Reviews – Page 3 – The Bubbles Review

Here’s cheers to the fabulous women of Champagne!

On March 8, 2019

There are many examples of amazing women in Champagne, here a few names you might know, and some you would like to know more about. From historical to modern times, if you look at the dates, they are around 50 -100 years apart. In life, we all benefit from the legacy created from those that came before us. International Women’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate that. Here’s cheers to all of the fabulous women of Champagne!

The word ‘veuve’ means widow in French, many of the great women of champagne, were widows and mothers, who became major influencers in the champagne industry. At the time the only way a woman could be at the helm of a business was to take over after the death of her husband. So successful were the veuves, it is rumoured that some producers added veuve into their title, even when there was no veuve at the house!

Veuve Clicquot – Veuve Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin

In 1805, after the death of her husband, Madame Clicquot at 27 years old became one of the first businesswomen of France when she took over the Clicquot business. In an era when women were excluded from the business world, she dared to assume the head of the company – a role she undertook with passion and determination. According to the Veuve Clicquot company description of her, Madame Clicquot’s character might be summarised with two words: audacious and intelligent.

Imagine the audacity of this decision at a time when women were not even allowed to open their own bank account!

She is credited with many innovations that have steered the success of champagne – the riddling process to remove the sediment from the bottle; improving the bottle so it would withstand the pressure of the bubbles; creating Rose champagne by adding some red wine; and her PR and branding, creating the first labels on a champagne bottle – the yellow label that still adorns the Veuve Clicquot bottle today.

I love the story of Veuve Clicquot, you can read more about her on our blog here:

Cheers to the Widow Clicquot!

Madame Pommery – Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin Pommery

It was upon her husband’s death in 1858, that Madame Pommery, assumed full control of the business. One of her first decisions was to sell off their struggling wool business, and concentrate on the Champagne wine business. And, we are so glad that she did!

“I decided there and then to carry on the business in my husband’s stead”

With those words, the young widow set out to conquer national and international markets –overturning, without any qualms whatsoever, one or two corporate management rules. She was a true trailblazer, laying down the basis for any luxury product promotion; style, brand, communication and public relations on the estates.

She invented the modern style of champagne with the introduction of Brut Champagne, Brut being a much drier style was a bold initiative, as at the time the prevailing taste was for very sweet champagne (up to 300gms of sugar per litre, compared with now, depending on the level of Brut, is up to 12 gms per litre).

Only 10 years after taking over the business she built the Pommery Estate which at the time was the biggest building site of the century in Reims. This grand site is still the home of Pommery and is an amazing place to visit. Madame Pommery described her champagne in two words; “Joyful and Lightness”. Now that is something to be celebrated!

Another amazing legacy, you can learn more about Madame Pommery in our Bubbly Appreciation Course and on our blog here:

Celebrating Madame Pommery

Lily Bollinger – Élisabeth Law Lauriston-Boubers-Bollinger

In a new century, another amazing lady, Lily Bollinger took over the presidency of the Bollinger house after the death of her husband Jacques in 1941, and directed it until 1971. She launched the Bollinger RD vintage in 1961 and the vintage Vieilles Vignes Françaises in 1969, putting the brand on the international stage. She is credited with introducing the brand to celebrities of the time. When asked by a journalist from the London Daily Mail in 1961 “When do you drink champagne?” her witty and facetious answer is still quoted today as an exquisite definition of champagne:

“I drink it 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’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it — unless I’m thirsty…”

Historically there have been some great women of Champagne. But what is it like today?

We asked Floriane Eznack from Champagne Jacquart about women working in Champagne today.

Floriane explained about the role of the wine maker, and how in Champagne the main responsibility is to produce the consistency of style in the non-vintage blend.

As a young winemaker, Floriane earned a Masters Degree in Oenology in Reims in 2004. Her studies included a couple of harvests in some of Champagne’s finest Houses, including Moët & Chandon. She joined Jacquart in January 2011 as Chef de Cave (Chief Winemaker), where she plays a central role in the creation of the finest quality blends for all of the Jacquart’s champagnes.

In our interview Floriane shares with us her motivation for working in the industry, and how she gave up her dream of becoming a fighter pilot! When she chose the wine industry, it was clear, she didn’t want to work with any other wine, but bubbles; “Not just bubbles for celebration, but a wine that everyone loves. It cheers you up and makes you happy and there is a magic behind champagne” she says.
See our interview with Floriane here:

Interview with Floriane Eznack – Champagne Jacquart

An update to this post. Floriane moved on from her role at Jacquart and Champagne, at the end of 2019, but you’ll still be drinking her legacy at Jacquart for a little while longer.

More features and stories on the modern era of women in Champagne, coming soon in our blogs and Bubbly Appreciation course. Stay tuned for that.

Until then, let’s raise a glass to celebrate these amazing women.

Cheers!

Natalie Pickett is the Founder of The Bubbles Review which is for people who like champagne and other bubbles, written by people who have a love of all things sparkling! At The Bubbles Review, we like to debunk some myths, make the art of drinking champagne accessible, explore bubbly regions and champagne bars, and provide events for you to join us and indulge.

Like to keep following us? Sign up to The Bubbles Review list and you will be included in our Subscriber prize draws. The monthly giveaway is usually a chance to win a lovely champagne or sparkling gift. Join our list!

Christmas in Champagne

By TBR

On December 21, 2018

In Bubbles Blog

As is the custom in the cities of France, a Christmas market is established in the centre of Reims, with 145 stalls in little chalets in the square surrounding the famous Notre Dame cathedral. Tourists and locals wander tasting traditional products, drinking wine or cidre chaud (hot cider) and enjoying the Christmas lights.

In Epernay, the historic capital of Champagne, les Habits de Lumière happens with a three day festival on the second weekend of December. Every Champagne House on the Avenue de Champagne opens its gates to the public and light shows are projected on the facades of Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger, de Venoge and more. The event includes illuminations, projections, dazzling sound and light shows, champagne and gourmet food tastings, and finishes with a vintage car display on the Sunday.

https://www.facebook.com/habitsdelumiere.epernay/videos/517444465285806/

Aside from celebrations, the period before Christmas is very busy for Champagne Houses and growers! Indeed, they receive last minute orders from their customers: wine shops and private individuals. It is a key moment in terms of sales for the whole of Champagne.

In the winery, some start tasting the vins clairs (still wines from last harvest that are in vats or barrels) and will decide later of the assemblages (blends). This year there is great excitement as the Vintage of 2018 is very promising!

In the vineyards, everything is so quiet although some growers may begin to prune, pruning will be much more intense in the first months of 2019, before spring.

But I am sure you wonder how we celebrate Christmas?! Here is a typical lunch or dinner paired with champagne or wine that we enjoy every year! I will share with you the best match between each dish and a type of champagne.

Christmas lunch menu

Oysters with a very low dosage Blanc de Blancs (Extra-Brut)

Smoked salmon with a standard Brut champagne (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier in equal parts)

Foie Gras with a Vintage Brut Champagne (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in equal parts)

Turkey and chestnuts with a pure Pinot Noir champagne (Blanc de Noirs)

Cheeses, let’s have a break and enjoy some red wines! Why not a red Coteaux Champenois, which is a still wine produced in the Champagne region. Champagne is not only about bubbles! If you like blue cheese (Roquefort, Fourme d’Ambert), try some Ratafia, which is a sweet liqueur produced by many Champagne houses.

Bûche de Noël (yule log) pairs nicely with a demi-sec champagne. Demi sec, although it translates to half dry, is actually the term for a sweet champagne.

Merry Christmas – Joyeux Noël to you!

Sébastien Lebon was born, raised and continues to live and work in Champagne. Lucky him! He has worked in a range of roles for some of the big champagne houses as well as grower champagnes. His favourite champagne quote is by Sir Winston Churchill: “Magnum is the best size for two gentlemen to share over lunch, especially if one of them is not drinking.”

