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Question: What Champagne should I buy?

Answer: Somewhat surprised by so many enquiries asking which Champagne should I buy for the holiday season. Your scribe expected more interest shown in so many other “bubbles” choice out there from Cava, Prosecco, England’s Sparkling, to underrated British Columbia. Yes go ahead and celebrate with luxury Champagne again for the end of 2019 and ushering in 2020. Big brands still dominate but growers are making some headway. The monopoly of British Columbia Liquor Distribution has several non-vintage blends on sale till month end with a $5 discount including vibrant Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut $59.99, drier Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles Bouzy Grand Cru $62.99, lively Taittinger Brut $64.99, consistent Louis Roederer Brut Premier $68.99, and rich Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve $68.99. My first pick is to order from Marquis Wine Cellars in Vancouver for the newly arrived outstanding vintage 2012 Paul Bara Grand Millesime Bouzy Grand Cru disgorged 05/19 for $86.86 less a 10% discount for 6 bottles or more – plus they have some other Grower Champagnes.

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A Burgundy dinner last week where many wine glasses were served together in comparative flights brought back some nostalgic memories. As a wine judge at many blind tastings over the years your scribe is used to having identical glasses placed in front of him with different markings on them to distinguish one wine from another ranging from some numbered system to coloured ribbons. However at a dinner event you are usually looking for some method that is a bit more subtle yet assists you in keeping the wines organized. Franck Krynen the Wine Director-Assistant GM of Global Restaurant in Vancouver on his own thoughtful initiative came up with a clever solution this time. He placed different coloured dots both on the menu and on the corresponding glasses to help guests keep all their wines identifiable. It worked. Well done! At home we generally use one of these 2 ideas: If only 2 or 3 wines are being compared often serve them in different height glasses with matching height decanters – shorter to taller – so simple but easy to distinguish. See photo. If you want all your wines in an identical shaped glasses – say for example when judging different pinot noir varieties – or for more than 2 or 3 wines then use a wine glass writer on the base of the glass to number them. Useful for keeping track and wipes off easily afterwards. What system have you found to work best for your service?

By the way some very short notes on these wines: Big fan of Jacquesson bubbles. Delicious value. Cuvee 739 is outstanding with fantastic vineyard grapes and low dosage of 3.5. Christian Moreau Vaillons 2002 was truly remarkable so fresh and complex but it was the Cuvee Guy Moreau of 80 year old vines compared to 5 year younger vintage 2007 of more typical Dampt. Comparing white Burgundy again confirmed 2005 as a richer softer fully mature vintage while 2006 is lighter but remains fresher with better acidity balance with lovely elegance. Several bottles of Remoissenet “Renomee” were corked. Nonetheless a good flight of whites with the braised leeks course. Reds from 2005 are classic with much more impressive balance than the whites for longer aging. Showed excellent Chambolle stylish character with naturally the 1er cru having more depth than the village wine from the same producer. Monthelie particularly from Parent in 2002 is an underrated value. Grand Crus were at another level of quality complexity but from 4 different producers and all different vintages so educational. Still a very strong endorsement of what an amazing treasure those 1985 red Burgundies still are approaching age 35. Rare treat.

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Question: Want to buy some Champagne and white & red Burgundy for holiday gifts – and for myself. Would you please guide me to the best vintages to put away for cellaring?

Answer: Lucky you and your friends. Generally all Champagnes including non-vintage or multi-vintage together with a wider selection of growers are pretty reliable these days. The hot new vintage is 2012. Look for those as they are released. However you can’t go wrong with searching for any remaining 2008s. A classic structured year of remarkable balanced acidity plus power to provide outstanding complexity with further cellaring. Burgundy are becoming more and more expensive with a limited supply. As you know the producer can be as important or more so than the vintage. For whites though I would concentrate on impressive 2017 & treasures from 2014 – truly a wonderful collectible in Chablis too! For reds I would definitely focus on 2015 and save some budget by being patient to jump on the 2018 top crus coming down the pipeline. Check your valuable IWFS Vintage Card Chart too.

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Your scribe’s update trip to Italy last month reinforced my opinion that Europe appreciates using more bitter greens for both taste reasons and health benefits compared to North America. Various chicories (dandelion plant family) are utilized there in many ways throughout a meal to great culinary advantage. In America the use seems much more limited to a salad course sometimes including radicchio for colour or some curly endive thrown in. Certainly those bitter flavours take some getting used to compared to our often “sugar” dependent taste preferences. Sort of like learning to enjoy a classic campari & soda as an aperitif or the increasing use of Aperol by the cocktail crowd. However this may be changing as there is a trend developing and it is encouraging to see farms now growing a wider range of these varieties with suppliers trying to make them more available for the consumer. This was brought home at several recent events including “Every Chef Needs A Farmer” written up here previously. Obtained impressive description cards to get to know several of these chicory varieties better plus a recipe on the back of each for a suggested use. Here are 6 interesting ones you might consider to persue further:

1. Chioggia Radicchio – Apple, Fennel & Radicchio Salad

2. Castelfranco Radicchio – Winter Radicchio & Citrus Salad

3. Sugarloaf Radicchio – Sugarloaf Pasta with Lemon & Almonds

4. Punterelle – Punterelle Salad with Anchovy

5. Escarole – Italian Wedding Soup

6. Pink Rosa Del Veneto – Rosa Del Veneto Winter Citrus Salad

You might want to buy some seeds and try growing some of these exciting greens yourself. Should be worth it!

Do you already enjoy a specific chicory bitter green you can recommend with a recipe?

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Question: How can I find a special bottle of older wine I want to purchase that is not available at my liquor store?

Answer: Don’t know where you live but this is a common problem for wine purchasers everywhere around the world. Government liquor stores only carry a limited number of wine listings. Your local wine shop will probably be better in assisting you to locate that treasure you want or put you in touch with the wine agent who acts for the appropriate producer. Lots of larger wine shops have an extensive inventory of wines you can search on their site. Many of the auction houses (including Acker Merrall, Christie’s, Hart Davis Hart, Sotheby’s, Zachys among others) are worth monitoring for top wines coming up for sale. In Ontario check out Waddingtons.ca. However do your own searching on line too. Your scribe still uses wine-searcher.com to check possible locations and especially ball park wine values. Also check out lots of others including winezap.com, wineaccess.com and irongatewine.com. This last one is an Ontario company of President Warren F. Porter & Megan McDonald Sales & Acquisitions Specialist who this week held a Vancouver reception opening 1976 Krug Collection in Magnum plus other collectibles and have an impressive rare wine inventory on their website. Good luck. Enjoy your investigation.

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