Re: Good News
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:41 am
Sommelier comes from the old French word saumalier, driver of a pack animal. Or in my case, one that delivers the goods. Sommeliers have to be proficient in wine, spirits, beer and cigars and serve them in a professional manner. A good sommelier offers you choices that fit your tastes and budget, unless otherwise directed.cradleandshoot wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 7:35 amWhat do you mean by "was a certified sommelier" did you lose your sense of smell and taste? I admit i laughed my arse off reading your post and the responses. Is sommelier French for wine snob? I'm no wine snob, thank god and would never listen to advice from any person claiming to be a "sommelier/wine snob. i know when i have spaghetti and meatballs I like a glass of Chianti. My wife likes Chardonnay. Simple advice from a simple guy... if you buy a 10 dollar bottle of wine and you like it, nothing wrong with that. i wonder just for the sake of amusement if my friend Dmac is a weed sommelier? Do you avoid that mexican ditch weed and gravitate towards the Panama Red. I know the Panama Red has a much more fragrant bouquet. You do need to avoid the 2018 vintage as it may have been tinged with pesticides.ardilla secreta wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:08 pm A rehash from last year. I am/was a certified sommelier with a degree in the culinary arts, so if you have a question I’m here to help.
Champagne can be pricey and not for everyone. Fortunately there are plenty of good sparkling wines. In France sparklers referred as Cremant are quite good and affordable. Look for Cremant from Loire, Bourgogne, Limoux, Alsace.ardilla secreta wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:13 pm How about a few tips on finding good Champagne and sparkling wine.
The popular names in Champagne are referred to as Grande Marque (grand label) and include the likes of Moët, Mumm, Clicquot, Bollinger, Taittinger, Perrier-Jouet, Pol Roger and others. These labels look for a standardized taste through blending. They may grow some of their grapes but most come from contracts with other growers. They are backed by an army of marketing people and their wholesalers. Production is generally in the 500,000 to 1mil case range.
However, the real jewels and excitement is in the grower-producers. These are small farmers growing their own grapes and making their own wines almost always from superior vineyards rated Premier Cru (1er) or the highest Grand Cru. Production is likely to be in the 2,000 to 10,000 case range. These are special and distinctive wines that have a greater expression of the terrior.
Aside from knowing who the producers are, there is a small mark on the front label, RM (Récoltant-Manipulant) designating that it is a grower-producer Champagne. Unlike the big labels, these RM wines will have a disgorgement date. That’s the time when they jettison the spent yeast and refresh it with a wine/sugar solution to produce the bubbles from 2nd fermentation. It’s generally best to have the disgorgement date within two years of consuming. It’s not unheard of for less reputable retailers to have wines well beyond this date, so you need to look. Another hint on finding a sure winner is to look on the back for a RM Champagne imported by Terry Thiese. He was one of the first to import these gems about 22 years ago and has a great portfolio .
Look for names like Aubry, Pierre Peters, A Margaine, Geoffroy, H Billiot, Chartogne-Taillet, Gaston-Chiquet, Vilmart, Larmandier-Bernier, Pierre Gimonnet, etc.
Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France. Anything else is sparkling wine. Champagne is a proprietary blend that can be made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier.
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So put the Veuve Clicquot down. It’s vastly overrated and try something good.
Sparkling wine in Spain is called Cava. Generally made in Catalonia from local grapes Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel.lo. Crisp and lively in style.
In Italy Prosecco is the go-to. It’s lower in pressure than others so it’s more elegant in style.
Some of the big Champagne houses have labels in California. They all have a pretty good track record for quality though the prices have gone up on most of these.
One of the best ways to find a winner is to look on the back label for the importer. Names like David Bowler, Doug Polaner and Michael Skurnik, VOS for example are top choices.