Global Champagne Day

"Champagne! In victory, one deserves it, in defeat, one needs it."
Napoleon Bonaparte (who knew well both victory and defeat)

“Champagne is the one thing that gives me zest when I feel tired” 
Brigitte Bardot

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” 
Mark Twain

“My only regret in life is that I didn’t drink enough Champagne” 
John Maynard Keynes

“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!” 
Winston Churchill

With a history dating back over 300 years and adoring fans ranging from Napoleon Bonaparte to John Maynard Keyes to Brigitte Bardot, champagne is unique. The U.N. gave the Champagne region of France world heritage status in 2015.

But did you the know the beloved bubbles were originally not so in demand? The bubbles were once unwelcome and considered by winemakers to be a sign the wine had gone bad.

Now champagne and its trademark bubbles are used to christen boats, celebrate huge sports wins (like the French national team’s win guaranteeing their place in the World Cup), toast happy couples at weddings, and the celebration of life events large and small.

To be Champagne, the wine MUST come from the Champagne region of France. Champagne Salon and Champagne Delamotte are two of the most well respected houses in the region. The two joined forces in 1988.

Champagne Delamotte was founded in 1760, making it the sixth oldest Champagne house.  Nicolas Louis Delamotte assumed management of the House of Delmoatte in 1828 and hosted spectacular events, including the coronation of France’s last King, Charles X. Today just ten people manage the annual production of 750,000 bottles. The golden rules for the business: ensure a consistent quality by purposefully limited production and maintain at least three harvests in the cellars at all times. The wine is truly a labor of love for the small production team, which offers four bruts: Delamotte Brut, Delamotte Blanc de Blancs Vintage, Delamotte Blanc de Blancs, and Delamotte Rosé.

Champagne Salon is one of the most exclusive and most prestigious makers of Champagne. The first known vintage was 1905. The 1928 vintage of Salon was unanimously accepted by connoisseurs and the requirements have remained constant every since: only in exceptional years are the great vintages made, a feature unique to Salon, with limited production and traditional Vinification.

Champagne Salon is rare on all counts: always a single harvest, single cru, single grape variety, and only produced in the best vintages. In the 20th century, only 37 vintages were declared with an average production of 60,000 bottles per declared vintage. 

Top 5 Wine Documentaries on Netflix

The 89th annual Academy Awards were last night, so wine not watch a movie? We’ve compiled a list of five of our favorite wine-related documentaries available on Netflix. 

Sour Grapes: True Story, Fake Wine
Rudy Kurniawan earned the reputation of a wine savant and surrounded himself with some of high society’s most fervent wine connoisseurs. When Bill Koch, a top US collector, and Laurent Ponsot, a Burgundian wine producer, discover suspicious bottles a humorous and suspenseful investigation begins into one of the most ingenious cons of our time.

SOMM: The thirst for knowledge is just the beginning
Four sommeliers attempt to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier exam, a test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world.

A Year in Burgundy: One year with the people who make wine like no one else in the world
The film follows seven winemaking families in the Burgundy region of France through the course of a full year, and delves into the cultural and creative process of making wine.

A Year in Champagne: Discover the intoxicating story behind the world’s most famous wine
This film shows a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the real Champagne through six houses—from small independent makers to  illustrious houses.

Prohibition: How did a nation founded on rights ever go so wrong? 
This three-part documentary film series tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the entire era it encompassed. The public stocked up before the law went into effect--141 million bottles of wine were sold in the 3 month period leading to prohibition. 

You can't watch a movie without popcorn and what pairs better with popcorn than wine? We've come up with two perfect options for you: Champagne Delamotte Brut and Cono Sur Organic Chardonnay.

President's Day

Today is President’s Day and U.S. Presidents have a long history of supporting the wine industry at home and abroad. 

One of the most legendary oenophile presidents was Thomas Jefferson. The third president of the United States served as ambassador to France where he developed a taste for French wines. As president he shipped 600 bottles of wine per year from France to the United States.

Jefferson also helped stock the wine cellars of the first five U.S. presidents. During his two terms in office it’s estimated he spent $11,000 (that's $175,000 in today’s dollars) on wine.

Two wines stand out as presidential favorites- Champagne and Madeira.

Madeira is a fortified wine produced on the Portuguese island of- you guessed it- Madeira. Its alcohol content hovers around 18-20%. This allowed it to withstand the trip across the ocean to the New World. In colonial days, nearly 25% of Portugal's madeira was shipped to America. 

George Washington was an avid drinker of Madeira. In fact, it was used to toast his inauguration. Washington’s granddaughter reported the first president drank three glasses of Madeira after dinner every night.

The first father-son presidential duo--John Adams and John Quincy Adams --were also partial to Madeira.  It is even rumored that during a blind taste test John Quincy Adams was able to correctly identify 11 out of 14 different kinds of Madeira.

While madeira lost its popularity over the years (but is making a comeback!), to no surprise, champagne has been a constant fixture in the White House. James Madison, John Tyler, James Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, William Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon all had a well-known taste for the sparkling wine. The White House even boasts a champagne room. That's right, a champagne room.

Wine has been present at the most significant events throughout our country's history. Madeira was the founding fathers' drink of choice to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Louisiana Purchase was toasted with madeira and champagne. 

Raise a glass and have a celebration of your own this President's Day!

Interested in trying some of these president-approved wines? We highly recommend Champagne Salon, Champagne Delamotte, and Miles Madeira.