Christopher Walkey
Book Review: Champagne ‘The Future Uncorked’
I first saw this book in question whilst I spent a leisurely afternoon back in 2018 with renowned Champagne connoisseur Michael Edwards as we enjoyed a bottle of 2010 Deutz Blanc de Blancs (a previous winner of The World’s Finest Trophy). Though a Champagne author himself, Michael was keen to let me know of a…
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Champagne Gardet advises on Vintage Rosé / Saignée Rosé
Many lovers of Champagne will be particularly interested in vintage labels and there are certainly many options to choose from. ‘How about rosé Champagne though?‘ we ask, surely we are preferring a more fresh (red berry) fruity expression over any deep, complex, toasty character? Though there might be a commonly used phrase in the wine…
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Blind Champagne / Sparkling Wine Tasting Explained
Tasting and reviewing wine will most times take place without the need of a blind format in that you get to study the label, the colour in the glass, aromas and flavours. All these attributes are what are reviewed thus ultimately allowing for scoring / tasting notes. Next we approach judging of wines and this…
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Luxury Accommodation: Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa
The Champagne region is one of the world’s finest wine tourism destinations, and importantly it is very well set up to facilitate visitor experiences. 34,000 hectares of vineyards bless this wine region with scattered cities, towns and small villages to be explored via an easy to use road network, relatively reliable public transport and well…
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Understanding Champagne Krug
Krug is seen by many within the Champagne industry as the pinnacle of quality and desirability. Waited on with much anticipation each new release, a global, growing appreciation and admiration gives it a cemented name within the luxurious lifestyle communities. It sits as confidently as Rolls Royce (or should I say the more desirable Bentley)…
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Ultimate Guide to Cristal Champagne Vintages / Price Values
I’ve heard many Champagne lovers state that Cristal is the finest example including their rosé releases. Even the highly respected Champagne author Michael Edwards states of the Cristal vintage 1988 in his book ‘The Finest Wines of Champagne’ – “… this is one of the finest Champagnes of my lifetime, creating a sense of awe“.…
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Sparkling Wine Vocabulary
I certainly agree that wine is to be enjoyed and we do not always want to engross ourselves too much on the ins and outs of the science behind how it arrived in the glass we are sipping from. There are books written on certain wine regions and even dedicated to wineries which I am…
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Where to Store Wine / Champagne at Home
For many of us, when we bring wine into our homes it is very likely that it will be consumed relatively quick in that we will open that cork in a matter of days and no more than weeks from purchase. Other times we might purchase wines for a future event or for our very…
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Investing in Champagne – Why and How
Most Champagne is made to be enjoyed sooner rather than later. The standard, household name selection we see when we are everyday shopping and likely to come past at supermarkets is that of NV (non-vintage) Brut which will have a recommended shelf life of three to four years. Sometimes we might want to push the…
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