Harvest in Champagne

By TBR

On October 28, 2018

In Bubbles Blog

An insight from my friend Sébastien Lebon, a contributor to The Bubbles Review. Born, raised and still living in Champagne, Sébastien provides us with some bubbly snippets, direct from the source. I asked Sébastien to share some insights on what it is like to be in the region for harvest.

Harvest in Champagne

“The calm before the storm” – This is what we might say when wandering in the Champagne vineyard just before the beginning of the harvest. Everything is so quiet and all of a sudden…more than 100 000 seasonal workers land on the chalky ground of the region.

Within more or less 3 weeks, they will pick the equivalent of 35 000 hectares as it is strictly forbidden to use machines. The C.I.V.C. (Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne) decides for each wine village or “cru” (320 in total) when the grapes can be gathered. For instance, picking usually starts earlier in the south of the region since the climate is a bit warmer so the grapes will be ripe sooner than in the north. In a qualitative approach this organisation also limits the yield per hectare (10 800 kg/hectare in 2018).

Several factors are considered before commencing: the acidity, the level of sugar and the health of the grapes are the most important. Some samples of grapes from each village are analysed before making any decision.

The work is tough and painful and must be done efficiently regardless of what the weather conditions are. To regain their strength, pickers wait for the morning break: coffee (or champagne!), pâtés en croûte (terrine wrapped in pastry) and maroilles (cheese) pies!

Once the grapes are collected, they are taken to a presshouse. There are presshouses all over the region because we do not want to damage the grapes during a long transportation. It is not unusual to find that traffic is busy and slow in September as the roads are filled with tractors carrying these precious fruits!

Pressing, it is done very softly to avoid colouring the white juice with the black skins of Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes. Then the juice is collected in decanting vats and after a few hours, the first alcoholic fermentation starts!

After days or weeks of hard labour, you know harvest comes to an end when you can hear in the distance cars and tractors honking. Tradition also warrants the vans to be decorated with vines. The “cochelet” is the name given to the big party thrown to celebrate the end of this intense period where champagne flows freely!

I am sure you are wondering how last harvest was… well it was exceptional! In recent years, harvest has begun earlier than usual and in some parts picking has begun in the earlier ripening villages in late August, recent harvests have shown the quality was very high for any type of grape! 2018 was definitely a harvest everyone will remember. Let’s hope it is the same for this year, and that the winter and spring tastings of vins clairs (clear still wines) will meet our expectations!

Update for 2022 –

The Comité Champagne explains that the 2022 season is characterised by warmth, with robust ripening dynamics, and wonderful well being situations, and it has the potential to be similar to the very good trilogy of 2018-2019-2020, after the troublesome 2021 season.

And that is why it has set a yield of 12,000 kg/ha for the 2022 harvest. That is the best yield in 15 years (2007).

If you liked this you may also like these other blogs from The Bubbles Review:

Come quickly. I am drinking the stars!

Minerality in Champagne

Margaret River Sparkling Cellar Doors

By TBR

On October 4, 2018

In Sparkling Cellar Doors

The Margaret River region is situated around three and a half hours South of Perth. It is more than a day trip, at least three days would allow you time to discover some of the Sparkling Cellar Doors.

This is was not my first visit to Margaret River, but it was the first time I have visited to explore only the bubbles from the region. I love that the area has so much to offer – beaches, towering Karri tree forests, vineyards and rural views, local produce, gourmet food and, of course, the wine. On this ‘research’ trip during February 2018, I enjoyed pleasant mid-twenty degree temperatures, perfect for touring, and the warm days benefited from gentle sea breezes.

Sparkling wine is in its infancy in WA, but there are some nice bubbles developing.

You can explore the region by self driving, but then there is always the issue of limiting the tastings for the designated driver. This is why I love a winery tour, when someone who knows the area takes you to the best places and will, of course, also be the designated driver. In Margaret River, I was pleased to find a bubbles specific tour – Margaret River Bubbles Tour. With a background as a tradie and ex-rugby player, Mark, the owner, is an unlikely bubbles tour guide. He told me that the idea for the tour company came when he, his wife and a group of their friends visited the area on holidays, only to discover there was no tour catering for bubbles drinkers. An idea was sparked, and a few years later Mark and his wife moved to the area and established Margaret River Bubbles Tour. Prior to my visit, Mark gladly shared information about the wineries that produced bubbles in the area to help me with my planning, and I enjoyed a day out on tour with him experiencing the area. Mark only visits the smaller producers, so you can easily enjoy a few days exploring on your own and fit the day tour into your itinerary to cover some of the boutique wineries. Tours can also be customised to include visits to cheese, chocolates and olive oil, and they have just commenced a new tour featuring whale watching in season.

If you have a look at the list of Margaret River wineries, you’ll find over 95 Cellar Doors. Mark told us that even though there are around 130 vineyards in the region, they represent only 1% of the Australian wine market, but around 26% of Australia’s premium wine market. Only around 40 of these vineyards produce a sparkling wine.

The geology of the region is the oldest in Australia, and the gravel soils, microclimate, aspect and consistent maritime influence create ideal conditions for the region’s grape varieties.

I discovered that only a few wineries had their own sparkling wine facilities, and many of them have their sparkling wine produced locally by John Frazer – Frazer Woods Wines. As I travelled around, many people told me that I needed to meet John. He is an elusive character, but I was told that I could find him at his ‘sparkling shed’. Although it is not open to visitors, I was given directions to follow an old dirt road until I saw a sign that said ‘God’s Farm’, take that driveway and just turn up to see if he is there. I did find ‘God’s Farm’, but John wasn’t there. Instead, his son kindly showed me around and had a quick chat, but he suggested that I make contact with his dad. John kindly contacted me via our website afterwards to provide some more detail for me.

When planning your visit, I suggest that you check the Cellar Door websites for opening days and times, as they can change depending on the season.

Here is my list of Sparkling Cellar Doors:

Vasse Felix

‘Site of first vineyard and winery in Margaret River established in 1967’ is featured on a large sign as you enter the driveway.

Lovely options for food and wine tasting. Wine lounge for charcuterie, cheese and olives, and restaurant upstairs for an interesting menu of dishes featuring local produce. The estate has an Art Gallery and Sculpture park, and all spaces look out over the vineyard, which is quite close to the Indian Ocean. I couldn’t see the ocean, but I could smell the salty sea air as the breeze washed over the vineyard.

They have one sparkling, which is the Vasse Felix Blanc de Blancs. I tasted the 2016 Vintage that had recently been released after 18 months on lees, green apple and hints of French oak. The staff explained that the Chardonnay is from a parcel of vineyard in Karridale, which is in the Southern part of the region, and has a cooler climate.

The place was busy, but relaxed. You may want to book in advance for the restaurant. Behind the scenes tours are also available for booking on the website.

See website for more details

Swings and Roundabouts

Rustic relaxed atmosphere, open fires, cosy corners and a huge lawn with vineyard views. It is family friendly with lawn games, ping pong table, and tyre swings. Simple menu with local ingredients, woodfired pizza, with a few other options including charcuterie, olives, and arancini.

They produce two different labels:

Backyard Stories is the premium label sparkling produced in small batches – NV Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir, which has been aged for two years on lees. Brioche, toast, nutty, fine creamy palate, crisp notes.

The Swings and Roundabouts range is a larger production Sparkling NV, which is 100% Chenin Blanc, mid-palate fruit of guava, passionfruit, apples, high acidity.

My favourite of the two was the Backyard Stories.

