La Fête du Champagne opens in Houston with a Pierre Paillard Lunch at Navy Blue

A Sparkling Lunch Line-up.

La Fête du Champagne made their debut in Houston this past weekend. This multi-day celebration of the premier sparkling wine region of the world will be celebrating 10 years in New York next year. The Houston festivities started with a Pierre Paillard paired lunch at Navy Blue in Rice Village where Quentin Paillard hosted, along with event creator and Champagne expert and author, Peter Liem.

Quentin Paillard talks Champagne with Double Decanted owner, Kelly Prohl.

Pierre Paillard is a Pinot Noir dominated brand from a family consisting of 8 generations of growers located in Bouzy in the Champagne region of France. The family have been producing wine for over 200 years. Quentin and his brother Antoine focus on protecting the soil by using their own organic composts and by treating the vines with biodynamic inspired natural infusions and without the use of chemical herbicides and insecticides.

In the cellar, minimal intervention is the program, no chaptalization, enzymes, artificial settling agents or cold stabilization. The wines gain elegance and balance from extended aging with some of their cuvées aging for up to 10 years before disgorgement and release. The dosage for all cuvées normally falls in the Extra Brut range (2-4g/l) resulting in authentic wines with richness, power and finesse.

The Menu and Pairings by Navy Blue.

Seafood centric Navy Blue did an excellent job with the pairings. Their sister restaurant Bludorn was the site of the very successful Saturday grand tasting event and the finale gala.

Champagne educator and La Fête du Champagne creator with Wine Life - Houston's Sandra Crittenden.

Houston hopes to see the return of the La Fête du Champagne next year but for those with some extra cash to spare, the New York La Fête will be even better than usual as the group is already gearing up for their ten year anniversary which they expect to top all prior years, start following them on social media and Eventbrite so you can start making your plans.

Comments

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of ...

Introducing Oltrepò Pavese - An Italian Sparkling Wine that You Should Know

Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to taste the wines of Oltrepò Pavese. I discovered that these sparkling wines are based on Pinot Noir, they are made in the traditional method, like Champagne, and most importantly, they are an Italian hidden gem that bubble lovers across the world need to put on their radar. In the August issue of Galveston Monthly magazine, I introduce these wines to my readers.

World of Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara -on location

Tasting Rombauer Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with Pacific Ocean views. I was given the opportunity to attend the annual World of Pinot Noir event last month which brings together the foremost Pinot Noir wineries and winemakers from around the world in a weekend-long celebration of this enticing wine. Champagne to Bourgogne in France, down under wines from Tasmania in Australia, Pinot focused wineries in South America, and all along America's premium West Coast Pinot regions including Santa Barbara, Russian River Valley, up to Willamette Valley, this is truly a celebration of Pinot Noir from around the world. A Grand Tasting of Pinot Noir at the Ritz Carlton Bacara. Though the house was full ,it was still easy to maneuver to the different tasting tables to sip with the many winemakers on the floor. Attendees have the opportunity to enjoy tasting classes, paired winemaker lunches and dinners, and two Grand Tastings in the refined comfort of the Ritz Carlton Bacara Hotel in ...

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog