It's Champagne Season! 10.22.2013

Let's face it:  it's always champagne season.  Sometimes, I sip champagne because it's Tuesday and the sunset looks great.  Why not?  But it is true that champagne is my favorite beverage and I never need an occasion to drink it.  

My wine guy, Phil Bernstein, of MacArthur Beverages in DC recently organized a tasting for wine/food bloggers to blind taste grower champagnes.  So I immediately arranged for child care and told Eric I would be out for the evening.  Obviously.

Grower champagnes -- also known as "farmer fizz" -- come directly from the families who own the vineyards.  Larger champagne houses such as Veuve, Moet, or Pol Roger, gather their grapes from the entire Champagne region.  You can distinguish a grower champagne by the initials RM (Recoltant-Manipulant, which means grower producer) on the wine label.

Phil set up eight brut champagnes for us to taste, with one ringer that was champagne but not a grower champagne.  I know what you're thinking:  this is more fun than anyone should be allowed to have.  If you've never been to tasting, you are missing out.  Aside from learning new tastes and textures of wine, the conversation that happens around the tasting is ridiculously fun for any wine nerd.

We blind tasted all eight champagnes, interspersed with comments, and guesses about the ringer.  I'm going to list the champagnes we tasted, with these comments:

My favorite was the Dosnon & Lepage Brut ($40).  It was dry with a tiny hint of sweetness.  It had a smooth texture and went down easy.  I'd enjoy this as my daily champagne, if I was someone who drank daily champagne.  

There were two rosés in the tasting and I was not crazy about them.  I have a hard time with rosé champagne:  the bubbles dissipate in a cluster-like way, which can be distracting from the taste, and the taste was not potent enough for me.  The two rosés were:  Dosnon & Lepage Brut rosé ($40) and Pascal Doquet Brut rosé ($49.99).

The ringer was a Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($40).  When I first smelled it, it was a little funky.  But that's never deterred me from trying a beverage and by the second sip, I was enjoying it.

Other champagnes in the blind taste test were:

• L. Aubry Fils Brut Premier Cru ($39.99):  Very even; something I'd love to drink before (or with) an Indian meal.

• Pierre Peters Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvee de Reserve ($49.99):  a little smoother than the Aubry and a longer finish.

• 2007 Vilmart & Cie Brut Grand Cellier D'Or ($69.99): Phil's description:  "This one would be for the acid freaks."

• 2010 Cedric Bouchard (Inflorescence) Brut Blanc de Noirs Val Vilaine ($59.99):  Powerful finish; perfect to pair with oysters.

During the champagne tasting, there was also a tasting going on for Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whiskey (12 and 15 years aged).  In addition to being a champagne lover, I also very deeply love single malt scotch whiskey (I am Indian after all).  I tried both and purchased the 12 year;  smoother and just the right amount of intense smokiness.  Big recommend.

For all other wine recommendations, ask my wine guy.

MacArthur Beverages

4877 MacArthur Beverages, NW

Washington, DC 20007

1-866-674-3716

Notes from a Champagne Tasting 02.24.2013

Pouring the good stuff at the Pol Roger tasting at MacArthur Beverages

Shortly after I met Eric, he introduced me to what I now think is the best champagne:  Pol Roger.  He was quite insistent that Pol Roger was the way to go, and he was right.  That first sip to the last of Pol Roger, the crisp cut of the white grapes mixed with the tiniest bit of sweetness, is pure happiness.  It's not surprising that Winston Churchilll loved this champagne so much.

The label from our 1997 Churchill

Shortly after we were engaged, we received a vintage 1997 Pol Roger Brut Cuvee Winston Churchill.  We waited to drink it at our wedding reception and enjoyed every single sip.  And you know every time there is an impending natural disaster or national security threat, I run out and get a bottle or two of Pol Roger just in case the world does end.  And when it doesn’t end, I celebrate by drinking Pol Roger champagne.  It’s really a win-win.

MacArthur Beverages yesterday held a tasting of four varieties of Pol Roger champagne, and it did not take much convincing for me to go.  One was the 1999 Winston Churchill ($199).  There also was a 2004 Rose ($99), a 1999 Blanc de Chardonnay ($109), and the Brut Reserve (what I call the “plain Jane” Pol Roger) for $44.99.  (All of the prices noted are sale prices.)  My favorite was the plain Jane, followed by the Blanc de Chardonnay.  I was surprised not to be blown over by the Churchill, but there it is.  I also really enjoyed the Rose and would drink that again.  But if forced to choose one, definitely the Brut Reserve.  Simple and spectacular.

