Champagne Served at the 71st Golden Globe Awards

GoldenglobesChampagne will be flowing freely at this year’s Golden Globe awards. Guests will be toasting the 71st awards show with 125 cases of 2004 Grand Vintage Brut magnums. In addition, red carpet arrivals will be offered Moet and Chandon imperial minis and for the first time a special Golden Globes cocktail has been created, which will be served in the lounge adjacent to the ballroom.

The Moet Golden Night, created by celebrity chef Aida Mollenkamp is crafted using Moet Imperial, cardamon syrup, pear brandy and is garnished with a fan of fresh pear slices.
“It was inspired by the glamour of the Golden Globes,” says Aida Mollenkamp. “It adds an exciting touch of sophistication to the festivities and is the perfect way to kick off the start of the Awards Season.”

For those inclined to join in a toast while enjoying the show at home, here’s Aida’s recipe:

Ingredients: (Serves 8)

1/4 cup unrefined granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
20 whole cardamom pods, crushed using the back of a knife or mortar and pestle
1/4 cup Williams pear brandy
1 (750ml) chilled Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne
2 small ripe Forelle or Seckel Pears for garnish

Instructions:

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar, add crushed cardamom pods, and bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep and cool for 20 minutes.
Strain the syrup with a fine strainer and discard the seed and pods. Add the pear brandy and stir to combine. (This can be made up to 2 days ahead).
Immediately before serving, cut the pear from the stalk and slice lengthwise into 1/8 inch slices. Separate into a fan of three. Coat with a little lemon to prevent browning if not serving immediately.
To serve:
Add 1/2 ounce of the pear-cardamom simple syrup to 6 white wine glasses or champagne flutes. Add 4 ounces of chilled Moet et Chandon Imperial Brut champagne to each glass. Garnish with the fan of pear slices.

Source: Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Academy Awards: The “Moet Red Carpet Glamour” is unveiled as the exclusive Champagne cocktail for the Governors Ball

Moet & Chandon, the Champagne of success and glamour since 1743, announces the winner of the inaugural Moet Oscar Cocktail Contest. The legendary Champagne House congratulates Chicago native Adam Seger, whose “Moet Red Carpet Glamour” cocktail dazzled a panel of expert judges and social media experts. The Moet Red Carpet Glamour cocktail was selected for its originality, taste and popularity and will be brought to life at the 2012 Governors Ball, the after-party of the 84th Academy Awards®.

The Moet Red Carpet Glamour captures the essence of Hollywood glamour with exquisite notes of heady cardamom and kaffir lime that develop a refreshing and harmonious taste. This winning cocktail was chosen for its combination of the Hum® botanical spirit with Moet & Chandon Imperial, which highlights the flavor profile of Champagne while truly celebrating the elegance of the Academy Awards.

“The Moet Red Carpet Glamour cocktail will be a gorgeous addition to this year’s Governors Ball,” said Aida Mollenkamp, Moet & Chandon’s Award Season home entertaining expert. “The cocktail is intriguing and innovative yet still allows the flavor of the Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne to shine.”

Aida Mollenkamp has joined Moet & Chandon as this year’s home entertaining expert in a new Oscar season collaboration. The acclaimed chef and culinary curator, known for her signature combinations of fresh, seasonal ingredients and use of ethnic flavours.

Moet Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail Recipe:

• Fill a chilled Champagne flute 1/2 way with ice.
• Stir 1 ounce of fresh squeezed Sour Mix and Hum® Botanical Spirit with fresh ice.
• Strain into flute to fill 1/2 way.
• Top with Moet & Chandon Imperial.
• Garnish with a single rose petal.
• Continually refresh as you wish with Moet & Chandon Imperial as the Champagne will float on top of the Hum Sour, but its effervescence will deliver Hum’s heady cardamom & Kaffir lime notes.
• Fresh Squeeze Sour Mix Preparation: Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until sugar is completely dissolved. Add 1 cup fresh lime juice and 1 cup fresh lemon juice and refrigerate.

As winner of the 2012 Moet Oscar Cocktail Contest, Adam Seger and a guest will receive an exciting behind-the-scenes Oscar weekend, including a three-night stay at the JW Marriott Los Angeles LA Live, round-trip airfare on United Airlines, car service, tickets to the Governors Ball Preview Event, red carpet bleacher seats at the Fan Experience Red Carpet Arrival and Viewing Party on Oscar Sunday and access to the official Oscar viewing party at El Capitan.

Liz Palmer
@champagnehouses

VINTAGES’ 10TH ANNUAL AUCTION: OCTOBER 21 – 24 2011 New exclusive lot: – 6 bottles of 1911 Moët & Chandon

VINTAGES’ 10th ANNUAL AUCTION
begins Friday, October 21 with a three-course dinner, and champagne reception featuring exclusive 100-point wines, including: Château Montrose 1990, Château Rieussec 2001; and Domaine de Pegau Cuvée da Capo 2000.

This is a rare opportunity to experience some of the best wines in the world.

Vintages Auction Details:

No tickets are required
Friday, October 21, 2011 8 pm (Lots 1-238)
Saturday, October 22, 2011 (Lots 239-1083)
Sunday, October 23, 2011 (Lots 1084-1907)
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Auction Location:

Waddington’s Auction House
275 King Street East, 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
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Cellarage:

All wines are stored and shipped from temperature controlled facilities
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Vintages Auction 100-Point Dinner Details:

Chef Massimo Capra
Friday, October 21, 2011
Champagne Reception: 5:30pm
Dinner: 6:00pm
Auction begins promptly at 8:00 pm
$375 per person

New BYO Policy – Vintages is thrilled to offer, for the very first time, a BYO policy during Friday evening of the sale. Feel free to bring a special bottle to enjoy at the sale, and share with your tablemates.