See website for more details

Brookwood Estate

This family-owned vineyard, began as a bare paddock, until the family (although not originally from a wine background) planted out vines. The family’s experience and expertise has evolved a lot since then. I met Bronlee, the winemaker. She is the daughter of the owners and grew up here, and she loved it so much she studied to turn winemaking into her qualification and career. Funny enough, her nickname is ‘Bubbles’, so of course there needed to be a sparkling wine, and it is called just that – Bubbles. Brookwood’s bubbles is a blend of Semillion, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. Quite fruity and a bit sweet, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The bubbles are added and not bottle fermented. For some on our tour, this was their favourite. It has a Zork closure – an imitation cork, one that can be used to reseal the bottle. We enjoyed lunch here as part of our tour – a lovely dining experience on the verandah looking out over the vines.

See website for more details

Howard Park

There were lots of bubbles on tasting here. Sparkling is a speciality of this family-owned winery, and they are one of a few to have their own bottling line for sparkling wine. The Howard Park Jeté Brut Blanc NV had recently won prestigious ‘Best Australian Sparkling Wine’ trophy at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London. This accolade has created such a demand for the label that it meant there was none available for tasting on my visit. Their bubbly expertise, however, was evident in the other sparklings on tasting.

Madfish Prosecco – released in October 2017, this is their first Prosecco. The grapes are from the King Valley in Victoria. Only available at Cellar Door.

Madfish Vera – Traditional method – 18 months on lees. 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir. Crisp, citrus fruit and apricot, very dry finish.

Jeté NV Brut – as mentioned above, in addition this Jeté range has also won two golds, and a silver award. Almost sold out on my visit, so it wasn’t available for tasting.

“There is some tough competition in the Australian Sparkling space, so it really is an honour to have won this award, as a Western Australian winery, not famed for their sparkling, it is a fantastic achievement.” — Chief Wine Maker, Janice McDonald.

Howard Park Jete Rose – 100% Pinot Noir, 18 months on lees. Mid-palate berry fruit provide richness and freshness, very dry finish.

Grand Jete 2013 – 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir. The blend varies depending on the best grapes for that year. It has been a Blanc de Blancs before. The first vintage was in 2009, and there are plans to release a vintage each year, depending on the harvest. This was fresh and fruity, with complexity through mid to full palate.

There were a couple more available for purchase but not tasting:

Pascal, Marchand and Burch. Limited vintage created in collaboration with the French champagne house. The Australian collection is made here under direction of Pascal. For the French collection, the fruit is sourced locally by Pascal to create the Marchand and Burch range.

Franck Bonville Champagne is also imported and sold here. I queried why, as there was not a winemaking collaboration – “because it is awesome”, that’s what they told me at the Cellar Door! It wasn’t available for tasting, so for now, I will take their word.

There is no restaurant here, but Howard Park hosts festivals where catering is brought in. December is ‘Bubbles and Blooms’, January ‘Oysters and Revelry’, February for Chinese New Year, Asian street food, and they also create a pop-up restaurant on some weekends. I suggest that you check their website for events before visiting.

I asked about availability to purchase their wines on the East Coast, and they told me that there is limited distribution. If you are keen to try any of the range, either visit the Cellar Door or order online.

See website for more details

Leeuwin Estate

Leeuwin has a great heritage in the region, being one of the first vineyards established in 1969. This is the site of the great Leeuwin Estate concerts. As you approach the entrance of the Cellar Door, you can see posters from the legacy of this great event, as well as the stage set overlooking the lawn, providing an inkling of the excitement of being at a concert here. Artwork is also a feature of this estate through their Art Series labels, which features paintings commissioned from leading contemporary Australian Artists. You can visit the art gallery onsite, which shows these wonderful works. It is worth spending time to explore. I didn’t dine here, but the menu at the restaurant looked nice and afforded views over the lawn to the concert stage.

I tasted the 2014 Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay, with 60% Pinot Noir. It has spent some time in French Oak before bottle fermented – three years on lees. Oyster shell, lemon, lime and apple on the palate, bright and racy mouth feel with a dry finish. Great aperitif style.

See website for more details

Voyager Estate

Wow, what a sense of arrival! The estate is the vision of the founder Michael Wright. Built in the style of Cape Dutch architecture with stunning gardens, with spectacular Wine Room and Restaurant. The biggest Australian flag in the Southern Hemisphere flies from the flag pole to greet you as you enter.

“Inviting everyone to come and enjoy a glass with us in Margaret River. The perfect combination of food, wine and the warmth of family and friends is what a visit to Voyager Estate is about … every feature of the Estate is designed to give you an inspirational experience.” The estate is still family-owned, with Michael’s two daughters taking over the reins since his passing in 2012 – continuing the direction of style as their father did.

I tasted the 2015 Blanc de Blancs, which had a lovely nose, small bead and creamy texture with citrus featured. It is limited release and small batch. I thought it was delightful, but was disappointed to hear that the 2015 will be the last vintage as they will now only produce the Project Sparkling Chenin Blanc, which I also tasted, dry finish with a fruity mid palate. I am not totally converted to the Chenin Blanc. I did prefer the Chardonnay.

Allow some time for a visit here. The estate is very big, and I spent time just sitting and looking out over the rose garden and kitchen garden that look out over the lawns to the vineyard. They have guided tours, a private tasting room, daily tour of the estate, which includes a walk through the vineyard, learn about tending the vines, show through the winery and barrel room as well as the biggest underground cellar in Australia. Tastings are available at the Cellar Door, and there are also sommelier-created wine flights, cheese and charcuturie platters, and a restaurant serving a degustation menu as well as High Teas on the weekend. Most of these need to be pre-booked which you can do online.

See website for more details

Watershed

Great looking venue, but I didn’t stay to taste. As is the case with some Cellar Doors, they didn’t have their sparkling available for tasting. I assume that you can order it by the glass in the onsite café or restaurant. They do have one sparkling, which I had tasted previously at my hotel. It is the Blanc de Blancs 2013 – 100% Chardonnay grown on their estate vineyard. Produced as an aperitif style of sparkling using the ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’.

See website for more details

Xanadu

Yes, I did have Olivia’s tune ringing in my ears as I drove the along the driveway through the vineyards into Xanadu. I had visited here before, many years ago, but the Cellar Door was in a shed at the time. The sense of arrival now was something a bit more spectacular, with architect-designed visitor facilities of the Cellar Door and open plan restaurant looking out onto a ‘chill out’ courtyard, where people were lazing in the sun, sitting on bean bags and sipping wine. I did think that perhaps I had arrived in Xanadu.

The staff were great, and everyone was so friendly and helpful. They told me the story of how the vineyard was given its name. When the eccentric Irishman Dr John Lagan, who loved poems and literature, settled here with his wife Eithne, to establish one of the region’s earliest vineyards (1977). Dr Lagan said that he had found the land of paradise, an idyllic setting, where there are now 65 hectares of vines, and he called it Xanadu. The winery has since experienced some transition in ownership. It was publicly listed, but is now privately owned by the Rathbone family. Successful winemakers and owners of other great Cellar Doors (think Yering Station, Yarrabank and Mount Langi Ghiran), the Rathbone family looked to expand into Margaret River. The potential of Xanadu was recognised by them as having the combination of great viticulture, great wine making facilities and great tourism facilities.

At the Cellar Door, I tasted the Xanadu 2014 ‘Methode Traditionelle’ Brut, which was delightful. It is 100% Chardonnay with a very low dosage, it is almost what is called a Brut Nature. It has spent some time in oak barrel, and then three years on lees. All made onsite, hand-picked, small batch. The palate had some citrus and brioche. I made this my lunch stop and this was a perfect food match with the Soft Crab Corn Fritters. The only disappointment is that due to the small production, it has since run out of stock and no longer available to taste at the Cellar Door. The next bubbly release will be the 2016 vintage, due for release in 2019.

