We at Vinfolio find ourselves talking about our wine experiences quite often, and one question returns to me...why don't people drink more Champagne? By and large people only buy Champagne for special occasions, as if our day to day lives aren't worth celebrating.
May I extrapolate that people have nothing to celebrate?
I have a friend whose wine collection contains of 3,000+ bottles of Champagne. His portfolio taught us both a lot about Champagne’s versatility. Over the course of two years we drank Champagne with everything, and I discovered a strong affection for the selections from
Egly-Ouriet. Vinfolio currently features their
NV Brut Les Vignes de Vrigny 1er Cru ($54) and
NV Brut Tradition ($54).
Egly-Ouriet’s wines hail from the region of
Ambonnay, just Northeast of Champagne, from only 8 hectares (19 acres) of Grand Cru fruit. It is amazing that these wines are still very affordable. His vines age from 30-50 years and sit on their yeasts for a minimum of 3 years. During the aging period, the process known as
autolysis occurs where the dead yeast cells (or lees) from the secondary fermentation release complex flavor compounds in the wine creating desirable toasty, yeasty, biscuit-like flavors. These flavors are what define the rich style and subtlety of my favorite bubbles. And what’s even more— Egly-Ouriet wines are also unfiltered, a practice not the norm for Champagne.
So, I ask again, can we find something in our daily meanderings to celebrate?
