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Bubbly Events

Bubbly Events, Champagne, Drinks
Best Discoveries from the Champagne Grand Tasting

The Grand Champagne Tasting at the Westin St. Francis last week was glorious. Walking into the light-filled room done in gold and crystal on the 32nd floor of the Westin St. Francis was like stepping into champagne heaven. Around the room that offered a panoramic view of San Francisco on a sunny day, more than 100 different styles of icy champagne rested in silver buckets, just waiting to be tasted. The first of its kind tasting was presented by the Champagne Bureau, the U.S. office of the Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC), a 70-year-old trade organization. The CIVC’s main mission is making sure the trademarked word champagne isn’t applied to sparkling wines from other places in the world. “We have to defend this idea that champagne is from Champagne,” said Thibault le Mailloux, the new communications director of the CIVC visiting from France. One of the best ways…
June 3, 2011
Bubbly Events
Scintillating Quotes & A Cocktail Recipe for World Champagne Day

In case your Hallmark calender didn’t clue you in, Oct. 28 is World Champagne Day. Actually, it’s a brand new observance created as a time to celebrate all the wonderful things about the unique sparkling wine called La Champagne from the region southeast of Paris known as Le Champagne. I wanted to share a recipe for the Champagne Cocktail, which dates to the 1850s and is the first documented cocktail made with champagne. Just drop Angostura Bitters on sugar cube, drop it into a glass of cold brut champagne and finish it off with a lemon twist. The other thing that’s so lovely about champagne is the way it’s inspired bon vivants and lovers of the good life through the ages to say all sorts of witty things. These are some of my favorite champagne quotes: “A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad…
October 27, 2010
Bubbly Events
The Bubbly Girl at Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

Sparkling wine and gourmet cuisine might not immediately come to mind when one thinks of a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. But right now during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which runs until Nov 14, the park has been transformed into a culinary amusement park. Epcot has attracted an exciting line-up of celebrity chefs like Cat Cora of The Food Network, Boston’s Todd English and Art Smith of Table 52 fame to do cooking demonstrations and appearances. I’m looking forward to seeing Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods at a Celebrating Family & Friends Luncheon Oct. 22 and Gale Gand at her Sweet Sunday dessert tasting and brunch on Oct. 24. Throughout the park, international chefs are serving up tastes of German spaetzle, Spanish Serrano ham and Korean barbecued ribs paired with regional wines and beers. I’ll be speaking on Oct. 22, 23 and 24 as a…
October 19, 2010
Bubbly Events
Sangria Celebration and a Bit of History

So in just a few hours, I’ll be appearing at Sunset Magazine’s Celebration Weekend to share some tips for making the delicious Ruby Red Sangria and Sangria Blanca from my book The Bubbly Bar. Even though I don’t go on until 4:30 p.m. – happy hour! – I’m looking forward to going over and seeing some of the other presenters like Aaron McCargo Jr of Big Daddy’s House, Guillaume Bienaime of Marché Restaurant, Sunset Magazine Food Editor Margo True and Roy Choi, the genius behind the crazy-good, cross cultural Kogi Korean BBQ food truck in Los Angeles. Preparing for my segment on sangrias, I started doing some research on the history of the drink. We all know the typical red sangria that’s at every Spanish restaurant in the country – red wine, lemon soda, apples, oranges and if you’re lucky some good brandy. On a recent trip to Spain’s cava…
June 5, 2010
Bubbly Events
Grower Champagnes – Drink Up at Dr. Champagne’s Feb. 23 Dinner at Picco

With Valentine’s Day behind us, it means that the unofficial but traditional Bubbly Buying Season that started with Thanksgiving is over. But really, why does the fun have to stop? There are plenty of ways and reasons to enjoy sparkling wine and champagne, especially with events like these coming up. This year, expect to see lots of events highlighting grower champagnes which are made by Champenoise families who grow the grapes and make it into small quantities of finely crafted champagne. Grower champagnes with names like Pierre Gimmonnet, Henri Billiot, Gratien and Vilmart are sought after in Europe and they’re what savvy sommeliers sip at home. Their reputation is growing here thanks to the work of people like Terry Theise of importer Michael Skurnik who believes this “fun family fizz” offers a much more interesting flavor experience than a mass-produced bubbly. This year the Independent Champagne & Sparkling Wine Invitational…
February 15, 2010