Displaying items by tag: champagne wines

Summary: 

A growing body of scientific evidence shows that what people taste when evaluating a wine, and how much they enjoy the experience, can be influenced by the music that happens to be playing at the same time. Limited research has been published about the effects of music on sparkling wine. Learn about the latest experiment conducted in this field, focusing on classical music and the perception of a Brut non-vintage Champagne.

Feel free to enjoy a glass of champagne, sparkling, or any wine you like as you learn about the findings of this exciting new research!

Presenter: Susan R. Lin

Susan is the Head of Wine Expertise for online fine wine retailer Belmont Wine Exchange in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving customers worldwide. As a consultant, she curates wine collections, designs wine programs, and specializes in wine and spirit music pairings and events. Susan was named Master of Wine in February 2021 upon the passing of her research paper ‘Influences of classical music on the perception of a Brut non-vintage Champagne’. Susan completed the WSET Diploma while working as a program manager in the high-tech industry, during which she lived and travelled extensively in East Asia. 

A lifelong devotee of music, Susan is a classical pianist and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Piano Performance and Musicology. She has performed internationally as a Chinese classical and folk dancer. Susan also works with performing arts organizations to grow their audiences through innovative programming and events, integrating wine whenever possible. Her joy is to create memorable experiences through wine and the performing arts.  

Summary: 

End of the year celebrations mark Champagne’s high season. It is a must for toasting to the new year with, but Champagne also has its festive place on the dining table. In this Master Class Essi Avellan will discuss wine and food pairing explaining the typicity of different styles of Champagne and summarizing keys to successful combinations.

Why not pair the entire menu with Champagnes? Essi will give you ideas on doing that whilst providing tips for bubbly Christmas gifts and Champagne novelties to try over the festive season!

Presenter: Essi Avellan MW

Champagne and sparkling wine specialist Essi Avellan was Finland’s first Master of Wine. Together with Tom Stevenson she is the author of the Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Essi is the organiser of the annual Grand Champagne Helsinki event and a jury member at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships.

Learn More About Champagne:

• Champagne Master-Level Program
• Champagne Vintage Charts & Ratings
• Champagne Wine Map
• Blog: "Wine Trends in 2020: Champagne by the Numbers"

Summary:

The quality potential of a wine is created in the vineyards and Champagne’s knife-edge climate poses many challenges to the vine grower. The recent years have put sustainability to the fore and increasingly many growers are venturing into organic and biodynamic production.

Champagne specialist Essi Avellan MW has gathered a panel of great, ambitious new generation growers to virtually experience a year in the Champagne vineyards with. The young and recently established grower-producer Etienne Calsac is our guide to the world of Chardonnay. Benoît Tarlant has been one of the figureheads behind the renaissance of Meunier. And, with Benoît Marguet we will take a look into the fascinating world of biodynamic production.

This Meeting of the Minds will equip you with everything you need to know about vineyard management from pruning to controlling pests and diseases, following fruit development and finally harvest.

Presenter: Essi Avellan MW

Champagne and sparkling wine specialist Essi Avellan was Finland’s first Master of Wine. Together with Tom Stevenson she is the author of the Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Essi is the organiser of the annual Grand Champagne Helsinki event and a jury member at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. She has has been knighted as Chevalier l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the Minister of Agriculture of France. 

Meet The Panel:

Etienne Calsac of Champagne Etienne Calsac in Avize

Benoît Tarlant of Champagne Tarlant in Oeuilly 

Benoît Marguet of Champagne Marguet in Ambonnay

Learn More About Champagne:

• Champagne Master-Level Program
• Champagne Vintage Charts & Ratings
• Champagne Wine Map
• Blog: "Wine Trends in 2020: Champagne by the Numbers"

MEMBER SPECIAL: We remind WSG members that they are enjoying a 20% discount on the 4^th edition of “Christie's Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine", written by Tom Stevenson and Essi Avellan MW. Details and coupon code HERE.

NOTE: One of our panelists had some technical difficulties with the sound. As a result, we have edited the recording to cut out segments that were the most affected by this technical problem.

Summary: 

Champagne specialist Essi Avellan MW hosts a live discussion on the latest trends in Champagne and the outlook for the region's future. Her prestigious panel will be covering a broad range of trends from vineyards to wineries as well as business. She will be joined by cellar master Cyril Brun of the prestigious house Charles Heidsieck, Vallée de la Marne Meunier specialist Cédric Moussé of Moussé Fils, renowned Côte des Bar proprietor and innovator Michel Drappier and professor of wine marketing and Master of Wine Steve Charters.

Presenter: Essi Avellan MW

Champagne and sparkling wine specialist Essi Avellan was Finland’s first Master of Wine. Together with Tom Stevenson she is the author of the Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine.

Essi is the organiser of the annual Grand Champagne Helsinki event and a jury member at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. She has been knighted as Chevalier l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the Minister of Agriculture of France. 

