Movies & Booze Tuesday 31st December, 2019
Welcome to the last Movies & Booze of the year, tonight we will not only see out the year, but the decade as well, definitely a cause for celebration! I plan on seeing in the twenties with Champagne, a taste of things to come, I hope! Today on Movies & Booze we are going to highlight the Champagne region and will recommend two Champagne’s for anyone who is planning on buying something for tonight’s party or for New Year’s Day, or for anything else you might be celebrating!
Champagne Beaumont de Crayerés €29.95
(reduced from €36.95)
Stockists: O’Briens Wines Beers Spirits Ashbourne; Athlone; Ballybrack; Beacon; Blanchardstown; Bray (Quinsboro & Vevay Road); Carlow; Carrickmines; Citiwest; Contarf; Cork; Dalkey; Donnybrook; Douglas; Drogheda; Dun Laoghaire; Galway; Glasnevin; Greystones; Limerick; Lucan; Malahide; Naas; Navan Road; Navan Town; Newbridge; Newpark; Nutgrove; Rathgar; Rathmines; Sandymount; Stillorgan and Templeogue and Waterford (Ardkeen).
Champagne is a small region just north-east of Paris situated around the towns of Rheims and Epernay in the valley of the Marne. It has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. In some years the grapes struggle to ripen. The climate and soil contribute to the production of the high acidity in the grapes.
The Chalky soils in the Champagne region are also unique. Romans built cold, deep chalky cellars, which are now used to age Champagne once it has been bottled.
Champagne is produced by a second fermentation in the bottle (Methode Champenoise) of a still wine made with a natural high acidity. The wine is bottled and some extra yeast and sugar (dosage) is added to the bottle which is sealed and stored. The second fermentation starts taking place within the bottle which gives the wine it's sparkle (carbon dioxide) and produces six atmospheres of pressure.
The yeast sediment is eventually moved to the neck of the bottle through remuage (riddling) either manually or by machine (gyropalette). The yeast sediment is finally removed by de-gorgement, the popping of the crown cork to release the yeast in the neck of the bottle.
The final product is then sealed with a special three layered cork held down by wire (muselet) that has Champagne written on it, and usually the name of the 'house' or marque.
Champagne it is the only area in the EU allowed to call it's sparkling wines Champagne. Over 75% of champagne produced is non-vintage.
Beaumont de Crayerés is a co-operative of 210 growers who farm 80 ha of vineyards. Most are very small vineyards and the growers work them on a part time basis. They don’t use machines and most of the vineyards are organic. This is a quality conscious Champagne with a quality level that surpasses a growers Champagne. They use ripe grapes so this is a rich style of Champagne. Made from predominantly red grapes, 60% Meunier, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir this Champagne punches way above its weight, especially at the current on-offer price.
Piper-Heidsieck NV €54.99
Stockists: O Briens Wine Off Licence; Blackrock Cellar, Co Dublin; The Vintry, Rathgar;
Fresh Opportunities, Smithfield, Dublin 8; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; Gibneys Of Malahide; Myles Creek, Kilkee, Co Clare; La Touche Wines Greystones ; Thomas’s of Foxrock, Dublin 18; Donnybrook Fair Morehampton Road; J.J O’Driscolls Ballinlough, Cork; Avoca; O’Donovans, Cork; Wineonline.ie
Piper Heidsieck is a Grand Marques Champagne that can trace its roots back to 1785 when it was created by Florens-Louis Heidsieck, Piper-Heidsieck is one of Champagne’s most well-known yet underestimated houses.
There is a movie connection as well, long before product placement became the norm Piper Heidsieck was the first ever bottle of Champagne to feature in a movie! Laurel and Hardy’s 1933 film ‘Sons of the Desert’. Next year it will also feature in the upcoming Tom Hooper directed big screen adaptation of the hit musical CATS (“Pipur-Heidsieck”).
Piper Heidsieck was Marilyn Monroe’s favourite champagne who said of it “I go to bed with a few drop of Chanel N°5 and I wake up every morning with a glass of Piper-Heidsieck; it warms me up.” Today Piper-Heidsieck is the official champagne served at the Oscar’s and at Cannes International Film Festival.
At the 2019 International Wine and Spirit Competition the 2012 Vintage was awarded the Vintage Champagne Trophy, while the 2019 International Wine Challenge saw the Non-Vintage Classic Blend Trophy awarded to the Essentiel Cuvée Réservée. The House’s winemakers have won Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the IWC more than any other house.
Chef de Cave Émilien Boutillat the current winemaker has a simple philosophy, preserve the quality, elegance and generosity of style that has always characterised the Piper-Heidsieck wines. The house style is rich with more upfront fruit, it tends to have a creamy richness. Once again red grapes dominate the blend and the wine is made from 50% Pinot Noir , 30% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay.
NEW ZEALAND IN A GLASS - DUBLIN 2019 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Monday 13th January, 2020 Venue: Radisson Blu, Golden Lane, Dublin 8.
Tickets are now on sale price €20.00.
New Zealand Winegrowers will host its 23rd tasting of New Zealand wines in Ireland in January 2020. The consumer tickets are now on sale. This is one of the most popular consumer wine events and is a great way to start the wine New Year!
To purchase a ticket click on the link in the wine diary https://jeansmullen.com/