Don’t despair, bubbles are still served in the restaurant. The advantage of being part of the Rathbone group, is that there is always wine of good pedigree on hand! Another delightful bubbles, the 2012 Yarrabank Cuvee Brut ‘Methode Traditionnelle’, which is made through a joint venture between Champagne Devaux and the Rathbone’s Yering Station in the Yarra Valley, is currently being served until the next vintage of Xanadu is available.

See website for more details

Clairault Streicker BdB

The scenic driveway off Caves Road winds through farmland and native forest, bringing you to the lovely Cellar Door and café with an outlook over the vineyard. One sparkling on tasting here.

2014 Streicker Blanc de Blancs – Sonja the Cellar Door manager told me that it was “frightfully easy to drink”, and she was right. It is made in the traditional method with two years on lees. Lemon zest, granny smith apple and a bit of brioche and toasted nuts.

See website for more details

Fermoy Estate

Lovely building, this is a smaller Cellar Door, with no café onsite. It is family-owned, and the staff told me that one of the loveliest ways to experience the wines here is to enjoy a picnic under the leafy trees on the front lawn, or take a seat in the Cellar Door with a glass of bubbles and enjoy the atmosphere.

They only make vintage bubbles, and I tasted the Fermoy 2013 Pinot Noir Chardonnay. Pinot Noir led at 60%. Small parcel, hand-pruned, hand-picked from Pemberton Region, which is bottle fermented in the traditional method and aged on lees for four years. It was a lovely bubbly, characters of creamy lemon, brioche and toasted nuts with a delicate and persistent bead.

See website for more details

Sandalford Wines

Their Margaret River Cellar Door is much smaller than the one in the Swan Valley, and this one sits in the middle of a beautiful country garden surrounded by grape vines. There are picnic tables under a covered pergola and free BBQ facilities. There are also a variety of local artwork, wine accessories and Sandalford merchandise available for purchase.

I tasted the Sandalfords NV Sparkling, which is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Only available at Cellar Door, crisp, lemon, zesty with a creaminess from time on lees.

See website for more details

Cape Grace Wines

This is a small Cellar Door, a little off the beaten track. We were very lucky to receive a bit of a behind the scenes tour here. Harvest was underway for some varieties, and we watched some whole batch Zinfandel being crushed. The winemaker told us that it was an experiment to try to make sparkling Zinfandel. Not sure how that is progressing, but we did taste the 2017 Cremant de Grace – Sparkling Chenin Blanc, which had hints of lemon meringue, a touch of citrus peel, and finishes with a beautiful lemon/lime acidity.

See website for more details

Harmans Estate

Harmans Estate is a family-run, premier small-batch winery. They explained to me that they are one of a few wineries in the region who processes, produces, bottles and labels all onsite, ensuring the integrity and heart and soul of Harmans is in every bottle.

One of the specialities is wine distilled into pure, smooth high-proof spirit (Pisco). I didn’t try it, but I did taste the 2013 Sparkling Pink Pinot Noir – crafted from 100% Pinot Noir, 36 months on lees, strawberries, raspberries, with layers of marmalade and spicy fruits.

See website for more details

Old Kent River

This is a small Cellar Door, of rammed earth structure with a rural outlook. There is no restaurant onsite, so it is only a tasting stop, but there are some picnic tables that you could make use of and a lawn that kids could run and play on if you had the family in tow. A small selection of local cheese and produce is available to purchase, and ‘make your own’ platters to enjoy with a glass of wine, or you are welcome to bring your own picnic.

Their sparkling is called Diamondtina (the diamond of the range). The staff were very friendly and talked me through the range. I tasted the 2006, which is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. It has spent eight years on lees (which is a long time for an Aussie sparkling). It is their museum release with limited stock. The staff explained that the Cellar Door used to be much further south in Denmark, and has recently moved to Margaret River. The Pinot Noir is single vineyard from the owners’ family property in Frankland River, which is cooler climate and much better for Pinot Noir. Also available was the Diamondtina 2008, which is the same blend and has spent six years on lees, with hints of French Oak. There is also the Diamondtina NV sparkling Rose, which is the same blend, but has spent three hours on skins to give the pink colour. Fruity with a dry finish. Not too complex, an easy drinking wine.

See website for more details

Firetail Sparkling

This is a very small Cellar Door. The space has an emphasis on wood, built with local Jarrah teamed with French Oak from barrels used to age their wines. The Cellar Door, Jessica the owner told me, is “like our wines, hand-crafted, stylish and pretty special.”

Jessica was very happy that the new Firetail Sparkling had just arrived. It is a Blanc de Blancs made from 100 % chardonnay, which is from a friend’s vineyard. A portion of the base wine was fermented in French Oak barrels before secondary fermentation in the bottle in the traditional method. The wine was aged for 30 months on lees before disgorging in February 2018.

See website for more details

The Berry Farm

At the Berry Farm, I discovered wine made from a different kind of fruit – berries. The helpful Cellar Door staff arranged for Mike the winemaker to come and have a chat with me, and guide me through the tastings on offer. I discovered that fruit wine can be made from virtually any plant matter that can be fermented. Most fruits and berries have the potential to produce wine. There are a number of methods of extracting flavour and juice from the fruits or plants being used, pressing the juice, stewing and fermenting the pulp of the fruits are common, however few foods other than grapes have the balanced quantities of sugar, acid, tannin, nutritive salts for yeast feeding and water to naturally produce a stable, drinkable wine, so these products require the addition or sugar or honey to make them palatable and to increase the alcoholic content (sugar is converted to alcohol in the fermentation). I tasted Strawberry, Passionfruit, and ‘Tickled Pink’, which was a blend of lemon and elderberry. I do think that it is an acquired taste. I don’t think I was converted, as they are very rich and mostly sweet. I can see though that there would be a market. “I don’t think there is a fruit I haven’t tried fermenting”, said Mike. He mentioned that the best food matches would be spicy food (yes, a sweeter wine works better with spice), dessert or a bubbly breakfast. I moved onto a coffee from the café before setting off. It was a nice impromptu stop for me. It is a good family-friendly place, with a kids adventure playground, café, produce shop and (fruity) Cellar Door.

See website for more details

Flametrees

Small family-owned Cellar Door, with no vineyard, but yes, flametrees that greet you at the entrance, as well as featured on the label. I may have had the Cold Chisel tune ringing in my ears whilst tasting. Lovely light flows through large windows into the Cellar Door, with views out to the open lawn to relax at a picnic table for a tasting, and space for kids to play. Food selection is platters, with local cheese and produce.

I tried the Blanc de Blancs, which has been aged for three years and the NV, which is 30% Pinot Noir, 70% Chardonnay. The winemaker here was previously the winemaker at Voyager Estate.

See website for more details

Mongrel Creek

Rustic is not quite the word, but the Cellar Door reminded me a little of the Ettamogah pub. With a name like Mongrel Creek, what does one expect?

The owner, Larry has a no BS approach, and told me that as a small family-owned winery, their primary focus is on producing quality wine at an affordable price.

The bubbles on offer were the 2012 Le Mongrel Sparkling, which is 100% Chenin Blanc, which had been aged for five years, and Le Mongrel Sparkling Rouge – aged for two years, which is 100% Cab Sav. These are usually released in small batches of 1,096 at a time.

See website for more details

House of Cards

Another small family-run Cellar Door. Established in 2011 by a young couple Travis and Elizabeth Wray. Travis is the winemaker and Elizabeth takes care of the marketing. Their young family also feature on their website. The attention to detail here is remarkable, hand-made neck tags and hand-made labels on the bottles. We visited as part of bubbles tour, and they had kindly arranged for a Queen Bee Magnum to be opened for our visit.

We tasted the 2015 Queen Bee Vintage Magnum, which has spent two and a half years on lees, single vineyard Blanc de Blancs, citrus and creamy. As this is a magnum, this one could be cellared for longer to bring out more complexity in the wine. We also tasted the 2015 Blanc de Blancs Queen of Diamonds, three years on lees, green apples, pears and buttered toast dominate the aromatics.

The Cellar Door also features a great range of art and jewellery by local and Australian artists. For food, the nearby Chow’s Table provides traditional Chinese/Malay cuisine with a modern twist, overlooking the vineyard, and Gabriel’s Chocolates is also in this corner of Caves Road, so you might allow some time to explore here.

See website for more details

Windows Estate

This is a small family-owned and operated business, just over the road from House of Cards. Walk-ins are fine, but they do ask that advance bookings are made for groups of six or more people. They have won the Gourmet Traveller Small Cellar Door award for the past three years.

This is not just single vineyard production, but it is a single person vineyard. Chris, the owner, has worked the vineyard completely on his own from day one, which he says is the only way to meet the high standards he sets for himself. He spends the vast majority of his time in the vineyard. He knows it like the back of his own hand, hand-pruning every single one of the vines himself, year after year.

I tasted the 2016 Mousseux – 100% Chenin Blanc made in the traditional method.

The residual sugar after dosage is minimal, so it is predominantly fresh green apple aromas, zesty citrus notes. This is an elegant sparkling wine, delicate fine bead and smooth creamy texture with a refreshing clean finish. With my preference for a Champagne style, I hadn’t been convinced with the trend in Margaret River for a sparkling Chenin Blanc, however this one did convince me. Definitely worth a tasting.

See website for more details

Credaro

Family-owned, four generations of the Credaro family, a pioneering family to the region, first settling in Margaret River in 1922 after migrating from Northern Italy. Initially involved in farming and the timber industry, small plots of vines were planted to provide the family with table wine.

2013 Vintage Sparkling – 85% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir. All grapes sourced from the family vineyards in Margaret River, within a 50km radius. Made in the Traditional Method, this sparkling wine has delicate aromas of spiced apple and grilled nuts with subtle yeast characters. The palate is finely structured with layers of citrus, brioche and white peach.

This Cellar Door doesn’t have food, but they can do catered events. They did have a small selection of boutique clothing and homewares available for sale, so you can tie in shopping with your bubbles tasting. The terrace is the perfect spot to enjoy some bubbles with lovely rural views.

See website for more details

Windance

Family, Heritage and a passion for great wine – is the tagline here. I tasted the 2016 Glen Valley Blanc de Blancs – apple, sherbert, citrus – traditional method, 15 months on lees. Fresh, vibrant with crisp finish.

The Chardonnay is sourced from Wilyabrup, which means ‘place of water’.

This family-owned vineyard has a new Cellar Door. They explained that they are in generational transition from Father to daughter Billie, and the son-in-law Michale (with French winemaking experience), is the winemaker. The focus is on producing quality wines, whilst incorporating sustainable land management and environmentally-friendly viticultural practices.

See website for more details

I would like to acknowledge Mark from Margaret River Bubbles Tour and Margaret River Tourism for providing assistance with this trip. Margaret River Tourism will now feature this blog as their information on Margaret River Sparkling Cellar Doors.

Cheers to the Widow Clicquot!

By TBR

On May 31, 2018

In Bubbles Blog

The word ‘veuve’ means widow in French, and I feel that is important information to share. I sometimes find myself using the phrase ‘I am drinking a glass of veuve’, but what does that really mean?

There are many great women of champagne, many of them widows and mothers, who became major influencers in the champagne industry. So successful were the veuves, it is rumoured that some producers added veuve into their title, even when there was no veuve at the house.

The story of the Widow Clicquot is intriguing. Several years ago, I read the little tag about her that was attached to a bottle of Veuve Clicquot that I had bought for a celebration. I wanted to know more, and have been captivated by her (and other champagne stories), ever since. I was very happy to discover the book The Widow Clicquot at my local bookstore, and became a huge fan – not just of the wine, but also of this amazing woman. Widow Clicquot was a visionary who took a small business and built a champagne empire. She was a legend in her tumultuous times, and she showed the world how to live with style.

Madame Clicquot was born Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, in Reims in 1777. The daughter of Baron Nicolas Ponsardin, her social standing allowed her to receive an excellent education, which was founded upon the traditional morals and values of the time.

In 1789, when Barbe-Nicole was aged 12, the French Revolution brought great change. Barbe-Nicole’s father was a prosperous textile merchant who had ambitions to vault his family from the upper middle class into the nobility. As the revolution hit the town of Reims, Barbe-Nicole, who had been attending the royal convent of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, had to be rescued by the family dressmaker. She was smuggled home dressed like a peasant, before the chanting, angry mobs roaming the streets of Reims came to its doorstep, as the convent became a target of public abuse.

Barbe-Nicole father’s dreams of either gaining a coat of arms for his family or marrying his two daughters (Barbe-Nicole had a younger sister Clementine) into the nobility were shattered when the Revolution came. Nicolas was, however, a shrewd man. He switched sides and became a fervent proponent of the Revolution – going so far as to join the Jacobins. He eventually achieved the title of Baron in 1813.

Just as the Revolution may have changed her path, her future was greatly influenced again when, in 1798, she married François Clicquot, son of the founder of the Maison Clicquot. François came from a wealthy family who had made their money in textiles, but they also had a side business as wine brokers. François had ambitions to take that side business and turn it into something more – not just distributing other people’s wines, but making their own. He shared his passion and knowledge for champagne creation and distribution with his young wife. This knowledge and skill proved highly valuable when Barbe-Nicole, a mother of a young daughter, took charge of the business after François’ untimely death in 1805.

At 27, Madame Clicquot became one of the first businesswomen of modern times when she took over the Clicquot business. In an era when women were excluded from the business world, she dared to assume the head of the company – a role she undertook with passion and determination. According to the Veuve Clicquot company description of her, Madame Clicquot’s character might be summarised with two words: audacious and intelligent.

Imagine the audacity of this decision at a time when women were not even allowed to open their own bank account!

She was willing to take risks, and would seize each new opportunity that arose – eventually expanding her business to all four corners of the world. I loved reading about the rivalry and battles with Jean-Rémy Moët who, at the time, was the wine merchant who helped bring the Champagne house of Moët et Chandon to prominence. The secret and very high-risk strategies included transporting their Champagne either overland or by sea to arrive before their rivals into new markets. Such competitive strategies would guarantee either great success or certain failure. One example was when the continental embargo was in place in 1814. Overland transport of goods to Russia was not possible, and to not be able to sell their vintage could have meant financial ruin. Clicquot and her wine broker hatched a daring plan to send more than 10,000 bottles by sea to St Petersburg. They say fortune favours the brave, and the venture was a great success. The vintage was sold at a top market price when it arrived to a triumphant welcome in Russia.

Ever the innovator, Madame Clicquot perfected new techniques of production. In 1816, along with her cellar master, she invented the “table de remuage” (riddling table/rack), which is used to clarify champagne. When champagne is aged on ‘lees’ (the yeast used to create the second fermentation in the bottle), this leaves sediment. Prior to Madame Clicquot’s invention, the sediment was either drunk or attempted to be removed when pouring. With only small batches of production possible, imagine how much was wasted prior to this system. The technique of the riddling process (still used today), is to delicately manoeuvre the sediment to the neck of the bottle to allow it to be removed swiftly and efficiently. Any loss of wine is then topped up by the dosage, prior to sealing with a cork and ready for sale. With this invention, the Maison Clicquot was able to increase their production exponentially. They managed to keep the riddling rack a secret from their competitors for some time – maintaining quality wines whilst also increasing production. Their rivals must have been watching in wonder.

Madame Clicquot continued to improve the business with bottles, branding and PR:

She is credited with improving the quality of the bottles to be able to take the pressure of the bubbles, which would often burst in the cellars or whilst shipping, causing great distress and financial loss.
At the time, Champagne bottles didn’t have labels, so were only recognised by the cork. The Anchor as the Christian sign of hope has been used since the business was founded, and still features on the Veuve Clicquot cork today. The Maison Clicquot started dressing its bottles in a yellow label, an unusual colour for the time. The ‘V.Clicquot P. Werlé’ Yellow label was trademarked in 1877. This distinctive, original label, which is still used today, was to become one of the most distinguishing features of Veuve Clicquot.
Breaking away from the tradition of adding an elderberry-based preparation to create rosé champagne. Madame Clicquot created the first “rosé d’assemblage” by blending some of her red wines from vineyards in Bouzy with her champagne to create the very first blend of rosé champagne.
Madame Clicquot paid great attention to public relations and communications, and was a prolific letter writer. Many of her more than one hundred thousand letters sent and received are preserved today in the Veuve Clicquot archives, “Pavillon du Patrimoine Historique”. Her signature is featured on the label today.

Uncompromising when it came to the quality of her wines, within just a few years she made her name into a brand of excellence – a name today renowned around the world. Even then, her peers recognised her formidable contributions, and referred to her as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”.

I think it is a great tribute (and a little ironic) that both the houses Veuve Clicquot and Moët et Chandon are now owned by the same parent company. A brand that is synonymous with great luxury, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy).

Veuve Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin died 1866, aged 88. The legacy of quality created by her is evident in a glass today. The NV Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut is a great example. It uses all three of the traditional champagne grape varieties, with a focus on Pinot Noir. The key to quality with the blend is that it draws on a particularly high percentage of reserve wines originating from several harvests (usually 5 or 6); from 25 to 35% (sometimes as much as 40%) of the blend coming from previous vintages, and some of these wines are around 9 years old.

This is to ensure the consistency of the House style, so you always know when you a drinking a glass of ‘veuve’. Next time you do, include a toast to the Widow Clicquot!

Cheers!

Giveaway

We were very blessed to have the beautiful ‘Veuve and Orange’ Hamper provided by Custom Hampers Studio, with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot for our giveaway this month. Custom Hampers Studio Veuve and Orange

Note:

In researching this blog I have relied on information provided on the Veuve Clicquot website and Tilar Mazzeo’s book, The Widow Clicquot, which I highly recommend if you are interested to know more: Tilar Mazzeo’s The Widow Clicquot

You may also like these blogs from The Bubbles Review:

Celebrating Madame Pommery

Come quickly I am drinking the stars

Why that is not a glass of Champagne that you are drinking!

How do I pronounce Moët

We’ll never be Royals!

By TBR

On May 18, 2018

In Bubbles Blog

Yes, it is unlikely that any of us will be joining the ranks of the English Royal Family, but we can still drink the same bubbles!

So forget what she is wearing, more importantly, what bubbles will they be serving?

There are so many media outlets speculating about this, from Style, Town and Country, to Forbes magazine to name but a few, predictions are being made on what brand of bubbles will be served.

Most predict that the bubbles will come from the Royal Warrant list, however I have seen it mentioned, that the caterers may have flexibility to provide their own suggestions beyond that list.

Currently, over 1,100 royal warrants have been granted to tradespeople who supply goods. Nine of these warrants are currently bestowed on Champagne houses, according to the Royal Warrant Holders Association, the office founded to represent and advise the various holders.

England’s first Champagne warrants were issued in 1884, and my research shows that the current holders are Bollinger, G. H. Mumm, Krug, Lanson, Louis Roederer, Laurent-Perrier, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Pol Roger.

Royal warrants, which cannot be purchased, are linked directly to a specific member of the immediate royal household. Members authorized to confer this honour include Queen Elizabeth, who determines the list, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles. Each of the three can individually grant warrants for 5 years; the warrants can be renewed, as long as the warrant holder is providing goods. The goods are not gifts, but outright purchases by the court.

Aside from Laurent-Perrier, which I understand solely serves Prince Charles, the Champagnes are all suppliers to Queen Elizabeth, who is said to drink a glass or two at the end of each day. I am sure that must be her secret to longevity!

So what will it be? Perhaps instead of a Champagne (or as well as), an English sparkling wine will be served? English bubbles are showing award winning results of late.

So many wonderful choices. Which one would you serve?

Like to keep following us? Sign up to The Bubbles Review list and you will be included in our Subscriber prize draws. The giveaway is usually a chance to win a lovely champagne or sparkling gift. This month it is the beautiful ‘Veuve and Orange’ Hamper from Custom Hampers Studio, with a lovely bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which is of course, on the Royal Warrant List. Join our list!

Come quickly. I am drinking the stars!

By TBR

On March 7, 2018

In Bubbles Blog

If you have followed me for a while, or have come to one of my events, you would know that I think that champagne and sparkling wine is one of the joys of life and something to be shared.

Dom Perignon is one of my heroes for discovering the art of the second fermentation to make the bubbles in champagne and sparkling wine. His famous quote when he wanted to share this discovery “Come quickly! I am drinking the stars!” resonated with me.

So, imagine my disappointment when my research in recent years revealed that he wasn’t the inventor of the bubbles. In fact, Dom Pérignon was originally charged by his superiors at the Abbey of Hautvillers to get rid of the bubbles, since the pressure in the bottles caused many of them to burst in the cellar. The bubbles had been occurring by accident mainly due to fluctuations in temperature, which produced a re-fermentation and this bubbly wine was considered to be faulty and given the nickname of the Devils Wine. Quelle horreur!

It seems that it was an English chemist. Well, scientist and physician – Christopher Merret who documented the addition of sugar to a finished wine to create a second fermentation, six years before Dom Pérignon had arrived in the Abbey of Hautvillers. Merret presented a paper at the Royal Society in 1662, in which he detailed what is now called méthode champenoise or methode traditionelle.

So, he may not have been the first, but let’s not let the facts of history get in the way of a good story. Along with the romance of so many stories that I love about Champagne, I am happy to still give credit to Dom Perignon for his discovery that it was not in fact the wine of the devil, but perhaps in my opinion at least, and I am sure that many of you concur – that it was a gift from the angels. Dom Perignon is however credited with unearthing many other great techniques in the making of champagne that are still used today.

He created the technique that allows winemakers to produce a successful white wine from red grapes. This, say winemakers, was a major step toward the development of modern champagne.

At our event The Bubbles Festival, I am always surprised to discover that there are many people who do not realise that red grapes are used in making champagne. Although we hear the names of the grapes in the blends, it doesn’t always register, and our eyes deceive us when we are surely drinking a white wine!

The method is using red grapes with gentle pressing that separates the juice without spending time on the skins. Think about the last time you peeled a red grape (or if you are lucky had someone peel it for you) the fruit inside is not red, the red colour comes from the skins. After harvest the grapes are pressed several times and different juices or cuvees are obtained at these different stages of pressing. In champagne, only the first (as a prestige cuvee) pressing is used and this is the same for most quality sparkling wines, although sometimes the second pressings can be used. There are several pressings of the same grapes, other pressings after that may be used for table wines and fortified wines or liqueurs.

For champagne only certain grapes can be used, there are seven grapes on the list, however there are three that are most commonly used, which are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Only one of the three is actually a white grape.

(See the full list of champagne grapes here: FAQ)

There is only Cru ratings for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and they are considered the King and Queen of a champagne blend, the Pinot Meunier is used more for balance and it also helps the wine mature with less age. I have however noticed a movement in champagne recently championing the Meunier grape (as well as some of the other grapes on the list) and I have tasted a few champagnes and also a still wine made from 100% Pinot Meunier.

Blending is led by the winemaker but it is rarely the work of a single person, usually reflecting the combined talents of a team of professionals or family members. It does however rely on the sensory experience and memory of each individual team member.

