A Food and Champagne Pairing with Veuve Clicquot

It was a cloudy and cold day in Calgary when six wine writers gathered at the Yellow Door Bistro to pair some of Veuve Clicquot's most food-friendly champagnes with gastronomic lunch delights. The dreary weather outside did not affect the air of excitement at our table as we were joined by Veuve's passionate, vibrant winemaker, Bertrand Varoquier.

Born and raised in Reims, Bertrand was naturally drawn to Champagne. He graduated with a degree in Oenology at the Universite Reims Champagne Ardenne in 2002 and has since worked as a winemaker in the Loire Valley, Chablis (Burgundy), as well as two other Champagne houses. He started at Veuve Clicquot in 2013, with a focus on red wine vinification. Stout beers like Guinness are his drink of choice when he is not drinking wine, and he travels 6-8 weeks out of the year to share both is passion as well as the spirit of the house all over the world! To learn more about Veuve Clicquot's history and vinification methods, click here.

First Course: Pork Hock & Apricot Press, with Veuve Clicquot Extra Old Extra Brut

A creamy, rich mouthfeel is what sets the Extra Old Extra Brut champagne apart from the others in Veuve Clicquot's line. Prominent notes of toasted brioche, toasted almonds and a hint of lemon zest make this champagne extremely food-friendly. The succulent acidity married really well with the richness of the pork hock and the apricot press enhanced the subtle fruit flavours in the champagne nicely. This was easily my favourite pairing of the luncheon, and I can't wait to try out some different food pairings with the Extra Old Extra Brut in the future!

Second Course: Poached B.C. Sablefish, West Coast Oyster Veloute with VC Vintage Brut 2008

The 2008 harvest was considered one of the best growing seasons for the "delicate diva" grape, Pinot Noir, creating Veuve Cliquot's 65th vintage champagne in house history. A blend of 61% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Meunier brings forth a delicate palate of green apple, lemon zest, almonds mid-palate and just a hint of the yeasty flavours the house is known for. This vintage is best paired with delicately-flavoured foods such as scallops, whitefish and crab. Unfortunately, this pairing was my least favourite of the luncheon. The veloute sauce was very heavy, and drowned out the delicate body and flavours of the champagne. I ended up saving my glass for after the main course so I could truly appreciate the beautiful flavour profile on its own.

Third Course: Whipped Almond Panna Cotta, Rhubarb Ravioli with Veuve Clicquot Rich

Veuve Clicqot has a new, cocktail-style champagne that they crafted last year in 2017. The focus of Rich (pronounced "REEsh") is to enjoy a more fresh, lighter style of champagne. The best way to enjoy Rich is to serve over ice, infused with mixology-style garnishes such as pineapple, ginger, and bell pepper. Rich is ideal for hot summer days, patio parties, and would be a great accompaniment for a romantic picnic lunch! This gem paired wonderfully with the dessert, with the stone fruit notes complementing the strawberry and rhubarb flavours. The acidity of the champagne played nicely with the rich flavours of the dish, and cleansed the palate perfectly. I left the luncheon well satisfied, with the lingering tastes and memories burned into my memory! Click here to learn more about Veuve Clicquot Rich.

Luncheons like these also bring together a network of like-minded people, and I was pleased to connect with fellow wine writers Peter Vetsch, and Raymond Lamontagne. Peter's blog is titled Pop & Pour, click here to read his well-written tasting notes, as well as the other local wine events he has attended.

Special thanks to Jordan Cameron at Moet-Hennessy, Christy and all the staff at Hotel Arts/Yellow Door Bistro, and especially to Bertrand Varoquier of Veuve Clicquot for bringing some much needed sunshine into my life during this long, cold winter!

Cheers everyone!

Playing with Pairings: The 2nd Annual Holyantle Anniversary Dinner

Last year my husband and I decided to make a new tradition out of our anniversary. Each year we are going to cook together and create a 3-4 course meal, complete with wine pairings. Last year’s 3 course meal started with an Avocado and Grapefruit salad, continued with Rack of Lamb Persillade and Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce paired with Veuve Clicquot  NV Champagne (which was my favourite food and wine pairing of 2012!) Neither my husband nor I can remember much after the bottle of Veuve and unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to blog about it then.

