Boxing Day

I was in Selfridge's recently-renovated wine department several weeks ago - they have an interesting selection of sparkling wines, from solid old favourites like Billecart-Salmon to some new and fun things like sparkling wines from Argentina. While I was there, I picked up the one thing I had never seen or heard of before: a sparkling muscat wine from Australia, Innocent Bystander's Moscato 07.

Now, I have to be honest - I'm not a big fan of muscat wines. They can often be too syrupy and sickly-sweet for me. But a muscat with bubbles? How could I leave that on the shelf?

Yesterday was a great day to try it since we had a huge Boxing Day meal planned with friends who all love wine. We served the Moscato as an aperitif, and it was the perfect thing to get the festivities started. It is a lovely, peach-rose colour, with a light, clean flavour to start. The finish is a bit like a very soft balsamic vinegar, but in a good way, very refreshing. The bottle says that the wine is 'naturally effervescent' and this is a great way to describe it. It's not over-the-top bubbly, but it foams when you pour it. Overall, it was a fun wine, something I would serve again, especially as a conversation starter.

In the Light of Dawn

On Wednesday, my office manager, Dawn, and I were talking about how we would spend our Christmases. She said that her family, like most people, would start the day by opening their Christmas gifts - while drinking champagne.

Wow, the most decadent thing I've ever served while opening gifts was hot chocolate made with full-fat milk, cream, and a whole bar of shredded chocolate. But I've got a case of champagne from my birthday, so why not start a new Christmas morning tradition?

It was lovely, we had a very leisurely gift-opening session yesterday, complemented by a bottle of my Maison Lenique champagne. Unaccompanied by heavy food, it had a biscuity, yeasty flavour that was so appropriate for breakfast-time. It also went very well with the yummy poppy-seed pastry that my husband brought back to me from Paris. What better way to spend Christmas morning than with people you love, gifts, poppy-seeds, and some bubbly?

Thanks, Dawn!

While the Cat's Away...

My husband was in Paris for the last few days. When he goes away, I like to treat myself to something different, cheap, and sparkling - something I can pop open, have a glass with dinner, and leave in the fridge to try again another night - a bit of a guilty pleasure.

This time around, I bought a sparkling shiraz rose from McGuigan vineyards in Australia. It was around £9 for the bottle, and it's supposed to be 'perfect for savoury canapes'. Over the last few days, I've had it with pizza, vegetarian curry, and Chinese dumplings. While the wine did stand up to the food, I have to say, it's not one of my favourites.

It does have a lovely, fruity, ripe red berry start. But that's the best of it. It's a sparkling wine the way San Pellegrino is a sparkling water - you can feel a bit of fizz on your tongue, but that's it by way of bubbles. And that lovely fruitiness at the start? Turns into a very sour cherry on the finish.

That said, it's a very alcoholic sparkler - 13%. I hadn't noticed it when I purchased the wine, but checked the bottle after dozing off after my first glass!! Good thing my husband wasn't around to hear me snoring...

I Love Birthdays - Continued!!

One of my good friends also has a December birthday, and we usually find a way to do something to celebrate together. His girlfriend, also a good friend, persisted with me to find a day (today) to go out to lunch despite crazy-busy work and travel schedules. We went to an old favourite, Ransome's Dock, where we know we'll always have a fantastic meal and enjoy ourselves immensely.

I, of course, started with a glass of champagne. They serve Henriot, a French chardonnay/pinot noir blend, which I've drunk before (Oddbins carries the brand). I think the pinot noir in it makes it hold up really well with all kinds of food. It tastes exactly like what you think champagne should taste like, and you could own it in large quantities and not have to think too hard about what to serve it with. I sipped my glass with the best Eggs Benedict in London, a great start to an excellent meal.

I Love Birthdays

Yesterday was my birthday. Since it falls at the very end of 'The Year of Bubbles', as my gift this year, my husband very appropriately rented me a row of vines at a champagne vineyard through the company 3D Wines. It's a great programme, where my vineyard, Maison Lenique, produces a vintage, grand cru blanc de blancs exclusively for its members. They've sent me all kinds of background materials on the champagne, plus I have the option to visit the vineyard to see my vines, meet the winemaker, and purchase cases of the champagne (a 2004 vintage for me, supposedly a good year!) when it's ready for consumption.

As part of my gift, my husband bought a case of the 2003 vintage so that we could try it ahead of purchasing the 2004 early next year. We had a bottle last night to celebrate my birthday - it was a huge champagne, with a vibrant green apple (but not bitter) taste at the start, that mellowed into a smooth and long-lasting finish. It's not an incredibly bubbly champagne, but stayed very nicely effervescent throughout the evening.

It stood up very well to some runny and ripe French cheese, a testament to the outstanding flavour and body of the champagne. I'm very happy to own a case of this vintage, and even more excited to try the 2004 when it's ready!