Champagne – Simone FM Spinner, CWS | Chasing Grapes

My essay: Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw book challenge: summer 2010

Rank #475 of 1949 voted on by other contestants.

Cooking is the ultimate expression of true sensuality, passion, and love. It is the essence of a life well lived. Eating and drinking are among life’s greatest pleasures. Preparing a meal is the beginning.

A well-prepared, thoughtful meal is a celebration of life and of love. Cooking is the ultimate expression of true sensuality, passion, and love. When it is done well, it is the essence of a life well lived. Eating and drinking are among the greatest pleasures in life. Preparing a meal is the beginning. When we take the time to cook food well, we take the time to eat slowly, taste our food, engage in conversation, experience with one another, and enjoy the moment. Nothing is more primal than the desire for love and connecting with what it means to be human. Sustenance is intrinsically linked to that connection. Emotion is felt in the stomach: sadness, fear, happiness, passion, and bliss. Hunger feels reminiscent of butterflies in the stomach.

Being fearless and adventurous with ingredients and preparations is the key to passionate cooking. Dare to throw away your recipes and ‘paint with food,’ be creative, be bold, be an artist. It’s not about necessarily about training, but paying attention helps. My favorite food is fairly restrained and simple but it is still creative. Not everything needs to be a complicated fusion mess of flavors and textures. Pairing a fresh watercress salad with steamed asparagus, leeks, crumbled bacon, and a couple of over easy, fried eggs sprinkled with tarragon is simple and delicious. Add a crisp, cool glass of Chablis and it is heavenly.

Cooking well is about knowing yourself and knowing your surroundings. Being connected to your food is about being connected to the land; it’s about something real. Don’t be afraid to taste some dirt. Plant some herbs or visit a farm. Know where your food comes from. Cooking well implies opening yourself up to diversity in culture, flavor, texture, scent, and color from the world. Perhaps you are traveling to foreign lands or simply traveling vicariously through the cuisine you prepare. It’s about exploring. Living.

When I am dreaming of France I cook simply, yet beautifully. Every time I braise coq au vin or taste a gorgeous Chinon I am transported. While fantasizing about Italy, I make a frothy cappuccino, sprinkled with cocoa and nibble on a crunchy, handcrafted, pinon nut biscotti or I sip smoky Aglianico.

If I crave Spain, I prepare Paella. I painstakingly select every ingredient from the fragrant saffron threads to the freshest scallops, mussels and clams I can find in my mid-western desert. I play Paco de Lucia in the background and serve my guests cool, floral, Albarino. We dine on my creation, drizzled with Vinegar de Jerez and smoked paprika, garnished with lemon and a bit of ripe, red pepper…and we dream.

Living in the city can be isolated and lonely at times. We are busy. We are stressed. Cooking a meal is a perfect time to reconnect with humanity and our loved ones. It begins when I select the dish or menu. I visit the markets to select the freshest ingredients. And then, I cook, and I cook well.

I find myself engaging in conversation about wine with people every day. In these conversations, I am often asked, “What is your favorite wine?” My answer is always the same…Champagne. Not just any sparkling wine: Champagne. I have many other loves, but none thrill me like Champagne. Yes, Barolo and Châteauneuf-du-Pape have tried to tempt me, Rioja and Burgundy seduce me, Priorat, Bordeaux and Brunello di Montalcino have all tried to steal my heart, but I am forever loyal to the one I love the most. J’adore… je t’aime Champagne….

Since the first creation of Blanquette de Limoux in 1531AD by Benedictine Monks in the Abbey of Saint Hilaire, near Carcassonne, sparkling wine is produced in many places and in many styles. Italy brings us the traditional Franciacorta, tangy, off-dry Prosecco and peaches & cream, fizzy, Moscato d’Asti. Prosecco is excellent for peach bellinis and Moscato is just excellent. Spain delivers often bone dry, delicious Cava produced using indigenous Spanish grapes macabeu, parellada, xarel·lo, and more recently, pinot noir and chardonnay. Germany has Sekt, Portugal makes Espumante, sparkling wines are made in Hungary, Britain, Australia, and in the United States. I am happy to sip on any of these sparklers. They are refreshing, light, fun, and they each have a unique style and personality. But, when it comes to pure, unadulterated BLISS, only one wine delivers. Champagne.

