Food Wine Sleep

Get to grips with the real differences between champagne and sparkling wine. Pamper your palate on Signorelli Gastronomia’s delicious tasting tour of icon sparkling styles from Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand before you finish up on France’s finest.

This tasting experience even includes the opportunity to try for yourself a rare example of 100% bio-dynamic champagne. Each delicious glass of bubbly will be matched to signature dishes and de-mystified by author and champagne expert Champagne Jayne.

Juicy Details

Venue: Signorelli Gastronomia, Ground Floor, Accenture Building, Trouton Place, Pyrmont

Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Date: Monday October 25th 2010

Cost: $75

Book http://www.signorelli.com.au/cookingclasses/index.php?option=com_iqcart&Itemid=&pg=category&id_category=11

Champagne is renowned the world over as the natural partner for any event where celebration, luxury and romance are the themes. What’s more, Champagne tastes fabulous, is a proven anti-depressant and its even good for your waistline (Champagne is in fact a mild diuretic!). There are very scientific reasons behind its expense and unique position in the wine world – so “Champagne” also makes for fabulous table talk and a natural sharing choice for appreciation by all sorts of different audiences and occasions.

Champagne is without doubt the world’s pre-eminent sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine can be called champagne. “Champagne” is in fact a wine style unique to the Champagne region and only produced from the classic varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier under the strictest possible conditions. The final precious product is a result of the combined effects of soil, orientation, climate and cultivation practices as well as history and commerce. This is the ultimate definition of the French expression “terroir”.

The term ’sparkling wine’ covers all other carbonated wine made anywhere else in the world. Inexpensive sparkling wines are often made from high yield, lower flavoured varieties such as chenin blanc, colombard, trebbiano and muscadelle. Medium-quality sparkling wines tend to be made from high yielding Semillon and Chardonnay grown in warmer climates.

The best examples of premium Australian and New Zealand sparkling wines are made from a blend of cooler climate, low volume classic varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Check out the local sparkling heroes from Tasmania, Victoria and Marlborough…

Celebrity Masterchef Class with Champagne Jayne

Which Champagne Are You?

For many champagne is simply a party wine to celebrate with and they never even consider enjoying their champagne even more intensely by adding food. This is a real shame because champagne is such a complex and versatile wine that it can in fact be played like a ‘joker’ at any stage of a meal, provided you follow the basic principles of young wines before older vintages and light wines before fuller bodied styles. For example if you wanted to create a progressive dinner party with champagne,  you could try a different champagne style matched to each different course, or for lunch you could carefully choose a single champagne that has the power and finesse to handle every dish you are about to enjoy.

Have fun and experiment − there are so many individual components within any one champagne and there are so many wonderful different champagne styles out there, that it’s usually easy to find synergies with most foods available here in Australia − just beware very spicy Asian sauces which deaden your palate.

Here are some basic rules of thumb for champagne and food matching at home or in a restaurant:

BLANC DE BLANCS

The classic champagne style for oysters or any kind of seafood at any time of the day. Racy and lemony when young, as Blanc de Blancs ages and develops creamy, toasty notes, it becomes more of a match for fish dishes with cream or spice/perfumed sauces or even chicken. Perfect partner in crime for Japanese cuisine.

NON-VINTAGE

It’s not easy to generalise about food matches as there are so many styles of non-vintage champagne available. Young fresh and fruity non-vintage champagnes(eg Pierre Gimonnet, Lanson, Laurent Perrier, Mumm, Piper Heidsieck) are unexpectedly good with cheeses such as emmental or gruyere at any time of day. With entree dishes opt for eloquent elegance(Gosset, Larmandier Bernier, Louis Roederer, Pol Roger or Taittinger), high protein-based dishes encompassing darker nuttier flavours on the other hand require the muscle of full-bodied nv (Bollinger, Krug, Duval Leroy Rose or Paul Bara Grand Rose de Bouzy).

VINTAGE

Thanks to the overall palate weight and richness of vintage Champagnes, they can be matched with much richer, darker and more intensely flavoured dishes – anything goes from fish to poultry as well as veal and pork, even smoked foods. Vintage Champagnes are also a superlative match for many cheeses and delciate desserts.

NV ROSE

Often served with sweet dishes based on berries in France, but also a great match for prawns, lobster or dishes flavoured with tomato. I love it with tomato and basil pasta or any light fresh salmon dishes.

VINTAGE ROSE

Sserious aged rose Champagnes have rich savoury characters that can tackle quit intense levels of herbs and spices(basil, mint, coriander). So vintage roses are absolutely amazing with duck and also magical with intricate Japanese dishes.

DEMI-SEC

Just like traditional port & stilton, this is a fantastic match with foie gras or thai dishes, but also applely pinot-based demi-sec styles can match apple or red berry flavours on the palate. This sweeter Champagne style is a wonderful match with light creamy chocolate desserts.

In a restaurant choose your price point first and then consult with the sommelier on the best food match. When entertaining at home with champagne always remember that the best trick in the book is to splash some of the Champagne you’re intending to drink with the meal into the sauce of the dish. This will not only amaze and dazzle your guests but also subsequently ensure a successful food/wine pairing!

Now get out there and start experimenting- its heaps of fun.  Need  more guidance about champagne and food matching? Please visit the blog www.champagnejayne.com or connect with me on twitter @champagnejayne

Cheers

Champagne Jayne