Champagne

 Tea although wonderful is second to the ultimate beverage - a glass of champagne.........

                                                  

Champagne is like a glass of promise.......full of  light and subtle sparks of bubbles...probably my only regret in my life so far,

 was not drinking more good champagne....

There were many opportunities to do so and thinking about it......... a glass of bubbly might have made a difference....


Too much of anything is bad but too much Champagne is just right
F. Scott Fitzgerald

I love this quote from Lily Bollinger ~ it is most definitely my favourite quote




 "I only drink Champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. 
Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone.
When I have company, I consider it obligatory.
 I trifle with it if I am not hungry 
and drink it when I am.
Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty"

Lily Bollinger

Sharing a glass on the deck at Hamilton Island

 Dom Pérignon a Benedictine monk between 1639-1715 is thought to have accidentally discovered champagne when bubbles appeared in the wine he was making in the Champagne region of France. But the English (as usual ) dispute these claims stating that it was actually cider makers who discovered sparkling wine 20 years earlier They claim the French could not have done it as the glass in the bottles then was not thick enough to sustain the pressure of the second fermentation process 
They were thought to have added sugar to still wine and created the fermentation as their bottles were thicker and stronger so they did not explode. 
The English imported a lot of french wine and developed the process now known as the Méthode Chamenois The French have perfected and refined this art of course that we now enjoy as Champagne


Whatever your budget there is always a champagne or sparkling wine to enjoy for every occasion and meal.


Try Grandin I think of it as the Jacobs Creek of France- very inexpensive but has that lovely fermented French flavour It is also beautiful as a base for champagne cocktails or Champagne Bellini 


"Come quick I am tasting the stars" Dom Pérignon

                                                                                                  

 My favourite  Champagne is Pol Roger

This is how they describe their range in the Pol Roger website 

"Stylistically, its range is much lighter and more delicate than Bollinger, for example, and the Brut non-vintage has often tasted disappointing over the last decade, particularly when purchased in France. The Blanc de Blancs, by contrast, is all that it should be, full of early flowering grace and vanilla charm, while the vintage wines have a fine track record for slow, steady ageing."

My Wish List

To visit the Champagne region of France and Pol Roger House

Champagne Cocktail

4 Sugar cubes

2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters

1 Bottle champagne

2 Nips of brandy

Strawberries

Drop sugar cube into the bottom of the champagne glass 

Add a couple of dashes of Bitters 

Add 1/2 nip of Brandy to each glass fill with Champagne

 Garnish with strawberry

Cheers & Enjoy