Champagne is a complex wine from a tiny, equally complex region in northern France. The area, known as Champagne, has a sordid, brutal, aristocratic, and serious legacy. Champagne has been a coveted wine region since 52 BC when Roman legions first cultivated grapes there and quarried the abundant limestone bedrock carving out the miles of crayères (caves) to build temples, buildings and roads. These caves, discovered many centuries later, became the perfect storage facilities for caring for and aging the delicate wines of Champagne. During World War I & II, the men and women even lived in these caves for protection from the ravages of war. It is said, that there have been more battles on the lands of Champagne than on any other lands in the world. Some of the grandest scale, deadliest battles have been waged in the vineyards from Attila the Hun, to the Hundred Years’ War, Prussian Wars, and World Wars. Out of this lengthy history of devastation, comes a lovely, elegant, expression of the vines long devoted to the happiest celebrations of life. The most important rites of passage like marriage, the births of babies, the coronations of kings and queens, holidays, the maiden voyage of a new yacht, and so many other joyous celebrations. But, no other celebration calls for Champagne quite like the celebration of love.

Recently, mon petit ami Jerome and I celebrated such effervescent bliss with a bottle of my favorite of all Champagnes. Perrier Jouët. This special wine is all about love. The Perrier Jouët Champagne House was founded in 1811 by young newlywed lovers, Nicolas Perrier, the son of winegrower, Adèle Jouët, the daughter of a family of wine merchants. The couple invested in 65 hectares in Epernay and 40 additional hectares in Avize and Cramant, some of the most prestigious, Grand Cru vineyards in the region. (Pictured here) The House of Perrier Jouët still resides on these lands. The legendary love story of Nicolas and Adèle flourished until his death in 1854, at which time their son, Charles, took the helm of the business. Perrier Jouët, like most Champagnes of the time, was a relatively sweet wine. Charles created the very first, modern style, dry Champagne, revolutionizing the wine, the region and the industry. Long associated with royalty and prestige, in 1888, Perrier-Jouët became the most expensive champagne in the world; with Perrier-Jouët 1874 breaking all price records at Christie’s, the world’s leading art auctioneer. The iconic, gorgeous, hand painted Perrier-Jouët bottle was first created by famed Art Deco painter Emile Gallé in 1902. The work of art was one of five prototype bottles misplaced in a crayère until it was mistakenly uncovered in 1964. The white and green bouquet of anemones has become the symbol of the house, the symbol of excellence and a symbol of effervescent love.

Many a romantic and a poet agree with me and extoll the virtues of Champagne. Legend has it that Dom Pérignon, a blind monk, upon tasting Champagne for the first time, exclaimed, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!” Coco Chanel said, “I only drink Champagne on two occasions, when I am in love, and when I am not.” Casanova felt Champagne was essential for seduction. Marilyn Monroe was famous for bathing in Champagne. And, my favorite, Oscar Wilde, infamous for his provocation, “I can resist anything except temptation,” added “Only the truly unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne.”

I can always find a reason to drink Perrier Jouët. The Perrier Jouët Grand Brut, with its ultra-fine mousse, smoky, mineral notes with hints of lemon zest and peaches is thoroughly delightful, but the Cuveé Belle Époque Grand Fleur, the Cuveé Grand Fleur Blason Rosé, and the Cuveé Grand Fleur Blanc de Blanc are absolutely unbelievable. If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life, it would be Belle Époque. Belle Époque has a wonderful, feminine, delicate bouquet of ginger, freesia, gardenia, toasted almonds, and creaminess with a luminous mousse that plays on the tongue. The chiffon pale pink Rosé adds faint strawberries, cinnamon and pink rose petals, while the Blanc de Blancs delivers a slight lime blossom, honeysuckle and lemon curd note to the beautiful, elegant, exquisite blend that is Perrier Jouët.

There is nothing more titillating than spending an afternoon with a perfectly chilled bottle of Belle Époque, a platter of freshly shucked, briny, succulent, oysters and mon petit ami Jerome….Effervescent Bliss!

*Perrier Jouët Grand Brut is affordable and can be found at most regional wine specialty stores. Perrier Jouët Belle Époque Grand Fleur can be found at Applejack Wine & Spirits, Argonaut Wine & Spirits, Divino, City Wine, and Incredible Wine & Spirits and may be special ordered. Belle Époque Blason Rosé and Blanc de Blancs are trickier to find, but, on occasion, they may be special ordered.

Photos/info: Flickr by Gaetan Lee, http://www.perrier-jouet.com

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:303 magazine: August 15, 2012: http://303magazine.com/2012/08/65970/

Simone FM Spinner, CWS, CWE is a wine educator, sommelier, and passionate wine & food lover. She is looking forward to Chasing Grapes and sharing her experiences with you-Salut!.