“Men are like wine ~ some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
Pope John XXIII
August 4 is celebrated as “Champagne Day” because on this day in 1693, Dom Pérignon exclaimed “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!” when he “invented” champagne. Dom Pérignon was only 19 when he became a monk and moved to the Abbey of Hautvillers near the town of Épernay (within Champagne, France), where he served as cellarmaster. It was popular at the time to try to get rid of any bubbles in wine. As hard as he tried Dom Pérignon could not get rid of the bubbles and instead embraced them which was an important step in the evolution of champagne.
DON’T WAIT TO CELEBRATE!
“Have you thrown up your hands in despair and confusion with too many choices? In that case, just remember one word:
CHAMPAGNE
It’s refreshing, relatively low in alcohol and sufficiently neutral to go with a myriad of foods. One minor tweak might be to have more full-bodied vintage champagne with red meats and non-vintage champagne with everything else. That’s a lot easier to remember than what wine goes with yak.”
~ Sam Gugino, contributing editor to Wine Spectator and author of Cooking to Beat the Clock
Rosé Champagne with BBQ! Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor, Food and Wine Magazine, paired Rosé Champagne with BBQ Brisket with surprisingly pleasant results:
http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/champagne-barbecue
Refreshing Summer Treat! Champagne Raspberry Peach Grape Pops!
Skewer large black grapes on fancy picks. Place in a container so that the picks lay flat. Mix 1 cup champagne (or sparkling wine) with 1/2 cup Raspberry Peach Grand Marnier. Pour the champagne/raspberry peach mixture over the grapes, cover and refrigerate overnight. Pour the champagne/raspberry peach liquid off of the grapes and make more grapes or discard liquid. Cover the container and place in freezer. Freeze grapes for two hours or more. Serve ice-cold.
These icy treats are perfect to pop in your mouth straight from the freezer or pop them in a glass of champagne!
Happy Champagne Day!
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