[wine] Champagne

Are any of these available locally? Champagne: Get the good stuff By Dave McIntyre, Tuesday, December 18, 12:54 PM A vintner recently asked me to name my favorite wine. It.s a common question, since I write about wine, and I usually demur with some bromide about choosing a favorite child, or I go for a laugh with .Whatever you.re pouring!. But this time, overcome by an uncharacteristic honesty, I confided that if I had to choose one type of wine to drink for the rest of my life, it would be champagne. My host seemed surprised and disappointed, and not only because he was offering me his (quite nice) viognier. Champagne to him was too frivolous a wine to choose as a one-and-only tipple. But I agree with the economist John Maynard Keynes, who uttered on his deathbed, .I should have drunk more champagne.. I think I say that every year when I sample champagnes for this holiday column. I always make a New Year.s resolution to drink more of them, but that goes by the wayside almost as fast as the one about exercise and weight control. Why do we limit champagne to the holidays and special occasions such as weddings and baseball pennants? One reason is image. Champagne producers have for decades, if not longer, marketed their wine as a luxury product, an extravagance that runs counter to a cursed Puritan work ethic. And it.s priced like a luxury object. Even the least expensive champagnes, such as the very fine Charles de Cazanove Brut, cost about $30 a bottle. That.s not an everyday drink. There are other sparkling wines, of course. Spanish cava, Italian prosecco, cremants from other regions of France, sekt from Germany and Austria and delightfully fizzy chenin blanc from South Africa can turn any ordinary day into a special occasion for a fraction of the price of champagne. U.S. sparkling wines from Virginia, New York, New Mexico and, of course, California can be impressively deep, complex and satisfying. But they are not champagne. Champagne is more than a method: the technique of creating bubbles through a second fermentation in the bottle rather than through carbonation in a tank. It is a wine expressive of its origin in a particular region of France. That region.s cool, often troublesome climate and its chalky soils are reflected in every bottle. Like the world.s finest wines, it is a product as much of place as of grapes. It cannot be made anywhere else. To illustrate that point for friends, I recently opened a Pierre Paillard Brut Ros� non-vintage champagne and a Schramsberg 2007 Brut Ros� from California. They were identical in appearance, a bright salmon color with fine beads of bubbles. Both were delicious. But the Paillard, which retails for $53, showed an earthy minerality and laser focus under its steely red-fruit flavors, while the Schramsberg ($40) was expansive and fruity, softer and more mouth-filling. The Schramsberg tasted of California, its warmth and sunshine. The Paillard was invigorating. Each sip of the Schramsberg made me smile; each taste of the Paillard left me eager for a bite to eat or another sip. Was one better than the other? Not necessarily. But champagne lovers crave and are willing to pay for that distinctive energy and statement of origin that says, .This is champagne.. This holiday season, whether you celebrate with champagne or bubbly from elsewhere, I hope you will join me in a resolution to keep the celebration going into the New Year. McIntyre blogs at dmwineline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dmwine. Six true Champagnes bargains By Dave McIntyre, Tuesday, December 18, 12:49 PM Recommended champagnes r r rExceptional .r rExcellent.rVery Good Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor. The half-dozen bottles on this list will make your celebrations . annual or daily . quite satisfying. A few are in limited supply. And four will cost you $40 or less. . D.M. The half-dozen bottles on this list will make your celebrations . annual or daily . quite satisfying. A few are in limited supply. And four will cost you $40 or less. Pierre Paillard Brut Ros� Bouzy ... Champagne, France, $53 The salmon-tinted fizz shoots a beam of red-berry flavors across the palate, as if the bubbles are eager to escape the glass. Then its long and satisfying finish keeps it firmly anchored earthward, in Champagne. Potomac Selections: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits; on the list at Cork Wine Bar. Available in Maryland at Grand Cru in Baltimore. Available in Virginia at Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria. Jean Vesselle Ros� Demi-Sec Friandise ... Champagne, France, $48 This ever-so-slightly sweet ros� is fruitier than most champagne, yet not as fruity as New World sparkling typically gets. Don.t think of it as sweet. (Demi-sec literally means .half-dry. but is often rather sweet.) The slight residual sugar is kept in check by the lively acidity, and this wine would be a terrific partner to Asian cuisines or light fruit desserts. Dionysus: Available in the District at Rodman.s, Wagshal.s Market; on the list at Adour. Available in Maryland at Balducci.s in Bethesda, Finewine.com in Gaithersburg. Available in Virginia at Balducci.s in Alexandria and McLean, Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean, Unwined in Alexandria and Belleview. Charles de Cazanove Brut ..1 / 2 Champagne, France, $30 Wow. What a terrific champers for the money. It.s an excellent introduction to what makes champagne special, and those already familiar with the genre will appreciate its sophistication. Widely available, it.s the value find of the year. M Touton Selection: Available at Burka.s Wine & Liquor, Cairo Wine & Liquor, Calvert Woodley, Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquor, Harry.s Reserve Fine Wine & Spirits, MacArthur Beverages, Magruder.s, Paul.s of Chevy Chase, Rodman.s. Available in Maryland at Balducci.s, Beer Wine & Co. and Bethesda Co-Op in Bethesda; Camelot Discount Liquors, Roundabout Fine Wine & Spirits in Laurel; Columbia Palace Wine & Spirits in Columbia; Franklin.s Liquors in Ijamsville; Frederick Wine House and Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; Glenwood Wine & Spirits; Greenbelt Co-op; Hillandale Beer & Wine in Silver Spring; Potomac Beer & Wine in Rockville; Silesia Liquors in Fort Washington; State Line Liquors in Elkton; Wine Bin in Ellicott City; Wine Harvest in Potomac. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Grateful Red Wine & Gift Shop in Arlington; Chain Bridge Cellars and the Vineyard in McLean; Crystal City Wine Shop; Leesburg Vintner; Rio Hill Wine & Gourmet in Charlottesville; Unwined in Alexandria; various Whole Foods Market locations. Thierry Triolet Grande Reserve Brut ..1 / 2 Champagne, France, $40 Toasty and rich, this is a nice champagne to have with medium-weight poultry or fish dishes. Wine Traditions: Available in the District at A.M. Wine Shoppe, Cork Market; on the list at Cashion.s Eat Place, Cork Wine Bar, the Tabard Inn. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington. Roland Champion Cuvee d.Aramis Brut .1 / 2 Champagne, France, $35 This is a powerful champagne, showing the red-berry fruit of its red grapes . pinot meunier and pinot noir.. and the chalky minerality of the region. Delightful, and a terrific value. Kysela: Available in the District at Ace Beverage, Magruder.s, P&C Market, Paul.s of Chevy Chase. Available in Virginia at Wine Lovers in Richmond, Out of Site Wines in Vienna. R. Dumont & Fils Brut .. Champagne, France, $35 Wine Traditions: Available in the District at Ace Beverage; on the list at Bistrot Lepic, Ripple. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington, J. Emerson Fine Wines & Cheese in Richmond, Maison du Vin in Great Falls, Rick.s Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria; on the list at Bastille in Alexandria. More from Food: Spirits Column Beer Column -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *