If you didn't know, champagne is the only bottle that actually pops.
So what's in your glass?
Each year, one of the companies I work with sends out bottles of Veuve Clicquot as Christmas gifts --yes, my fav. Veuve is actually pretty light. Most of the champagnes I've tasted are a bit more bitter - For example, Moët has a beer taste to me. I can't tell you too many names, but I know I like Veuve. It's super refreshing and has an orange undertone (or maybe it's just the color of the packaging that makes me think so, I'm so susceptible), making it a perfect mate for next-day mimosas.
My favorite thing, about Veuve Clicquot is the history of the brand. Philippe Clicquot-Muiron founded the company in 1772 and played a major role in making chanpange the "it" drink for wealthy Europeans during that time. In addition to champagne production, the company also holds dealings in banking and wool trading.After Pierre's passing, the company was passed down to his son, François who married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1798. After 7 years of marriage, Françios passed, leaving the company in the hands of his widow --a brilliant 27-year-old woman. Veuve, in French, means "widow", hence the name of the brand.
Madame Cliquot is credited for advancing the brand during the Napoleanic wars by focusing on improving the actual wine and employing a tequnique called riddling:
Riddling: In this stage, the bottles are placed on special racks called pupitres that hold them at a 45° angle, with the crown cap pointed down. Once a day (every two days for Champagne), the bottles are given a slight shake and turn, alternatively on right then left, and dropped back into the pupitres, with the angle gradually increased. The drop back into the rack causes a slight tap, pushing sediments toward the neck of the bottle. In 10 to 14 days (8 to 10 weeks for Champagne), the position of the bottle is straight down, with the lees settled in the neck. (This time can be shortened by moving the bottle more than once a day, and/or by using modern, less sticky strains of yeast.) Manual riddling is still done for Prestige Cuvées in Champagne, but has otherwise been largely abandoned because of the high labour costs. Mechanised riddling equipment (a gyropalette) is used instead. - Riddling on wikipedia.com
Apparently, this has a huge effect on the bubbles in the bottle and how big they are. Riddling reduces the size of the bubbles --perhaps why I think it's so smooth. It also leads to a sweeter product. In addition to this, Madame Clicquot employed additional tactics to the practice as a means of setting Veuve Clicquot apart from competitors:
[Madame Clicquot's] technique still used the original English technique of adding additional sugar, but after this second fermentation was complete the bottles were held upside down. The bottles were regularly turned so that the dead yeast would all gather near the cork (riddling). Once the settling was complete, the wine near the cork was frozen and the cork and frozen plug removed (disgorgement), followed by an addition of wine to refill the bottle. - Madame Clicquot on wikipedia.com
I believe that the only way to truly enjoy a product (whether it be champagne or a bar of soap) is to understand what that product is. It also helps you understand what the true difference is between one brand and another. Or maybe it's just teh advertising geek in me. Regardless, all products are marketed towards a particular person. Veuve Clicquot is made for people who value "excellence and quality". It also simply attracts me because the affect that Madame Clicquot had on the brand, in those times, is amazing. We usually think of oppression for women in old times, but the truth of the matter is that if you are a brilliant, it's hard to deny. The company also continues to praise "Women of Inspiration" in heavy regards, fully realizing the grandure of Barbe's affect on the house as well are the champage industry as a whole.
So... there you go. Random dope sh*t :)
Pop champagne responsibly.
Happy New Year :)