Meet The Panel:

Cyril Brun   Cellar Master of Maison Charles Heidsieck	Cédric Moussé of Moussé Fils	Michel Drappier of Champagne Drappier	Steve Charters MW   Professor of wine marketing

Learn More About Champagne:

• Champagne Master-Level Program
• Champagne Vintage Charts & Ratings
• Champagne Wine Map
• Blog: "Wine Trends in 2020: Champagne by the Numbers"

MEMBER SPECIAL: We remind WSG members that they are enjoying a 20% discount on the 4^th edition of “Christie's Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine", written by Tom Stevenson and Essi Avellan MW. Details and coupon code HERE.

If you are planning a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration and want to impress your partner with the best possible wine for the occasion, overlook everything you think you know about wine pairing. Forget choosing a red to match the steak or a white for the flounder. Lose the Champagne with chocolate (seriously, lose that one) and ditch any dessert ideas. The key to a successful Valentine’s Day is...

Summary: 

Everybody knows Champagne. But the vast majority of what most people are familiar with is the bubbly brand-driven non-vintage brut which, meticulously assembled in a consistent house style year after year, has set the standard for luxury and celebration for well over a century.

There’s nothing wrong with this: many of these wines are perfectly enjoyable and some can be downright exceptional.

But there are also some interesting and compelling yet largely overlooked anomalies of Champagne that offer an entirely different perspective on the area and thus a deeper understanding of the wine that is made there.

In this session we’ll explore some little-known aspects of Champagne such as:

• The two other practically unknown appellations of the Champagne viticole — Coteaux Champenois AOC (the fascinating still wines, both red and white, that preceded the development of the méthode Champenoise) and Rosé des Riceys AOC;
• producers who are focusing on lesser-known native grape varieties besides pinot noir and chardonnay;
• specificity of terroir through single-vineyards, lieux dits and clos;
• geological twists, like the southern Aube (which is essentially an extension of the Cote d’Or) and the town of Montgueux (which, though located in the south, is essentially a satellite of the Cote des Blancs);
• and interesting practices in the cellar, such as a local adaptation of the Solera technique of blending.

Presenter: Alan Tardi

Alan Tardi first became interested in wine through food, working as a cook, chef, and chef-owner in New York City.

As a freelance food and wine journalist, Tardi has authored numerous articles for publications including The New York Times, Wine & Spirits Magazine, The Wine Spectator, Decanter, and Sommelier Journal.

In 2003, Alan moved to the village of Castiglione Falletto in the Barolo region of Italy, where he spent several years working in the surrounding vineyards and wineries through all phases of the growing and production process.

This led to his first book, 'Romancing the Vine: Life, Love and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo' (St Martins Press, 2006), which won a James Beard Award for Best Wine and Spirits Book of 2006.

In 2015, Tardi became the first-ever US Ambassador of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco.

His new book, “Champagne, Uncorked: The House of Krug and the Timeless Allure of the World’s Most Celebrated Drink” (Hachette 2016) recently won a Gourmand Best in the World Award.

Learn More About Champagne:

• French Wine Scholar study & certification program
• Champagne Master-Level program
• Champagne Study Trip with Essi Avelan MW
• Member discount on Alan Tardi's Book "Champagne, Uncorked”

Summary: 

It's been said that Champagne has been the site of more bloody battles and large-scale wars than any other place on earth. 

From the time of Attila the Hun to the Germans in World War II, countless invaders have tried to conquer this strife-torn land.  Yet, somehow it managed to become the birthplace of the world's most beloved wine. 

Don and Petie Kladstrup will show how this sparkling wine, born of bloodshed, became the symbol of glamour, good times and celebration.

It is a story filled with larger-than-life characters: Dom Perignon, the father of champagne, who, contrary to popular belief, worked his entire life to keep bubbles out of champagne; the Sun King, Louis XIV, who rarely drank anything else; and Napoleon, who, in trying to conquer the world, introduced it to champagne.

Presenters: Don & Petie Kladstrup

Don and Petie Kladstrup are former journalists who have written extensively about wine and France for numerous publications.

Don, a winner of three Emmys and numerous other awards, was a foreign correspondent for ABC and CBS television news.

Petie, an Overseas Press Club winner, was a newspaper journalist and more recently protocol officer for the U.S. ambassador to UNESCO.

The Kladstrups divide their time between Paris and Normandy.

Learn more about Champagne with the Champagne Master Level Program and embark on a Champagne Wine immersion trip.

Summary:

Lisa's Pick: Compelling stories of hope and resilience as French winemakers grapple with Germany’s occupation during WWII.

In their book, Wine & War: The French, the Nazis and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure, husband-and-wife journalists, Don and Petie Kladstrup, recount the dangerous and daring exploits of those who fought to keep France's greatest treasure – aka wine – out of the hands of the Nazis.

The two authors will join us live to share the stories of these heroic men and women who fought to preserve their vinous heritage as well as answer questions about the book and their craft.

Presenters: Don and Petie Kladstrup   

Don and Petie Kladstrup are former journalists who have written extensively about wine and France for numerous publications.

Don, a winner of three Emmys and numerous other awards, was a foreign correspondent for ABC and CBS television news.

Petie, an Overseas Press Club winner, was a newspaper journalist and more recently protocol officer for the U.S. ambassador to UNESCO. The Kladstrups divide their time between Paris and Normandy.

Learn more about French wines with the French Wine Scholar study & certification program.