food pairing Archives

Posted on May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 by Greg Mincher

The Rosé Paradox – Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003

In March 2014, Richard Geoffroy, Creator and Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon since 1990, wanted to honour the Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003. He invited nine chefs from all over the world, each at the top of their craft, to celebrate the Dom Pérignon Rosé Paradox.

The challenge ahead was perfectly encapsulated by Chef David Deshaies of Michel Richard Citronelle – Washington, DC. “Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 is unusual, you have to open your mind with this kind of wine. You can go in every direction, it is all about being creative in texture, in provocation.”

Indeed, 2003 was a year of all superlatives, a year of extremes, the warmest vintage in 53 years and one of the earliest harvests ever. Richard Geoffrey explains the Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 as a wine of all paradoxes: voluptuous and hedonistic yet possessing an almost theatrical depth; incredibly intense yet exhibiting a silky and fleshy texture.

As such, Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 is the Dark jewel of Dom Pérignon, an ode to Pinot Noir: witty, vibrant, singing, dancing.

The 3 days of “creative combustion” in Hautvillers and Paris lead to the creation of a unique 11-course menu, each chef contributing his own vision and sensitivity.

— The Dom Pérignon Rosé Paradox Menu —

Salmon, rabbit and “hazelnut” butter salad – Matteo Baronetto (Del Cambio, Italy)

Pike quenelles with black truffle, lobster sauce – Laurent André (Royal Monceau, France)

Oyster with Galangal orchata – Ricard Camarena (Ricard Camarena Restaurant, Spain)

Crispy pea Vichyssoise – Karim Lakhani (New York Palace Hotel, United States)

Duck breast onion carbonara, fig-cacao sauce – David Deshaies (Villard Michel Richard, United States)

Hamachi sashimi ceviche style, rhubard and scallop crisp – Oliver “Ollysan” Lange (Serpentine Gallery, United Kingdom)

Roasted brioche, pigeon breast and rhubarb – Nenad Mlinaveric (Park Hotel Vitznau, Switzerland)

Marinated wild sea bass topped with Oscietra cavar champagne jelly, pickled cauliflower and lemon confit – Renald Epié (Al Mahara, Dubai)

Lamb ribs with Oaxaca yellow mole – Ricardo Munoz Zurita (Azul Historico, Mexico)

The chefs created the final two dishes as a team:

Brie chesse cream with black truffle

Red fruits, beet infusion and pink pepper

Each chef served a selection of dishes in his own restaurant over the course of 2014, allowing their customers to discover the singularity of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 and the Rosé Paradox.

This story was originally published as Honoring Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2003 by Richard Geoffroy

Posted on May 1, 2015May 1, 2015 by Greg Mincher

10 Ways to Drink Champagne Like an Expert

1. The glass

The best way to enjoy champagne is in a white wine glass. A white wine glass’s larger bowl enables the wine to open up in the glass, allowing you to better enjoy all the aromas and to savor the complexity of the champagne. Traditional champagne flutes are perfect for showcasing champagne’s stream of bubbles, but their narrow shape limits the drinker’s experience of aromas and flavors. Coupe glasses, on the other hand, create the opposite experience; the glass’s extra-wide mouth amply exposes the champagne to the air allowing the bubbles and aromas to escape quickly.

2. Best way to open

When opening your bottle of Moët & Chandon, make sure you keep the cage on! The cage helps you control the cork so it doesn’t fly out when it pops, and also gives you leverage to help separate the cork from the bottle. When removing the cork, hold the top of the cage with your thumb to keep the cork in place and untwist the wire six times. Then hold the cage and cork together in one hand while using the other to twist the bottle’s base in a circular direction away from the cork to slowly work the cork out. Twisting the bottle instead of the cork allows you to more gently remove the cork and have more control.

3. Where to store

A common misconception when storing champagne is to leave it in the fridge. If you’re planning to enjoy your bottle of champagne immediately (within 3 or 4 days after buying it) storing it in the refrigerator is fine. But if it sits there for weeks the cork can dry out as there is no humidity in refrigerators. As corks dry out, the seal between the bottle and the cork loosen up and the champagne will oxidize faster, changing its aromas. Instead, keep it in a cool place in your home, away from any light, and where the temperature is consistent.

