzo - The Main Course

The Scherzo for the main course returns us to the quicker pace of the first movement with elongated, low notes from trumpets heralding the arrival of the main course—the succulent stuffed turkey with its savory trimmings. We do not want the trumpets to be played fortissimo (very loud), that would overshadow the other instruments nor do we want our wine to overshadow the food with harsh tannins. In the background, behind the clarinets we enjoy the rich, deep tones from tubas and bass drums, played pianissimo (gently or very softly) the same way the lush fruit flavors will come through the moderate acids of the wine. At the end of this movement, all the instrument sections join together equally in a triumphant climax of sounds like the rich berry flavors of a Pinot Noir blending with the scrumptious juices of the turkey.

Pinots are the perfect companions for turkey with a savory bread, sausage or chestnut stuffing. At its best, Pinot Noir is rich with subtle flavors that will not overpower fowls. A good domestic Pinot will be a little earthy and fruity with lush dark berry undertones. The mild tannins will not overwhelm the turkey’s white meat and the berry’s acids will cut through the fatty juices of the dark meat. The Pinot’s fruity acids also mingle comfortably with the stuffing and other traditional starches such as garlic smashed potatoes or yams.

Allegro - The Dessert

Our Thanksgiving Symphony of Food and Wine comes to a joyful, sweet conclusion with the tingling sounds of tambourines and tubular bells applauding the feast and the sounds of cellos rounding out the perfect finale. Our wine choice for the desert course should be dolce, sweet, and rewarding or legato, smooth and flowing, with traces of fruit, the perfect finish.

Choose a sweet, late harvest wine to go with pumpkin or creamy pies. As a guide, the desert wine can be as sweet as the desert but not sweeter. If you are serving fresh fruit, topped with or without whipped cream, choose a port styled wine. The late harvest wine or the port styled wine can be enjoyed on their own for the diet conscious guest.

In each movement we selected the instruments for their tonal qualities to create a musical form that was individualistic and still a cohesive part of the whole symphony. The wines we selected are as much a part of each course as the food is a part of the entire dinner. The food and the wines experienced together are a dining sensation.

From movement to movement, course to course we have composed a Thanksgiving Symphony Masterpiece. All of the courses are filled with a profusion of sumptuous taste sensations that will be relived in our minds and the minds of our guests’ for a very long time to come.

For a copy of my  "Sommelier’s Thanksgiving Wine Menu" email me at BernardBerlin@q.com

Beaujolais-The Joyous Country Wines of Two Seasons

“Look into a glass of wine from Beaujolais and see the harmony of the hillsides, the smiles of the winegrowers, and the charm of the vineyards and its cellars.” The late Compte Henri de Rambuteau and former president of Confrérie des Compagnons du Beaujolais said this of his beloved province of Beaujolais to an American friend.

There is no other wine in France that epitomizes the personality of the area’s countryside and its people, as much as the wine from Beaujolais. A single mouthful of this wine reveals a subtle effervescence that bursts forth with mouthwatering fruity berry flavors, beckoning the introduction of food. The French enjoy this light red wine with almost any dish, including fish.

The ability of these wines to accompany such a wide variety of food comes from their simple, almost innocent nature. The first sip will be as delightfully revealing as the last swallow, pleasant and fruity. Its lighthearted feel in the mouth invites the company of sausages, hearty vegetables such as mushrooms and potatoes, roasted chickens or rich creamy quiches, brimming with vegetables or ham or both. The wines of Beaujolais are the perfect choice for springtime’s lighter fare or as a year round, everyday table wine.

November is harvest time in the province of Beaujolais. There are a total of twelve growing areas or appellations in this province. Only two of the twelve appellations, Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages, situated in the southern half of the province are the home of Beaujolais Nouveau (new Beaujolais). This “new” wine, released as early as three weeks after harvesting is an exuberant expression of the ancient winemaking process called carbonic maceration. Very few wine growing regions, other than Beaujolais, still use this method. First, whole grapes internally ferment for several days while sitting in steel vats, then the grapes undergo crushing and fermentation to become wine.