One of my dream house fantasies involves a rather large wine fridge stocked – every single slot – with Pol Roger Brut Reserve.  Do I want a wall of champagne more than a walk-in closet?  Why yes I do.

Cita Stelzer speaking with champagne tasters next to her book

The tasting yesterday was combined with a book signing by Cita Stelzer, who wrote Dinner with Churchill:  Policy-Making at the Dinner Table.  Stelzer also talked about the book on The Splendid Table yesterday, and I recommend you listen to that conversation.  You can find the show on iTunes under podcasts. Churchill was a gourmand and consumed food and drink with great vigor.  He is known for using the dinner table for international relations, and passionately (and quite effectively) used the table stage as a on which to accomplish his goals .

I’m excited to read this book for a number of reasons, but primarily because the idea of being at the table with people – whether friends or world leaders – is not an insignificant thing.  Aside from the food, there is the conversation, and the building, sustaining, or falling apart of relationships that happens.  The manner in which all of that unfolds is unique at the table because it requires pacing and time.  The placing of plates, silverware, napkins, and glasses – you could not do that without the prospect of time, and time is required for any relationship.

Shall we toast to long, interesting dinners?

MacArthur Beverages

4877 MacArthur Blvd, NW

Washington, DC 20007

1-866-674-3716

       

Chez Blume 10.25.2010

I try very hard when I'm in the grocery checkout line to keep my eyes faced forward.  It's not the candy.  It's the magazines.  Between the imperative, need-to-know stories featured on the cover of US Weekly; the home magazines which will really, finally inspire me to make my home so absolutely beautiful; and the luscious food (oh God the food!) on the cover of any food magazine, I feel compelled to purchase at least one magazine due to the vital information contained within the magazine. I must have the vital information.


The worst are those "special edition" cooking magazines.  You know the ones I'm talking about:  "Favorite Chicken Recipes from the South with Some Yankee Influence", or "Favorite Cakes Using 7 Sticks of Crisco", or "Favorite Casseroles Using At Least Two Cans of Condensed Soup".  I'm a sucker for those special editions. 


Back in the spring of this year, I purchased Fine Cooking's "Make It Tonight".  What lured me into this magazine was not the cover shot (a bowl of beef and bean chili with avocado bits) but the promise of a quick, delicious meal.  That promise has been fulfilled, and that $9.99 (before taxes) I spent has proven to be a worthy investment.  I've cooked several recipes over and over again and they are delicious.


Tonight I made the Parmesan-crusted chicken, which was easy.  I paired that with steamed broccoli with cubed ham, stir fried in a tablespoon of butter and a few pinches of salt.  Eric and I had champagne to drink with our dinner, and the kids had apple juice and water.


Here are the ingredients for the Parmesan chicken and in parentheses is what I used:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about six ounces each) (I used about 1.5 pounds of chicken breast strips -- Perdue)
• 6 Tbs. Dijon-style mustard (I used organic Dijon mustard from Whole Foods)
• 1Tbs. white wine or water (I used Pino Grigio from Balducci's that has been sitting around in our kitchen for a few weeks)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I grated on the large side of a grater)
• 1 cup fresh English muffin (or sandwich bread) crumbs (I bought a can of Jason's bread crumbs, flavored; loved the smell)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 Tbs. melted butter

In  a shallow bowl you mix the mustard, wine, and pepper, then add the chicken.  The recipe says you can marinate up to two hours; next time I make this I will marinate overnight.  I love the combination of Dijon mustard and chicken, and it just can't be intense enough for me.


In a separate dish, mix the Parmesan and bread crumbs with some black pepper.  Then drizzle the melted butter and combine.


Switch on the oven to 450 degrees, butter a baking sheet or rack. 


The recipe then went into using your "wet" hand and your "dry" hand but I ignored all of that and used my right hand to place the marinated chicken into the bread crumb mixture and roll it around until it was completely covered.  It looked fantastic before it was cooked and even more fantastic when it came out of the oven. Using the larger side of a grater gives the chicken incredible texture on the outside.


Then place the chicken on the baking sheet, stick it in the oven for 30 minutes, and voila!  You have fantastically delicious chicken! 


As you may know, broccoli is a favorite at our dinner table so I steamed two heads of broccoli.  I wanted to try doing something with pancetta and broccoli but the Balducci's near my house was out of pancetta.  I got instead two thick slices of ham, cubed them, and then stir fried in a tablespoon of butter.  While the ham sizzled in the pan, I sprinkled some paprika, which gave them ham a deeper pink color.  I don't know how long the ham was on the stove, but at some point I decided it was enough.  I tossed the ham with the broccoli and a few pinches of salt.  The result was delicious. 


When we sat down to dinner, I served the meal by candlelight, with champagne.