Champagne: Your New Favorite Food Wine
I’ve long been a fan of Champagne with food.
About a decade ago, long before I became a sommelier, I was having dinner at Marta, Danny Meyer’s (now closed) pizza place in NYC. The menu had an extensive Champagne list and its sommelier highly suggested that I pair some sparkling wine with my pie. The bubbles and the acid in Champagne cut beautifully through the rich mozzarella on pizza, he explained. (I had never tried Champagne with a meal before!) He suggested a bottle of Jacquesson, sparking a love affair, not just with Jacquesson (one of my all-time favorite Champagnes), but also with bubbles and food, both low and high brow: pizza, fried chicken, oysters, lobsters…my list goes on and on.
These days, I rejoice when I try a Champagne that tastes like it was made for a meal. And rejoice I did when I tried Alfred Gratien’s stunning Brut Rosé Champagne Cuvée Paradis 2008 at Wine Spectator’s 43rd New York Wine Experience last month. Gratien Champagnes are always oaked with no malolactic fermentation. The resulting bubbles are elegant, fresh, and vibrant. The Cuvée Paradis is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, with a stunning depth that screams for food. The house itself calls this a “Champagne for gastronomes” and suggests shellfish in saffron sauce, breaded langoustines, or veal fillet with girolle mushrooms.
Surprise, surprise, I’d drink it with pizza.
Chin!*
*The 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Paradis is tough to find, but as of this writing there are limited bottles available online at Blackwell’s ($120+), Reserve Bar ($79.99+), and Divine Cellar ($89+)