4. The ideal temperature

Once you’re ready to enjoy your champagne, the best way to chill your bottle is to fill an ice bucket with ice and one-third water and allow your bottle to cool for 15-20 minutes. Moët & Chandon should be served around 50⁰ F.

5. Pouring

When pouring champagne, only fill your glass about one-third of the way full. If you over-pour, it will warm up too quickly!

6. Hold the stem!

Also, remember to hold your glass by the stem and not by the bowl because your hands will warm the champagne up too quickly. And, holding the glass by the stem will make you look oh so elegant!

7. The stopper

In between pours, don’t forget to use a good champagne stopper to preserve all the delicious bubbles! A stopper will keep your open bottle fresh for about 1 day, in case you don’t finish in one sitting.

8. Drink champagne with your dinner!

Enjoy champagne throughout an entire meal! Many people think they should only enjoy Champagne as an aperitif but that it is not the only way to drink it. Champagne pairs beautifully with foods like fish, meat, grilled vegetables, and risotto, and can bring out new flavors you’ve never tasted in these foods!

9. Best foods to pair with bubbly

Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with food pairings. Oysters and caviar are fantastic with champagne, and more casual foods like truffle fries, fried chicken and cheese are equally delicious with Champagne! Champagne loves oily, salty and fatty foods as they bring out the wine’s fruitiness and freshness, so foods like burgers, tacos, BBQ sauce, and lobster are exciting new pairings to try that champagne connoisseurs have been enjoying for years!

10. Celebrate every day

If you have a bottle of champagne in your refrigerator, don’t wait for a special occasion to enjoy it. You will see that by opening that bottle, the special occasion will come to you. Celebrate life every day!

The original post appeared on Town & Country.

All photos courtesy of Moët & Chandon

Posted on March 30, 2015April 20, 2015 by Greg Mincher

Krug Grande Cuvée Food Pairing

The ultimate pleasure experience in Champagne. The first prestige cuvee to be re-created every year, beyond the very notion of vintage.

Krug Grande Cuvée is the quintessence of Krug’s crafted excellence: an extraordinary blend of some 120 wines from ten different vintages, some of which may reach 15 years of age. Blending so many vintages gives Krug Grande Cuvée its unique fullness of flavours and aromas, an extraordinary generosity with exceptional finesse, the result of a stay of at least another six years in the cellars.

Every glass of Krug Grande Cuvée is the fruit of many years of craft and patience. The art of blending many years gives Krug Grande Cuvée its unique plethora of flavours and aromas, incredible generosity and an absolute elegance that would be impossible to express with the wines of a single year.

Every year, we recreate from scratch the multitude of facets that form perfect harmony on the palate, no flavour dominating or competing with another; this is the main characteristic of Krug Grande Cuvée. Its myriad aromas make Krug Grande Cuvée the richest of them all. Its true generosity means that everyone can find something in it that stirs their emotions.

Eric Lebel, Chef de Caves, Krug

Food and Wine Pairing Inspirations

Krug Grande Cuvée lends itself to a plethora of culinary combinations, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from an extra mature parmesan to a dish of “turbot à la truffe”.

Over twenty years go into creating each bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée, to pair it with black truffle is to create a union of the best of nature’s offering. Simply the smell of fresh, delicate truffle is enough to evoke the fresh scents of autumn fruit in Krug Grande Cuvée; they combine in anyway no matter how simple, the experience is unforgettable.

As the nights draw in, the evocative warmth of toasted chestnuts is irresistible. Smokey, crunchy and yet soft, chestnuts enhance the wines which compose Krug Grande Cuvée which can reach up to 15 years of age. A simple association, together they achieve sublime refined elegance.

Krug Grande Cuvée Tasting Notes

Deep golden colour and fine, vivacious bubbles, predicting fullness and elegance. Aromas of flowers in bloom, ripe & dried fruit, marzipan, gingerbread and citrus fruits. Flavours of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche and honey.

The richness of your Krug Champagne is fully revealed between 9°C and 12°C (49°F – 54°F). Serving your bottle too cold would refrain the aromas’expression.

Your Champagne should be stored in a wine cellar, or in a cool (between 10 to 15 °C – 50 to 59 °F) dry and away from light place, the exact conditions of Krug cellars.

Buy Krug Grande Cuvée

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