A TOAST TO CHRISTMAS
A Toast To Christmas - Luxury Travel Magazine
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A Toast To Christmas | |||||
| By: Kate De Brito, Issue 16 – Spring 2003 | |||||
| (Cristal champagne, New Year’s Eve, The Moog Hotel, L’Amex Noire, Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Vintage Wine Cellars) | |||||
| THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO CELEBRATE THE FESTIVE SEASON IN STYLE, AND THAT’S WITH A GLASS OR TWO OF THE WORLD’S BEST CHAMPAGNE. | |||||
| On the night hip-hop star Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs was charged with firing a gun in a trendy New York nightclub, he and former girlfriend Jennifer Lopez and their entourage had been downing bottles of Louis Roederer’s Cristal champagne. The group managed to drain the club’s cellars of US$4,000 worth of bubbly before mayhem descended. That these image-conscious superstars were drinking vintage champagne rather than vodka mixers or exotic cocktails speaks volumes about champagne’s universal charisma and stylish appeal. Once seen strictly as an aperitif, party refreshment or a drink for birthday and New Year’s Eve toasts, champagne and sparkling wine is undergoing something of a new millenium reincarnation. These days, both are just as likely to be found on the table for an entire four-course meal, served alongside a plate of sushi or salmon, or as a nightcap in a trendy bar. The Moog Hotel, in Sydney’s Surry Hills, now serves what is billed as the world’s most expensive cocktail, L’Amex Noire, a headier version of a champagne cocktail. Sydney wholesale wine merchant Carol Ann Martin, a self-confessed champagne devotee, says the appeal is that it can be drunk ‘anywhere, anytime’. While not everyone shares Martin’s dedication, there’s no doubt that as this year’s party season warms up, champagne and sparkling wines are in their element once again. According to the Champagne Information Centre, Australians are among the largest consumers of champagne per capita in the world, consuming about one bottle for every 15 people, on par with the US – and the majority of bubbly is drunk during the spring racing carnivals and over Christmas and New Year. Non-vintage champagnes and sparkling wines are easily the biggest sellers, although each major champagne house, and some wineries, have a flagship vintage variety on offer. For the most part, people tend to stay faithful to a particular brand that not only suits their taste, but their style and age group. Marilyn Monroe, for instance, preferred Piper-Heidsieck while Winston Churchill was a fan of Pol Roger, saying: “I am easily satisfied by the best.” Australia’s biggest-selling champagne is Moet & Chandon, but there are dozens of other top champagnes and local sparkling wines that will help you celebrate in style. Philip Rich, wine operations manager at Melbourne’s Stokehouse and Prince Wine Store, says the final choice comes down to personal taste. “People recognise the big names in champagne like Moet but there are many lesser known houses producing really wonderful products.” Rich lists Billecart Salmon’s non-vintage champagne – created by one of the few remaining family-owned champagne houses – as among the best in the world. It retails for just $65 but is often overlooked for better marketed brands. “When people are buying champagne, they like something that other people will recognise as a good product,” says Rich, who adds that impression can be crucial. “But in the end, it all comes down to what you like. Moet, for instance, is a softer champagne, Bollinger is a bit bigger and Billecart more elegant. People tend to find something they like and stick with it.” Different champagnes will also attract different age groups. “Dom Perignon is more likely to attract an older buyer while a younger person might drink Cristal,” says Rich. Certainly Cristal’s striking clear bottle may have something to do with its image as a trendy tipple but there’s also no doubting its elegance and finesse as a champagne. Michael Buring, co-manager of the Vintage Wine Cellars in Sydney’s Double Bay, agrees people remain loyal to champagne brands and stick with what they know. For those planning on drinking plenty of bubbly over the festive season but not sold on the idea that a sparkler has to be from the Champagne region of France, there are plenty of top-quality Australian sparkling wines offering good value for money as well as excellent taste and quality. Domaine Chandon, the Australian operation of Moet & Chandon, produces arguably the most popular sparkling wines on the market, and the Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2003 Awards recently named Chandon Vintage 1998 Brut Rosé from Domaine Chandon as the Best Sparkling Wine of the year. But there are plenty of other wines making a mark, including Montana’s Deutz, Croser, Jansz, Hardy’s Arras, Clover Hill, Pirie, Pelorus, Salinger and the new-look Killawarra. The range can be bewildering but if it gets too much, remember it’s about enjoyment. Consider taking the advice of Lily Bollinger, who married into one of Champagne’s most famous families and said 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 when I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it - unless, of course, I’m thirsty.” | |||||
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