The last few years taught me that Champagne is wine, not just bottled fireworks poised to explode on special occasions. Champagne’s food and aperitif friendliness are more interesting to me now than at any other time during my twenty seven year wine zag. I used to zag around Champagne while others zigged straight at it. I […]
Erpacrife Nebbiolo-Best Sparkling Wine Ever?
Rarely do the polarizing forces du jour swirling around wine’s combustible circles, like new world vs. old world, traditional vs. modern, or natural vs. unnatural(?), create radically new standard bearers overnight. Each corner in the world of wine is too steeped in history, nature, method, and skill to be knocked out in a single round. So how […]
Three Champagne Tasting Lessons
The blind Champagne tasting was organized for our group’s usual critical dissection. The sparklers made the tasting calendar because a regular member of our vinous clan, Dale Cruse, has been wrapped in a self declared “Champagne Campaign” mission, adhering to his disciplined plan of tasting at least one glass of sparkling wine every day for a […]