Mark
Kernaghan's

Sparkling
Wine
Review

A Glass of Fizz on the side…

         Over the last year, I have repeatedly extolled the virtues of sharing champagne with friends, family and loved ones. Yet, one of the treasured times to savor a glass of fizz is with a great book. One of my favorite times to sample champagne is in a cozy hotel room in a foreign city with a newly found novel.

         With that in mind, and a quick conversation with my editor, I embarked on a quest to see if champagne both by name and by label has ever driven the plot of a good book. Now we all know that from Jack Aubrey to James Bond, dashing heroes have indulged in a bottle or two. I am reminded of the scene in the Mediterranean in which a very portly Jack Aubrey and his Admiral race up the ratlines to win a case of champagne much to the discomfort of Captain Jack - and his silk stockings! Somerset Maugham has characters swilling champagne and playing bridge on every steamer known to civilized society. Each of the Forsytes has a champagne label of preference. And who can ever forget Charles and Sebastian in that scene at the fountain in Brideshead Revisited? Break my toe – please! But has champagne ever driven a plot, or an author clearly worked under the effervescent effects of champagne?

         Two champagnes immediately come to mind. Was it not several bottles of Bollinger consumed by Sir Alaistair Digby-Vane-Trumptington and friends that led to the downfall of Paul Pennyfeather in Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall? If memory serves me right, and we count the further adventures of the Metroland clan, it is the cause for two novels! I cannot think of the great writer, politician, and statesman, Winston Churchill without thinking of his favorite and oft consumed Pol Roger. He is reputed to have said, “In defeat I need it, in victory I deserve it.” Well, we all know that Mr. Churchill had more than his fair share of defeats and victories! There are stories of a White House stay, in which he started his mornings with a bottle of his favorite “fizz”. Indeed, Mr. Churchill was so fond of the stuff that the champagne house has named a special cuvée in his honor.

         Now I am sure that the Bollinger Club swilled the vintage stuff, but on this bibliophile’s salary I chose the non-vintage Special Cuvée – more money to buy books. Lovely and golden in color, the bubbles are medium sized and evenly quick when first poured, and then become smaller as the wine rests in the glass. While it has a very subtle nose, it is a full-bodied wine: 60% Pinot, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier grapes. We noted that the taste was creamy, with a hint of citrus flowers, and a little yeasty. This medium dry wine retained its flavor after opening getting perhaps just a little creamier with time. The thrill of this wine is in its even balance. It was just as charming as a wine could be. I would not waste it on spicy food but it would be the perfect wine for most any lunch or dinner – not to mention a long novel.

         While arguing over the strengths and foibles of Winston Churchill we sampled the non-vintage Extra Cuvée de Reserve of Pol Roger. It was light, bright, golden yellow in color, the bubbles were small even and quick. Intensely aromatic to the nose, (could this be why, cigar smoking Churchill, liked it?) it was floral with a green apple taste and with an indication of the chalk soil in which the grapes are grown. Equal parts Pinot, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes it has a bold unique flavor. As the wine sat in the glass it kept the floral quality, the green apple intensified, and had just a hint of bread about it. If I ever had to go through food rationing, I would stock away cases of the stuff. We uniformly liked it, agreeing that it would go equally well with shellfish as it would with fruit and cheese. It was just the sort of bottle that anyone would be pleased to have at his elbow either for dinner or an evening in front of the fireplace.

         Great novels and great characters have been fueled by champagne. After all can you envision Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky without it? Is this what is missing in those dreary early American novels? Can you image how Bartelby might have turned out if only he had been given a bottle of Cliquot?

         Well, here is my invitation to you. Over your next bottle of champagne, think about great characters, authors and great champagnes. Cooperation with your friends is encouraged. Email me here at markkernaghan@thebetterdrink.com with suggestions of what I ought to review for my next literary champagne selections. The character must be linked to a known label champagne or the author must be known for a specific champagne label loyalty. Citations are required! We all know too many characters and - too many authors - who were indiscriminate. Should your selection be reviewed, I promise that you will receive the credit you so richly deserve.

         So the next time you settle in your favorite novel, have a glass of bubbly at your elbow – preferably one that you and the author would both enjoy!

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About the author:   A Seattle native, Mark Kernaghan has been a life long traveler.   He delights in pursuing culinary adventure. He is a fan of the performing arts, especially opera, and loves a good Sunday afternoon at the museum.   On a good evening he is found at home either entertaining friends to supper or lost in a good novel.