This year, we decided to continue with the French theme as it is also a way for us to pay homage to our trip to France in March 2011. My mother gave me a great food and wine book a few months ago, Wine & Food: A New Look at Flavour by Joshua Wesson. The book discusses all types of wines from light-bodied whites to full-bodied reds, sparkling and sweet wines; each section talks about the varietal flavour profiles and suggests ideal food pairings. The book also contains approximately 50 food recipes with 4 different wine pairing suggestions per recipe. The back of the book contains themed 4 course meals using recipes from the book, with wine pairings for each course. One of these was themed “Bistro-Style Supper" and features wines from around France for the pairings. I decided to run with this. The menu 2^nd Annual “Holyantle” themed Anniversary Meal was:

Savoury Cheesecake

PEI Mussels in Wine & Herb Sauce

Grilled Lamb Chops with Blueberry & Portabello Mushroom Coulis

Maple Squash Puree

Roasted Buttered Beets

Tarte Tatin

I know, PEI is not in France. But I wanted to incorporate one highlight of our 5^th year of wedded bliss, and our trip to PEI for my sister’s wedding was one such highlight. It therefore became the 2^nd course.

In order to not overload ourselves with food right off the bat, I made the savoury cheesecake for dinner the night before, which includes ingredients such as blue cheese, cream cheese, roasted garlic, roasted red peppers and a parmesan crust. I paired it with Ruinart’s NV Rose Champagne. We also used the leftover champagne the following night to pair with the mussels. Unfortunately, the heavy fattiness of the cheesecake overwhelmed the delicate fruit flavours of the champagne, and I thought the higher acidity level of the champagne would cut through the fat component in the cheesecake. So we ate the cheesecake and then drank half of the Ruinart afterwards. We ate the leftover cheesecake for brunch the day of the big meal. When we paired the champagne with the mussels, the delicate flavours of both the food and wine married well and ended up becoming a nice, light course to start our dinner.

I paired the grilled lamb chops, beets and squash puree with M. Chapoutier’s 2010 Crozes-Hermitage. Full-bodied with chewy but well-integrated tannins, this red features notes of plums, animal hide and smoke.

My husband used some of the wine in the coulis. Adding the wine you plan to drink into your cooking enhances your food and wine pairing. In this case, the C-H paired well with all of the main items-the smokiness of the wine enhanced the barbecued lamb and added a flavour dimension to the sweetness of both the coulis and the beets.

The last course was Tarte Tatin, which is made by caramelizing apples in an ovenproof skillet and baked upside-down with the pastry on top. I paired it with Chateau Guiraud’s 2010 “Le Petit Guiraud”, a young, sweet wine from Sauternes with a complex flavour profile that includes honey, orange blossom, butterscotch and candied orange peel.

This pairing was easily the highlight of the meal, along with the tarte. When pairing wines with dessert, you must ensure the wine is sweeter than the food or the dessert will overpower the wine. This wine was my favourite pairing of the night: the wine was sweeter than the dish, and complimented without overpowering the dessert. Both have an excellent flavour concentration to complement eachother with subtle differences that contrast eachother, allowing both to stand out on their own! This is a must-try pairing!

To summarize, here is what I learned in pairing wines with these dishes:

-If you want a highly acidic wine to cut through the fat components in food, make sure you match the weight of the wine to the weight of the food. In the champagne/cheesecake pairing, the cheesecake was too heavy for the delicate champagne. The oysters and the lighter sauce were more delicately weighted, and that is why they worked better with the champagne.

-If you have a flavour compound in the wine (like the smoke in the Crozes-Hermitage) and a similar flavour exists in the food (the barbecued lamb), the two should complement eachother well, keeping in mind to match the weight of the wine with the weight of the food.

-Use the wine you are serving in your cooking-this helps guarantee a flavour match

-When pairing wine with dessert, make sure the wine is sweeter than the food!

-Have fun with it! Wine and food were made to go together, so try different things out and see what your palate prefers!

If you've read this far into the post, I will reward you with the recipe for Tarte Tatin! Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin: As found in Wine & Food: A New Look at Flavour

3 oz/90g unsalted butter
6 oz/180g sugar
Pinch of salt
3 lb golden delicious apples: peeled, cored and quartered
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375F. Melt butter in a 10 inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and cook until the sugar turns light amber in colour, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt. Arrange apple wedges on their cut sides in the pan in a tight concentric circle, then fill the centre with the remaining wedges.

2) Return the pan to high heat and cook until the sugar and juices become deep amber in colour, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and with tongs, turn apple wedges to their other cut side. Return pan to high heat and cook for another 5 minutes or until this side of the cut apple wedges turns amber.

3) While the apples are cooking, roll out the puff pastry on parchment paper into a circle 11 inches in diameter, or an inch larger than the diameter of the skillet you are using. Using a 10 inch plate as your guide, trim the pastry into a 10 inch circle. Keep pastry cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.

4) When the apples are ready, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully flip the puff pastry onto the apples and lift off the paper. Gently tuck the pastry down around the edges of the apples. Cut 4 1 inch slits in the centre of the pastry to allow steam to release during baking.

5) Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is puffed and golden brown. Remove the tart from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Gently place a large platter on top of the skillet and invert or flip over the pan while holding the platter strong. Lift off the pan; the tarte should release easily from the skillet. Serve warm with icing sugar or whipped cream as garnish.

