In the last few months some assumptions about how we drink and how we pair food with wine have met with a new perspective. Max Riedel of the Riedel luxury European glass factory has been promoting the idea that now the proper way to drink champagne is in a wine glass. He makes just such a glass at $95. per glass. Now many sommelier and wine connoisseurs are also saying this. Prior to the 1970’s la coupe de champagne was the way to go. Apparently Marie-Antoinette had created this fashion based on the shape of her boob. On the feast of a National Day, Ambassadors invite other dignitaries to come to the Residence at noon time to raise a coupe de Champagne, it is an old tradition in diplomatic circles.

Then in the 1970’s the flute replaced the coupe, why? It was fashionable and all manner of theories circulated, taste, flavour, more bubbles, etc. Some even suggested that if the flute was a little dusty from lack of use it was good and brought more taste or aromas out of the champagne. It was seen as very elegant to serve champagne in a flute.

Now we are going to the wine glass for champagne which holds more liquid and the shape allows the nose to have a greater appreciation for the various essences, floral, fruity, yeasty, etc.

Which is best, I really do not know. I was raised on the idea that the flute was best. The new fashion and the new shape of the glass has its advantages. If you drink a lot of champagne like Winston Churchill at one bottle per day, maybe the new wine glass style is for you.

With all this a new dispute on words, when you buy wine the label usually says “négotiant” a term in French that means  specifically, one who buys grapes, grape juice, or partially fermented or finished wine from others and sells the wine produced under his or her own name. I read that you should not buy champagne from a négotiant because this house has not grown its own grapes in their vineyard. It is seen has a fraud. Frankly I think that this is a case of knowing what you drink and informing yourself beforehand, not one of fraud. Many people will drink a wine or a champagne simply because they like it and not look any further.

One example is Krug Champagne, a company founded in 1843, it is also an expensive champagne brand. All three Champagne grape varieties are used in their blends – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – grown in vineyards around Ambonnay, Ay, Les Mesnil and Trépail. Krug owns around 30% of the vineyards used, while the rest of the grapes are provided by up to 100 growers. The important criteria is that all grapes used must come from the Champagne region of France and be bottled in that region.

The other factor is that if you taste a Moet et Chandon, a Veuve Clicquot, a Taittiger, etc, all have a different percentage of the 3 grape mix and it varies quite a lot which gives you different nose. Per example I find Veuve Clicquot too yeasty but that is its distinction, Moet et Chandon is more fruity, citrus and cream. So it all comes down to very personal taste. My mother truly liked Charles Heidsieck and it is one made from blends and it is amongst the prestige brands like Bollinger and Krug. So this distinction made by influencers is a little facile. It is much more preferable to inform yourself on what you like and why than going with fashionable ideas that may not last. One last thing, a champagne should be served at 10 C and not colder. On the other hand Russian made Champagne is usually served with ice icicles inside the bottle, Russian champagne has a very high content of sugar.

The other idea I encountered recently was that when you serve cheeses and offer a choice of 5 different cheeses, it is preferable to serve a white wine and not red. Many years ago there was a medical study showing that red wine was better for your health and many people started drinking only red wines and nothing else, some even wanted the heavy big red wines at 15-16% alcohol. Many such wines are found in Spain and Italy. I personally find them difficult to drink unless they are served slightly chilled at 17C or with an ice cube in the glass especially on a hot day.

The order of food in meals use to be that you would start with a white wine to accompany an appetizer, say seafood salad or fish, then you would switch to red for meat as a main course. Since cheeses followed people would stay with red wine, when they should have returned to a chilled white. So now we are told that a white wine is best with a fine selection of cheeses. Here are some suggestions;

• Chardonnay with blue, Gruyere, or Gorgonzola.
• Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese, Asiago, Gouda, or Gruyere.
• Pinot Grigio with Muenster, goat cheese, or Gouda.
• Sparkling with Beaufort, Colby, Edam, or Brie.
• Riesling with Colby, Gouda, brie, or blue cheese.