Discover the Sparkling Region of Champagne & Alsace
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It’s no secret that Champagne is a very special wine. Surprisingly, how these wines are made is still a mystery to many. At its core, Champagne is an incredibly well made wine that takes dedication and patience to produce. It is a wine that is intimately tied to the “terroir” of the region, and each house’s unique philosophy on production.

Champagne is made as a blend of three main grape varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Meunier. The process has its roots in blending, in which still wines of each varietal are made from different parcels of land and then blended together, creating the signature cuvee for each producer.

In some cases, the winemaker may be working with as many as 400 different base wines! Once the blend is decided upon, the wine is inoculated with yeast for a second time, and sealed. As the fermentation occurs for the second time in the bottle, the bi-product — carbon dioxide — is trapped in the sealed environment. This creates the bubbles that make Champagne so famous.

The wines age with the yeasts in the bottle for a minimum of 15 months, but most producers choose to age their wines for much longer periods. This length of aging helps to create the toasty aromatic signature of Champagne.

Each producer has their own signature blend. For example, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label is a signature blend for that producer. However, the same producer may also make a multitude of other “cuvees”, including single-vintage or single-parcel Champagnes. Tasting Champagne is a unique experience in that both the land as well as the winemaker hold so much influence over the final product in the glass.

Alsace is eating and drinking country! Portions are huge and hearty taking inspiration from its German heritage. With the French reputation for distinctive culinary flair, being able to savor cuisine inspired by outside influences is somewhat rare in the country. In Alsace, however, experiencing the Germanic flavors and dishes of the area is all but inevitable, with rich, hearty meals packed with flavor certain to offer an enjoyable culinary experience.

The soil is rich in Alsace owing to the Rhine river and the region is bountiful with grain and vegetables, heavily burdened fruit trees, the source of Alsace’s delicious jams, preserves and liqueurs. Here a glass of beer is just as popular as a glass of their excellent wine. The goose and the pig are the keystones of Alsatian cooking - pate de foie gras, with or without a pastry wrapping, onion tarts or flammekueche, charcuterie redolent with spice, steaming choucroute with mounds of sauerkraut, ham, sausages and boiled potatoes - fill the larder.

From the forests come venison, wild boar, hare, quail, pheasant, partridge and quail while the Rhine and its tributaries offer up carp, pike, perch, bream and eels, often cooked in riesling. Spicy gingerbread or Bredele, a kind of traditional cake or biscuit, also find their way to the Alsatian table particularly during the holidays.