When I met Laurent Fresnet, who is the chief winemaker at Champagne Henriot and has won the prestigious award of Sparkling Winemaker of the Year more than once, he told me that blending starts in the vineyard with the fruit. “I stand in the vineyard, tasting and smelling the fruit, this is where the blend starts”.

Marrying different grape varieties brings contrasting and complementary qualities to champagne wines.

You will find some champagnes that have the three grapes in the blend, some blends may have only the two grapes of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but there is usually a particular focus, either Chardonnay led or Pinot Noir led, eg. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, or vice versa, often with a smaller amount of Pinot Meunier used for balance. The particular style will usually depend on the champagne house and the winemaker. Some houses may have quite a variety in their range.

You will also find some champagnes that use 100% of the one grape variety. These are usually a 100% Chardonnay which is known as a Blanc de Blancs which literally means a white from whites. Or, you will also find a 100% Pinot Noir which is known in Champagne as a Blanc de Noirs meaning white from black. So, although it is 100% Pinot Noir it will still be a white champagne. In sparklings from other parts of the world you might find a sparkling Pinot Noir which is a red sparkling, but you will never find that in Champagne, as it is against the rules to make a sparkling red in Champagne, a pink as a rose is okay, but never a red champagne.

The blending also involves blending wines from different years (for non vintage) and from different Crus meaning different parcels of grapes from different vineyards.

By combining wines with different sensory characteristics (colours, aromas, flavours) the Champagne maker looks to create a wine that is carefully balanced with a harmony of notes and flavours. After blending, other techniques influence the profile of the wine which include, ageing on lees, and dosage – the final stage before release.

Champagne has such diversity, try different styles, explore different blends, follow the ones that you like, and be open to new discoveries.

Our February giveaway has been a bottle of Blanc de Noirs from Champagne Philippe Fourrier, from the Côte des Bar where the climate and clay soils suits the Pinot Noir grape perfectly.

All due respect to Dom Perignon for this legacy which seems divinely inspired. Drinking the stars it certainly is!

Cheers

You may also like these blogs that talk about champagne techniques and tasting:

Why that is not a glass of Champagne that you are drinking!

Minerality in Champagne

Do you know the way to make rosé?

Is champagne better than sex?

Like to keep following us? Sign up to The Bubbles Review list and you will be included in our Subscriber prize draws. The giveaway is usually a chance to win a lovely champagne or sparkling gift. This month was the Blanc de Noirs from Champagne Philippe Fourrier. Join our list!

Aussies are Top 10 for drinkers of Champagne!

By TBR

On November 30, 2017

In Bubbles Blog

Us Aussies, we always like to hear how we compare with the rest of the world. To discover we are Top 10 in something, is always a great thrill.

So as a lover of champagne, imagine my excitement to see that Australia makes the Top 10 in champagne consumption in the world. Yay us!

Australia confidently holds its place as the fifth largest champagne market per head of population, and the only country outside Europe in the top seven overall, exceeded only by France, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK.

I recently interviewed Tyson Stelzer, who is a multi award winning wine writer and presenter, and author of the award winning The Champagne Guide. I asked him what changes he had seen with champagne in Australia to which he responded that “Australia is now the fastest growing champagne market on earth”.

A search on statistics and I confirm that, yes, that’s true. No country outside Europe drinks more champagne per person than Australia. The average Australian now drinks twice as much champagne as the average German, three times as much as the Italians, almost four times as much as the Japanese and close to five times as much as Americans. It’s remarkable that such a tremendous volume of champagne would ship all the way to our land downunder!

The growth of champagne in Australia in the past decade has been phenomenal, we are drinking more than three times as much as we were seven or eight years ago, says Tyson. Over this same period, champagne sales globally have grown less than 17%. This means little Australia alone takes the credit for more than one-seventh of champagne’s global growth over the past fifteen years!

Does this mean that our taste in bubbles is becoming better? I guess the short answer is yes, but we can improve our palate even more. I asked Tyson for some insight on Australia’s champagne drinking habits and some tips on how to discover more. Before I give you the link to the video, a couple of terms that are mentioned that you might not be aware of:

Grower champagnes – produced by the same estate that owns the vineyards from which the grapes come. Many of these are family owned vineyards. In Australia we would most commonly refer to the equivalent as a boutique winery. Grower Champagnes tend to be more terroir focused, as they are often sourced from single or closely located vineyards around a village, in comparison to some of the large Champagne Houses, who source grapes from many different vineyards to blend to create their signature house style.

Co-operative champagnes – is as the name suggests a group co-operating together. This could be a grower’s co-op that pools their resources and produces wine under a single brand, or a union of growers who share their resources and collectively market their own brands.

On my recent trip to Champagne, I visited Champagne Collet home to the oldest Cooperative in Champagne ‘The COGEVI’. They have created this short-film which recounts the history through the ages right from its creation during the Revolution Champenoise in 1911. It depicts the struggle and up-rising of the Champagne winegrowers for the protection of their terroir and to gain recognition of a united Champagne appellation. It really helped me to understand the reasons behind the fierce protection of the Champagne name and gave insight into some of the struggles for growers and the advantages of the co-operatives. Highly recommend it, you can view this short film (6mins) here The roots of COGEVI (note it is set to be viewed for 18 years and older due to the discussion of alcohol, which is why it will tell you it is restricted).

To see my chat with Tyson Stelzer as we discuss the champagne market in Australia, including tips on how to discover more – click here Natalie from The Bubbles Review chats with Tyson Stelzer about champagne in Australia.

Cheers!

Natalie

Tyson Stelzer is a multi-award winning wine writer, television presenter and international speaker. He was named The International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year, The Australian Wine Communicator of the Year and The International Champagne Writer of the Year. He is the author and publisher of sixteen wine books, a regular contributor to fifteen magazines, a frequent judge and chair at Australian wine shows and has presented at wine events in nine countries. www.TysonStelzer.com is your link to his wine recommendations, and book sales.

Natalie Pickett is the Founder of The Bubbles Review which is for people who like champagne and other bubbles, written by people who have a love of all things sparkling! At The Bubbles Review, we like to debunk some myths, make the art of drinking champagne accessible, explore bubbly regions and champagne bars, and provide events for you to join us and indulge.

Like to keep following us? Sign up to The Bubbles Review list and you will be included in our monthly Subscriber offers and prize draws. The giveaways are a bubbly giveaway. In November it is a chance to win a signed copy of Tyson’s The Champagne Guide. Join our list!

A Blanc de Blanc with a twist!

By TBR

On July 20, 2017

In Bubbles Blog

We are The Bubbles Review – for people who love champagne, bubbles and all things sparkling!

Imagine then my delight, when I heard that the theatre show Blanc de Blanc was coming to the Spiegeltent to warm up the Map 57 Winter Garden in St Kilda this winter. I went to see it on a chilly Melbourne night, it was around 10 degrees outside, but inside, I would say that the temperature got quite hot!

Definitely not for the prudish, this show was a lot of fun. It is a burlesque style cabaret show all dedicated to the art of drinking champagne.

It was part cabaret, circus, burlesque and even included amazing aerial performers, who take you through a serial of numbers all dedicated to bubbles. Drinking bubbles, sharing bubbles, opening a bottle of bubbles, being bubbly, taking a bubble bath. The theme is endless with lots of raunchy fun.

Hosted by Monsieur Romeo, with a brilliant cast of performers, there were times I felt I was at the circus, other times it reminded me of a mix between an Amsterdam sex show (although not quite as graphic) and a Parisian Can Can show, the shock and awe was balanced with some clever comedic timing especially from the character Spencer who brought some light relief just when you thought it might be getting too much, there were lots of laughs. Spencer observed of the crowd at one point “I see that you are a little bit scared, and a little bit excited too”.

The highlight was the very sensual aerial performance by real-life couple Hampus Jansson and Milena Straczynski, it was mesmerising. A big wow moment.

