Debate a Bubble - A Few Champagne Discoveries

Link to Debate a Bubble - Champagne News and Reviews

Posted: 17 Jun 2010 01:30 PM PDT

The last few weeks have been full of champagne discoveries and a lot of fun so I thought I'd share some of them with you.

First off was a trip back to the U.K. for a week where I was hosting a few champagne tasting events, both in Liverpool as chance would have it.

Then a quick train journey down to Brighton and Hove to the inaugural Hove Champagne Festival where I was giving a talk on champagne and helping friends on their champagne stand.

We were serving a whole range of small grower champagnes but the favourite proved to be

Christophe Mignon which was available on special offer for the ridiculously low price of £20 a bottle.

'Christophe' as most of the customer called it, is unusual in that it is 100% Pinot Meunier. Most champagnes are a blend of two or more grapes varieties and even when you do find a mono-cepage champagne, (just 1 varietal) it's usually made from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, so a pure Pinot Meunier is something of a rarity .

This seemed to add a point of interest for the folk at the festival rather than the opposite. They loved the fresh fruity taste and the price as well

Needless to say it was going fast, 17 cases of it in fact and judging by the way people kept coming back for more I'd say there isn't much of a recession in Brighton

It was a great event and well worth a visit next June - lots of great champagnes to taste, good food, music, dancing and sunny weather in a lovely setting right by the seafront.

By the way, if you're in Brighton and want to try Christophe Mignon, then take a trip to Drake's Hotel - Brighton's finest boutique hotel - where it's their specially selected champagne ( don't you just hate the term 'house champagne'?)

Then it was back home to Champagne for appointments with a couple of champagne makers I hadn't met before

Both these makers are in the village of Villers Marmery which is just two miles from where I live. They are Arnaud Margaine and Henriet Bazin. Probably names you haven't heard of before but well worth discovering for all that.

To get the low down on both these fantastic champagnes and another Grand Cru rosé that's an absolute steal at £22.97 take a look at my June newsletter.

Then, to ensure you receive the newsletter every month and much more besides, visit my web site and just leave your first name and e-mail address in the box in the top right-hand corner.

There's always something new to discover in champagne and I hope you'll let me show you around

Stay Bubbly

Jiles