Hi, everybody et bienvenue à Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s and
Brian’s blog about wine, food, art, and culture. Today we visited two producers and explored
the countryside while trying to dodge the raindrops. I got a lesson in opening a bottle of
Champagne.
First, a word about
quality vs quantity in visiting wine estates.
We generally visit only one or two per day and we try to schedule
appointments in advance. The producers
appreciate the planning and are more willing to provide longer
interactions. We can learn more about
the wine, the estate, the family story, the culture. Rushing from one winery to the next does not
offer the same depth of experience.
Our first appointment was
at Champagne Guy Charbaut in Mareuil-sur-Ay, just a short drive from Bouzy. He is located on a busy street in the
village. Behind this wall is a courtyard
with the office, a gite, and a reception room to accommodate events.
Alexandra was our host
and took us across the street to the cellars, behind a non-descript, unmarked
wooden door.
The cellars were constructed
in the 1800s, making them 150 or so years old.
They are quite
labyrinthine and can store tens of thousands of bottles.
Here are bottles in a
riddling machine. It is still hard work
and manually performed, but much less demanding than turning each bottle by
hand.
Champagne Guy Charbaut
produces a prized Champagne rosé they call Memory. These bottles are riddled
by hand.
They have a nice facility for
conducting tastings and group meals.
I’ve been watching how
easily restaurant servers and producers open Champagne bottles without the loud
pop. The bottle just makes a slight
whooshing sound that is often described as a “sigh.” I’ve always made the pop sound when I’ve
opened bottles. That’s fine, of course,
as it is a festive, celebratory sound.
Sometimes the cork is damp and gripping it is difficult and I use a
towel to get a better grip.
It turns out that what
I’ve been doing incorrectly is to try to open the bottle by twisting the cork
out of the bottle. Instead, what I
should have been doing is twisting the bottle off the cork, turning the bottom
of the bottle while holding the cork still.
Leaving the cage on the cork helps keep a grip on the cork.
Here’s a short video to
show you my learning process. I’m doing
a little better but I also look forward to getting more practice! I’ve always known to point the bottle away
from anyone else in case the cork goes flying, but I was a little distracted
today. You might get a chuckle from
seeing our host, Alexandra, move out of the way. Here goes and enjoy.
After saying goodbye to
Alexandra and Champagne Guy Charbaut, we drove to the mountainside village of
Hautvillers for lunch. It is beautiful
with wonderful views. These vineyards
are interesting because they fill a sort of amphitheater topography. That means the same vineyard has many
different exposures to sun.
The lunch specials hit
the spot, omelette and potatoes for me.
Pasta with Bolognese
sauce for Mary.
Our afternoon appointment
was at Champagne Vilmart et Cie in Milly la Montagne.
What is unusual about
Champagne Vilmart is their extensive use of oak barrels, both the large foudres and the typical barrels you see
in this photo. Their style is one of
more softness and roundness than most producers.
The softer expression is
certainly what we experienced when we tasted through their portfolio. The wines are still fresh and complex, but
don’t have the crisp edges of other Champagne examples.
They have this
interesting stained glass window that depicts a year in the life of the vine and of wine production.
Our final dinner in France
on this trip was at La Cave à Champagne in Epernay. I should mention that getting to both
restaurants where we have dined in Epernay has taken us along the Avenue de Champagne, which
I might describe as the Rodeo Drive of Champagne. The old, enormous, beautiful Champagne houses
are a sight to see.
Our reservation was for
7:30 p.m. Guess what.
Their list included
Champagne Goutorbe. You may recall from
our post a couple of days ago that they invited us in for a short tour and
tasting when our planned appointment across the street was cancelled. I appreciate that kindness so when we saw
them on the wine list tonight, we chose their wine. And they let me practice my bottle opening skills!
It was a fine example of
a solid Champagne with both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, crisp and clean with
fresh aromas and flavors of citrus and tree fruit, fine effervescence, good
balance and length. I’d be happy to have
it in our collection at home.
I had this amazing first
course of scallops and crawfish in a Champagne cream sauce.
We both had dos de cabillaud, baked cod, which was
the poisson de marché, the fish of
the day, also in a Champagne cream sauce with lentils and root vegetables. We are always amazed at how consistent they
are with quality ingredients and expert technique.
Not knowing if we will
see cheese courses in Germany, I finished with the trilogie de fromages de la Champagne.
Once again, I felt a
little wistfulness about leaving France, but we’re looking forward to our first
wine, culinary, and cultural visit to Germany.
That’s our post for
today. Thank you so much for reading us
at Cépage et Cuisine. Keep checking back for new posts. We’ll try to get them on the blog as quickly
as we can. In the meantime,
Cheers!
Mary♥Brian
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