Both French and Australian bubbles were served at the bar for your drinking pleasure during the show. This was a bubbly night of appreciating the wonders of the human form, and there were definitely some fine specimens on display.

The show runs until the end July, you can get tickets on this link: https://map57.com/what-s-on/blanc-de-blanc

Like to keep following us? Sign up to The Bubbles Review list and you will be included in our monthly Subscriber offers and prize draws. The giveaways are usually a chance to win a lovely champagne or sparkling gift. Join our list!

Celebrating Madame Pommery

By TBR

On March 29, 2017

In Bubbles Blog

Meeting the Pommery Australia Ambassador at a recent Champagne tasting, I discovered a few things and a few misconceptions. I had thought that Madame Pommery and Louise Pommery were one in the same. As it turns out, Louise was the daughter of Madame Pommery – Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin, who was born in March 18, 1819 in Ardennes and married Alexandre Pommery in 1839.

It was upon Alexandre’s death in 1858, that Madame Pommery, assumed full control of the business. One of her first decisions was to sell off the struggling wool business, and concentrate on the Champagne wine business.

“… I decided there and then to carry on the business in my husband’s stead …”

With those words, the young widow set out in 1858 to conquer national and international markets –overturning, without any qualms whatsoever, one or two corporate management rules. She was a true trailblazer, laying down the basis for any luxury product promotion; style, brand, communication and public relations on the estates. She invented the image of the Pommery brand.

She purchased 120 limestone and chalk pits, so-called crayères, carved underneath the city of Reims by Roman soldiers during their occupation of Gaul. When years later she opened up ‘what was the biggest building site of the century in Reims’ and the metamorphosis of the chalk-pits into caves. These unique cellars allowed her to store and age thousands of bottles in a temperature-controlled environment (a constant 10°C). Many other Champagne houses would later follow suit.

As much as I love champagne, I also love reading and hearing about the entrepreneurial spirit of the people of Champagne, and especially the fabulous women of Champagne. As you can imagine, at the time it was very unusual for a woman to be the head of a business, let alone one to create these amazing success stories. Madame Pommery was another one of the great Veuves (French for widow), to be risk takers, leaders and excel in their field.

Long before we heard about corporate responsibility, Madame Pommery also put her fortune to “good use”. A businesswoman she certainly was, but also a compassionate woman; she set up the first “pension fund” and “social security” for her workforce, and it was to her that the town of Reims owed its orphanage and nursery fund. That was how she invented the company’s ethical charter. She supported artists, especially those of her town. She bequeathed artefacts to the Reims Museum as well as the donation of Millet’s The Gleaners to the French state. Madame Pommery felt that “… everything you can reap from working is a saintly thing” – inventing, long before it became the fashion, corporate sponsorship.

Her entrepreneurial journey was surely not planned, but began when of fragile health and with a fortune made in wool, Monsieur Pommery decided to retire in 1856 so that he could enjoy a calm life. With their son Louis grown up, the couple did not have any goals other than a well deserved holiday. That’s when, unexpectedly at the age of 38, Madame Pommery became pregnant. This happy miracle more than 17 years after their first child was going to change the course of their lives forever. To ensure the financial security of his family, Monsieur Pommery decided to start work again. While the wool industry was declining, the champagne business was expanding. However when Monsieur Pommery died in 1858, their daughter Louise had not even had her first birthday.

She was not only a widow, but a single mum with a son and a young baby. Through this, Madame Pommery gathered the strength to create this beautiful champagne story. Today, the Pommery brand states that it is with pride, passion and emotion that they try to reproduce Madame Pommery’s miracle – the birth of their daughter, under the sweet name of Louise. This is the Pommery cuvee de Prestige, the Cuvée Louise.

“I wanted this Estate to be like an open book, facing the world and time. Leave your imprint on it, as I have left mine, for posterity.

And let it be worthy of respect, I have wanted these walls to express each day for this Champagne, a wine that has now become a shared part of our souls and that carries the memory of our art forever.”

It was ten years later, in July 1868, that Madame Pommery opened up “what was the biggest building site of the century in Reims”. Belgian and French miners dug out eighteen kilometres of interconnected rib or barrel vault galleries to create the cellars – a vast and entire underground town. With its squares formed by the old walls, Gustave Navlet was commissioned to sculpt huge bas reliefs as a celebration to wine. They still accentuate the beauty of the galleries. One monumental 116-step staircase connects this underground world to the outside world.

Madame Pommery instituted a tradition of giving the cellar galleries the names of great foreign cities as they conquered them commercially. Above ground, the vast estate that was created is said to be in English gothic style in tribute to the market that favoured the Pommery brand that led to their success.

As she continued to evolve the business, Madame Pommery saw an opportunity when she instructed her Cellarmaster to create a new style of champagne. This would become invention of Brut champagne in 1874.

“Damas, what we need is a wine that is as dry as possible but is not harsh … has to be mellow, velvety and well blended … make sure that it is subtle more than anything else.”

This was a bold request, as at the time the prevailing taste was for very sweet champagne (up to 300gms of sugar per litre, compared with now up to 12 gms per litre), which was favoured by the Russian market. This brut champagne was eventually created by Damas’s successor, Victor Lambert. The first brut in the history of champagne was the Pommery Nature 1874. It was a revolution. You can imagine it would have been quite a shock to the palate. When I did a search for the meaning of the word ‘Brut’, I discovered that it comes from the word Brutal, which a low/no dosage champagne must have seemed to the sweet palate of the time.

It did, however, prove to be a winner. The English market in particular preferred this dry style. Pommery was very popular with the English establishment. A book on the Champagne trade written about thirty years later, records that the 1874 vintage brut fetched the highest prices ever paid in London for Champagne.

One example I read about Madame Pommery’s ingenuity with her PR, was the story of when in the Autumn of 1888 there were nasty rumours being spread about Pommery. To achieve the maturity required to produce her Brut, once again they had delayed the grape harvest, whilst still having to make substantial commitments to the wine growers. Her competitors stirred up worries about her ability to make payments. Ever the fighter, she launched a “media offensive” that put an end to the rumours. Hearing that the painting The Gleaners, depicting peasant life in rural France, by French artist Millet, was being sold at auction, and that there was interest in America to acquire the painting, she set about her campaign. The French public were not happy about these paintings being sold off abroad, as had previously occurred with works by Millet. The order was put out to acquire the picture at any cost, and it sold for 300,000 gold francs to an anonymous buyer. Under great suspense, it was not until four days later it was announced that Madame Pommery had indeed been the buyer, and that she would donate it to the state of France. The painting was originally gifted to the Louvre, and today it is included in the works of art at the Musée Dorsay.

After Madame Pommery died in 1890, her daughter Louise ran the House with husband Prince Guy de Polignac. The Polignac family continued to run the business until 1979. The brand continues the ethos of the Pommery family traditions today. The connection with art continues through support for artists and exhibitions both local and worldwide, and also many fun, contemporary branding through the Pommery POP collections.

Today, the Pommery Estate is owned by Belgian entrepreneur Paul-Francois Vranken and holds more than 20 million bottles in the 18km of underground chalkpit caves. More than 120,000 people from around the globe visit this magnificent property in the heart of the city of Reims annually and equally enjoy the exhibition of contemporary art set up in the caves.

As I often say, I think that Champagne is one of the joys of life, and Madame Pommery described her champagne in two words;

“Joyful and Lightness”.

Now that is something to be celebrated.

Cheers!

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Pommery Australia in providing information (and this months giveaway) to create this story.

Would you like to join us in Champagne? As part of our Events and Tours program, we will offering a small group tour, with visits to some of the great champagne marques like the Pommery Estate, our program includes exclusive champagne-matched lunches and dinners, and private tastings. Spaces are limited. If you would like to register your interest to join us, you can do so here Register your interest to join us in Champagne.

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