The Neverending Pinot Noir Project

Way back in September I said I would be finishing my Pinot Noir project. Three months later, I'm still drinking Pinot Noir! It turns out I liked it more than I thought I would! However, December 31st, 2012 marked the now-official end to the project. Although I'm unsure of the total number of Pinots I sampled, I became well acquainted with PNs from Canada, the USA, France, Italy, and New Zealand. Here is what I learned:
-Pinot Noir grapes are the divas of the vineyard. They flourish best in a temperate climate; too much heat and the berries can shrivel and get sun burnt. The grapes are also very susceptible to mildew, botrytis and virus diseases. This also explains why Pinot Noirs tend to cost more than other wines.
-Although the wines do have red and black fruit on the nose and in the palate, Pinot Noirs are full-bodied wines that are mostly earthy, with more mineral and herbaceous notes than fruit. I also found a subtle note of black or white pepper on a lot of the wines I tasted.
-There is a special glass to best taste Pinot Noirs with that has a slightly flared rim. A picture of it can be found in one of my previous posts.
-I found Pinot Noirs paired best with beef and lamb dishes. As mentioned, Pinots are full-bodied and hold up against the stronger flavors of the beef and lamb. The New Zealand Pinot I tasted paired really well with a smoked Gruyere cheese. Go for stronger flavors when pairing a Pinot, but feel free to drink it on it's own, especially a wine from California's 2009 standout vintage.

The Best Vintages By Region
Canada: 2007 hands down! If you can't find a 2007, a 2010 Canadian Pinot is a good 2nd choice
California: 2009 all the way! The climate conditions were perfect for growing Pinots. My "silver medal winner" is from this vintage!
Burgundy, France: 2005, 2009
Sadly, I found Italy on a whole to be a miss with Pinot Noir. They specialize in their own grapes for a reason, and I'll be sure to sample them soon, especially with my return to WSET Advanced in the Spring.

The "Medal Winners" (If I had medals to give out, ha ha)

Gold: Chateau des Charmes Old Vines PN 2007. There was a party in my mouth when I first tried this gem! Full-bodied, spicy, a little herbaceous but a beautiful long finish that doesn't leave a harsh aftertaste in the mouth. It made me want more, and more, and more...4 bottles are now in my cellar. I paired it with meat but could drink it on it's own as well!

Silver: La Crema Monterey PN 2009. I love this wine because it has more abundant red fruit on the bouquet and in the palate than in other Pinots. I found this one to be very easy-drinking, with all the characteristics of a Pinot Noir on the palate. My favorite to drink on it's own! 

Bronze: Louis Latour PN 2009. If you want a good benchmark Pinot from it's homeland of Burgundy, you can not go wrong with this one! I tasted notes of black pepper, bell pepper, eucalyptus, with hints of coffee and meat. Another full-bodied, long finish wine. A great choice!

Best Pairing: Veuve Clicquot with Rack of Lamb Persillade. Because Pinot Noir makes up only a part of the composition in Champagne, I was surprised that it stood out against the harsh, bitter flavors of the lamb! The delicate flavors of the Champagne complemented the lamb in such a way that I couldn't take a bite of meat without savoring a sip of wine in my mouth right after! 

So that's it. Although the blogging portion of the project is now complete, I don't expect to stop drinking Pinots altogether, which is why the project will never officially end in my life. Besides, I've only scratched the surface! Cheers to the Pinot Noirs I will continue to taste in the future!

So what's next for 2013? I will be taking on 2 projects; the first is a cellar-based project thanks to my darling husband. I will be tasting 4 wines, and then cellaring the bottles to see how they age. This one will take a few years (if not longer) to complete and will lead into the 2nd project, a research-based project on the wines of Penfold's. Stay tuned for the tasting notes!

Boston Bruins Celebrate Cup Victory with Veuve Clicquot

As a hockey fan who bled white and blue blood for years, I'll never cheer for Boston, one of the Toronto Maple Leaf's eastern conference rivals. Here's another reason why: Bruins defenceman Tomas Kaberle. He was traded from the Leafs organization earlier this past season, and after doing nothing productive in Toronto for many years, he walks onto a team that wins the coveted Stanley Cup, doing little else in Bean-town besides adding a couple of assists to the team late-season and in the playoffs. It must be nice to walk onto a team and be taken along for the ride for the ultimate prize!



However, something caught my eye last night when the Bruins returned to their dressing room post-victory with the Stanley Cup: bottles and bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne on ice, ready to be sprayed around the locker room and imbibed from the top of the Stanley Cup. This photo was posted on cbslocal.com in Boston:
Despite the fact that I dislike the Bruins, I do admire their taste in celebratory Champagne. I wonder if they chose it because their famous label matches the team colours, because they wanted something high-class, or any other number of reasons? Either way, they chose well!