The color of Beaujolais Nouveau has an appealing luminous iridescence. The strawberry aromas wafting from this “new” wine are light and fresh, provoking a Proustian memory of summer mornings on a country fruit farm. When sipped it dances on our palates with mild fruity acids; a good-natured companion to whatever food we are having.

In April, all twelve of the appellations in the province, including Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages, release what the French refer to as the “mature” Beaujolais. In just a few short months, after carbonic maceration takes place and waiting in wood barrels, the “mature” wines replace the “new” wine. They are whimsically playful on the palate and spring into our mouths alive with light-hearted fruity energy, slightly tempered by their brief stay in wood barrels.

Beaujolais’ location is near perfect for growing grapes. Their winemakers say that their vineyards are where the winds of the Atlantic Ocean and Loire River Valley join with the winds coming up from the Rhone River Valley and the Mediterranean Sea, to caress their vines. The province lies southeast of Paris between the celebrated terroir (soil) of Burgundy, at its northern most point and south to Lyon, the home of some of the most celebrated restaurants in France.

The long history of Beaujolais, the wine and the region, is one of honest, hardworking people making an unpretentious drinking wine for everyone to enjoy. Their winemaking skills pass on from generation to generation. Some of the winemaking families in Beaujolais have lived there for many generations. Each succeeding generation grows up with the feel of the soil on their hands and an understanding of the grape that sitting in a university classroom cannot impart. Long ago, long before wine cooperatives were established and prior to négociants selling most of the wine produced in Beaujolais, their winemakers sold their wine by the barrel, directly to the cafés as far south as the city of Lyon.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé!
Every year, in the cold darkness of night, on the third Thursday of November, precisely one minute past midnight, caravans of trucks laden with millions of cases of Beaujolais Nouveau, stream away from the vineyards in the southern half of Beaujolais to distribute their fêted cargo. Celebrating the arrival of “Beaujolais Premeur”, its original name, is a two hundred year old French tradition that originated with horse drawn carts delivering barrels of the “new” wine throughout the nearby towns and villages.

Today, not just the French but also the world celebrates Beaujolais Nouveau’s arrival. In cities all over the world, from Paris to New York, in wine shops and restaurants, posters are proudly displayed declaring, Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé! No wine’s release is as heralded or as anticipated as that of Beaujolais Nouveau.

In the springtime, when the excitement of Beaujolais Nouveau has subsided, the “mature wines” of Beaujolais takes center stage. These are the wines from the appellations of Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côtes de Brouilly, Brouilly, Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages, that are slightly aged compared to their “new” wine cousin. In human terms, the “mature wines” would be akin to teenagers, still teeming with unbridled energy but less youthful, by comparison to their “new” born relative.

A favorite of mine from this historic French region and a very good expression of the “mature wine” from Beaujolais is from Chateau de La Chaize, in Brouilly. The domaine or property is one of the largest and grandest in the region. The same architect of the Palace of Versailles, built for Louis XIV, signed the château’s plans; their sumptuous, regal gardens are the work of the same designer of the beautiful and colorful Tuileries Gardens, adjacent to the Louvre, in Paris. The wine of Chateau de La Chaize is estate bottled and is one hundred percent Gamay, which is the principal grape of Beaujolais. It is an affable, fruity wine that feels as if it is gently sparkling on the palate. I have been enjoying this wine for over ten years and each vintage is consistently pleasurable with almost any food.

Delight in any of the wines from Beaujolais while they are young, within six months after the November release for Beaujolais Nouveau; drink the “mature wines” within one year to three or possible four years after their date of vintage. Remember the pleasure of Beaujolais lies within its youthful exuberance. It excites the palate with mild fruity acids; the aromas inspire memories of fresh cut fruit, with hints of garden soil. The colors are invariably shimmering garnet, luring the beholder to take pleasure in the joyous country wines from Beaujolais.

This year, burst forth into springtime with me and enjoy any of the lively, energetic wines from Beaujolais!
Bernard Berlin