To order dinner tickets:

Contact Vintages at 416-365-5767 or 1-800-266-4764 Monday-Saturday 9 am to 6 pm
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New Exclusive Lot

The first lot of the Friday night session will be six bottles of 1911 Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage. This Champagne is direct from the cellars of Moët et Chandon. The estimate for this lot is $50,000 to $65,000.

The Moet Grand Vintage 1911 is exceeding rare, one of 10 remaining disgorged last January under the Grand Vintage Collection label. The product comes in a beautiful custom leather case.

“It’s a stunning Champagne – an inspiration. I’m astounded by the fact that, after a hundred years, it overflows with vitality and energy, and boasts both impressive depth and amazing freshness,” Moët Chef du Cave Benoît Gouez.

Each of the 11 six-bottle cases are being offered to a different market around the world. The first case was auctioned at a gala dinner in Shanghai recently, selling for $100,000.

This will be the only case sold in Canada.

In addition, the winner of this lot is invited to experience courtesy of Moët & Chandon a private cellar visit including, a private Champagne tasting with a winemaker, lunch or dinner in Epernay, transportation from the airport to Moët & Chandon and back, and a one night in a 4 star hotel in Champagne.

In celebration of this event, special guests from Moët & Chandon will be joining us, and will be providing us with a special disgorgement of their 1992 Grand Vintage collection to pair with the appetizers for auction dinner.

Moet et Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1992 “Really taut, tight wine, its mature toastiness embedded in a steely, mineral, very dry texture. The acidity is assertive, wonderfully refreshing, so crisp. It may be 18 years old, but it looks likely to age for several years yet” – 96 Pts Wine Enthusiast”

Liz Palmer
@champagnehouses

Moët & Chandon Drops Dosage in Brut Imperial

Moët & Chandon will be lowering the dosage of its market-leading Brut Impérial from 12 grams per litre to 9 g/l according to its chef de cave Benoît Gouez.
 This follows the decision by Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave Richard Geoffroy, who recently gradually lowered the sugar levels on the prestige cuvée champagnes. Geoffroy said, “There has been a strategy of lowering the dosage in the last 10 years and we are now between 6 and 7 g/l.”
 This decision by the biggest brand in the region follows a global trend towards adding less sugar to the world-famous fizz.
Partly explaining this development is kinder weather in Champagne, giving riper and more complex fruit with less reliance on a conventional dosage of between 10-12 g/l.
Michael Edwards from Drinks Business states “Even climate change skeptics cannot deny that, since 1990, harvests have progressively begun two to three weeks earlier than in the ’70s and ’80s – in better-tended, eco-friendly vineyards, under warmer autumnal skies.”
As for the right level of sugar, opinions vary, but a balance appears to have been struck between 6-8 g/l, ensuring there is enough sugar to enhance the Champagne’s aromas but also protect the wine from premature oxidation. (this is an important statement as sugar helps the wine from premature oxidation.
Philippe Thieffry, senior winemaker at Veuve Clicquot, says “If the Champagne has a moderate dosage – 6-8 g/l – and is well protected by SO2, it will release the same bouquet as one traditionally dosed at 10-12 g/l; it will not suffer oxidation.”
Below 6-8 g/l however, and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, vice-president at Louis Roederer, says “you reach an oxidative stage that quickly changes the fruit and aromas of the wine.”

2002 Vintage Champagne (James Bond understood the importance of vintage when it came to Champagne)

When thugs drag off Honey Ryder in 1962’s Dr. No, he brandishes a bottle to defend her. Warned by the title character that he’s grabbed a Dom Pérignon 1955 and “it would be a pity to waste it,” 007 coolly counters “I prefer the ’53 myself.”

Even under duress, it’s important to keep your vintages straight. The best come from those years when already glamorous Champagnes reach their zenith of seduction. The year 2002 is one of those. We are now enjoying the fruits of the foremost vintage since 1996. This trio of 2002s, each with its own personality, would certainly fit in with Bond’s lofty preferences: Moët & Chandon’s Brut Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 2002 (Wine Spectator-rated 95, $160), Piper-Heidsieck’s Brut Champagne Rare 2002 (95, $275) and Bollinger’s Brut Rosé Champagne La Grande Année 2002 (94, $230).

The Dom Pérignon comes swathed in haute couture. It’s all about elegance and attention to detail, with its smoky richness and fine-grained texture. And that’s only a backdrop for the layers of biscuit, candied lemon peel, coffee liqueur, chamomile, pine and crystallized honey to come. Choosing roughly equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from grand cru vineyards, DP’s chef de cave Richard Geoffroy took full advantage of the flavor maturity in the ripe grapes and the powerful profile of the vintage.

The classy Piper-Heidsieck Rare is a mosaic of textures. It shows red berry and graphite flavors and a firm structure, with honey, toast and seashore notes. Silkiness completes the picture. While the grape blend is dominated by Pinot Noir (70 percent), chef de cave Régis Camus stresses the importance of Chardonnay (30 percent) sourced from specific crus when it comes to elaborating a Rare vintage. “Our quest is always for Chardonnays [that] are mineral in style.”

With its deep rose hue the Bollinger is dressed up to celebrate. With a sense of balance and seamless integration, the wine delivers juicy fruit flavors of ripe black cherry, pomegranate and cassis that are fresh and vibrant. The finish is long and lightly spiced. Bollinger ferments the base wines in neutral oak barrels, adding 7 to 8 percent red Pinot Noir from its tiny La Côte aux Enfants vineyard located behind the firm’s offices. It’s aged on the lees a minimum of six years.

You needn’t wait until your dining with a super villain, however. Popping the cork on any one of these Champagnes from the glorious 2002 vintage is sure to enhance any situation. But even Bond would find it difficult choosing just one.

Cigar Aficionado