Congratulations to the Bruins and their fans, the harder working team did win last night! Well deserved.

Side note: In a pre-game interview with CBC, Bruins forward Mark Recchi mentioned that he's been saving a special bottle of wine to celebrate a cup victory-and he would probably drink it anyways even if they didn't win. After a brief google session, I think the bottle he was talking about is his 1970 Petrus, one of Bordeaux's finest. It also turns out he has quite the extensive cellar, totalling over 1,000 bottles! Even though there are rumours flying around about his retirement, he just became one of my favourite players-how can a wino dislike a wine afficionado, after all?

Veuve Clicquot: A Great Story of Triumph for Women

Imagine this scenario: You've been married for seven years, a young wife at 27 years of age. Suddenly, your husband passes away. You are now a widow, or "veuve" in French.

What would you do? One would obviously be devastated, and of course there would be a necessary period of mourning. Would you struggle to get out of bed on a daily basis? Would you somehow find the inner strength you need to try and move on?

Barbe Nicole Ponsardin found herself in this situation back in 1805 when her husband passed away. Fortunately, she made the choice to take over the family business. This decision ended up being such a great decision as she would bring the world one of the most prominent champagnes well recognized everywhere!

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin's grapes are grown over 382 hectares in the vineyards surrounding Reims, France-the 2nd largest vineyard in the Champagne area. Of the total grapes they grow, 39% is Pinot Noir grapes, 46% is Chardonnay, and 15% are Pinot Meunier. Veuve Cliquot prides themselves on having a 97% vineyard rating based on the echelle des crus, a classification system for vineyard quality in Champagne. You can taste the quality in their bottles! The grapes are harvested only when the perfect balance between sugar & acidity in the grapes is reached. Harvesting is done by hand and the different grape varieties remain separated until the blending process.

Veuve Cliquot presses 2550 litres of juice from 4,000kg of grapes. The first 2,050 litres are called the cuvee and the last 500 litres are called the taille. Fermentation then takes place in stainless steel vats. Blending then takes place to maintain the house flavors and quality. The wine is bottled and sugar and yeast are added for secondary fermentation. Veuve Cliquot ages their bottles in their cellars in Reims for no less than 15 months as part of the Champagne A.O.C. regulations. The bottles are laid in riddling racks (shown below) that were actually invented by the house to make the process of disgorging (removing the sediment in secondary fermentation) easier.

The bottles are turned and tilted slightly to move the sediment to the neck of the bottle. When the aging process is complete, the sediment will be frozen and the pressure inside the bottle will literally push it out when the cap is removed. After a small amount of sweetened liquor is added to the champagne, the bottles are corked and wired and laid down on their side in the cellars to further develop flavor before being labelled and packed up for shipping.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to get the chance to visit this prestigious champagne house in mid-March. We were given the chance to see the cellars, learn their history and taste a few of the champagnes as well. We tasted the yellow label and the 2002 vintage, which I found light, lovely, and really easy to drink! Needless to say, there is a bottle of the yellow label in our house now too!
If you ever find yourself in Reims, it is well worth the visit and if you decide to spend the 75 euro on the tour, I hope you get Melissa Gaillard as your guide. She is very knowledgeable and passionate about the house and friendly. Tours must be booked in advance by calling the house or email: visitscenter@veuve-clicquot.fr

Veuve Cliquot has become one of the most recognized champagnes throughout the world. It has become so popular, in fact, that Veuve now owns the legendary color of their label. Melissa showed us on the tour false replicates of other bottles that have been found all over the world, including Mexico. When you go to their website,
www.veuve-cliquot.com, they mention a hoax promotion that is being offered for a free case of their champagne. To me, that speaks volumes of the quality and reputation that Veuve Cliquot maintains all over the world. After all, imitation is the best form of flattery, n'est-ce pas?

One of the things I love best about Veuve Cliquot (outside of the taste & quality of course!) is what they do for women. It's a tough life for a woman, working in a predominantly men's world. I experience this first-hand every day as I work with all men in the aviation industry. Veuve Cliquot hands out Businesswoman of the Year awards every year to outstanding businesswomen who embody the values of Madame Cliquot. Sixteen winners will be crowned for each of the countries that participate in the award, and the winners receive a trip to Reims to christen a vine in their own names, one each, at the International Business Woman Forum! On top of that, on their birthday every year of their life they will receive a bottle of a champagne from that vine. Amazing! Although internet rumors insist there is a jinx or curse on winning the award, I think it's great to see recognition of successful women on a worldwide scale.

Veuve Cliquot, je t'aime!