For a long time, I didn’t quite get Champagne.
A glass of Taittinger.
I certainly understood its place in the wine world: the long history, the meticulous production, the reverence. But every time I found myself at a party where a bottle was opened, I couldn’t understand why people were willing to shell out several hundred dollars for something that never quite lived up to the fuss. The bubbles were fine, the wine was pleasant, but it rarely left a mark.
What I didn’t realize then was that what I’d been drinking often wasn’t Champagne at all. More often than not, it was sparkling wine passed off in the same broad category—a prosecco here, a cava there—festive, fizzy, and fun, but not the same thing. I knew enough about wine to know Champagne had pedigree, but not enough to know I hadn’t really met the real deal yet.
That changed one day on the California coast.
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There are wine tastings you attend, and then there are those rare moments when wine becomes a portal.
A most memorable tasting.
Our recent encounter with the Piper-Heidsieck Diptyque 1982 belonged firmly to the latter. Even now, several days later, we’re still replaying the sensations, along with the quiet awe of realizing we were experiencing something that may never be repeated.
We’ve been fortunate to be invited to many extraordinary tastings over the years. Chalk it up to the life we’ve built orbiting vineyards and cellars, or to generous friends who know how deeply we love this world. But this one, the Piper-Heidsieck blind side-by-side tasting of the 1982 Brut Sauvage and the 1982 Hors-Série, was different. It felt almost ceremonial. A once-in-a-lifetime privilege wrapped inside a milestone birthday celebration for a dear friend we adore and admire. A friend more than deserving of such grandeur.
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Pierre Peters Rosé Champagne
In light of ‘National Rosé Day’, we’re going in a slightly different direction for our annual article by focusing on the very best of the bubbly kind: Rosé Champagne.
Rosé Champagne is that wonderful looking pink variety of sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in northeastern France. Its popularity is taking off and here are the things you will want to know about buying and drinking rosé Champagne.
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