The Finest Champagne

Champagne is such a celebratory, and evocative wine. Its development has been due to the individual achievements of various people, some famous, others less so. Among them all, a special place is deservedly kept for Madame Clicquot. She dreamed of creating champagne that would conquer the world. She was an audacious businesswoman. Her vintages are the delight of champagne lovers and epicureans the world over. She was given the accolade of 'la grande dame de la Champagne' by her contemporaries, in recognition of her determination to deliver 'only one quality, the finest'.

Madame Clicquot's life could have been typical of that of many 18th-century young ladies in France. Born into a wealthy family, she made a good marriage to Francois Clicquot, who owned a champagne business, in 1798, before giving birth to a little girl called Clementine. However, her natural curiosity encouraged her to take an interest in the House's affairs, and when her husband died prematurely, she decided to take up the reins of the estate.

Only 27 at the time of her husbands's death, Madame Clicquot railed against the traditions of the day and took the reins of the family business. She was a woman of great vision, and her success in building the prestige of the House made her one of the most impressive business women of modern times. Her strength of character and business sense transformed her family-in-law's trade into a great Champagne House. While her representatives travelled throughout Europe and her champagne was shipped across the seas the world over, Madame Clicquot personally took charge of the cellars, choosing her motto as "only one quality, the finest".

In Madame Clicquot's time, champagne was a cloudy wine and needed to be decanted before drinking. Always eager for improvements, Madame Clicquot invented 'remuage' or 'riddling'. This revolutionary process ensured crystal clear wine and is still used by all Champagne Houses today. She gradually acquired land in vineyards with the best crus, which are now part of Veuve Clicquot's exceptional wine heritage. Her contemporaries already considered her as a great lady and she became known as the "Grande Dame de la Champagne".

In 1810 the House took the name of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, and produced its first vintage champagne. Veuve means widow in French.She died in 1899, in her chateau, surrounded by those she had loved with generosity and tenderness. Today her influence is tasted in every bottle of champagne sold by Veuve Clicquot, reigning over an empire of bubbles appreciated by all connoisseurs of excellent champagne and epicurean tastes.

In 1772 Philippe Clicquot established a wine merchant's business under the name of Clicquot.
In 1775 Clicquot became the first Champagne House ever to ship rose champagne.
On December 16th, 1777 Barbe Nicole Ponsardin, the future Madame Clicquot is born.
Phillipe's son, Francois Clicquot, dies of a fever. He leaves behind a widow, Barbe Nicole Ponsardin.

With great foresight, Madame Clicquot shipped 10,000 bottles to Russia, just as Napolean's nautical blocks fell, thus she beat out all competition. Her wine met with such success that the House could not keep up with the demand. The Russian market grew steadily until about 1870.


Why is champagne known to be better in magnum than in a regular 750ml bottle? Magnums offer the optimal size to age wine. During the aging, the wine is "breathing" through the cork and gives those so appreciated yeasty, biscuity notes. And, of course there is more for everyone as a magnum is twice the size of a regular bottle.

What are the greatest vintages in Champagne?
It is very hard to give an objective ranking of the best vintages ever in Champagne as it is usually down to personal opinion. However, the following vintages are known to be among the best: 1998, 1996, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1985, 1979, 1976, 1969, 1959, 1955, 1949, 1947, 1943, 1934, 1929, 1921, 1918, 1904...

How long can I keep my champagne?
Non-vintage champagne can be enjoyed upon release, but it may be stored for up to two or three years. Vintages and La Grande Dame can age longer, up to 10 to 25 years depending on the style of each vintage. To know more about any particular aging capacity of a vintage you should contact the champagne House.

What is the pouring temperature of champagne?
Pouring temperature should be adapted to each kind of champagne: young non-vintage champagne, with no year on the label, should be poured around 46 degrees Fahrenheit. More mature wines, Vintages and La Grande Dame, should be poured between 54 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

How should I cellar my champagne?
Champagne should be stored in the same manner as any regular fine wine. It should be kept at a cool and continuous temperature. Ideally 50 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit or at most 59 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition a high humidity, over 75 percent, good ventilation and darkness are the proper cellaring conditions.

yours truly,
witsanwisdom

The Died And Gone To Heaven Brownie Recipe

If you really want to go there with your brownies and leave your houseguests begging you for the recipe this is the one. Trust me. This is the one.

Ingredients: 7 ounces dark chocolate or chips 8 ounce unsalted butter 3 tablespoon cocoa powder 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 8 inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper then line with 2 pieces of aluminum foil perpendicular to each other to enable you to life the brownie out of the pan with ease after they have been cooked. Place chocolate and butter in a medium sized, non-reactive metal bowl and set over simmering water. Stir occasionally and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth, set aside. In a mixing bowl, briefly whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt, about 30 seconds. Add warm chocolate mixture and then mix in flour just until combined, be careful not to over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan and cook for 35 minutes. When finished let brownies cool for at least one hour before removing from pan. Cut into 1 inch squares and share if you really think you can. It would be wise to make two pans. Brownies can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 5 days.

How To Eat Chocolate

We suggest bringing the truffles to a cool room temperature in order to taste the “true” flavors of the spice, flower, root, herb or liqueur. Vosges products are all natural and use organic ingredients as often as possible.


First... read the story. Each Vosges exotic truffle comes with a story. This sets the stage. It allows you to paint the picture through your imagination, to conjure up the expectations as to how the chocolate will taste and the where you will transcend.

See... there should be a glossy shine to the truffle, this shows a good temper: a tight bond between the cocoa butter and the cacao mass.

Lick... the spice on top of the truffle. We always like to do this on the spice truffles because it gives us a hint of that is to come, a teaser.

Snap... quality chocolate should always be dry to the touch. If the chocolate is stored at ideal conditions, between 63-65 degrees Fahrenheit, when you take a bite you should hear a crisp, ringing snap breaking through the outside to reach the creamy ganache inside.

Taste... we always like to taste the truffle in two bites. In the first bite you are just getting to know the truffle and in the second, you delve deeper, searching out the flavors and nuances. You become immersed into the experience of the chocolate, your mouth and the sensation. The taste should have a long, lingering finish that is layered with its perfumed notes.

How to Eat an Exotic Candy Bar...

See... first, there should be a glossy shine to the chocolate bar, this shows a good temper; rather, a tight bond between the cocoa butter and the cocoa mass.

Smell... rub your thumb on the chocolate to help release the aromas. Inhale the chocolate and ingredient notes deeply through your nose. Can you feel it?

Snap... quality chocolate should always be dry to the touch. Break the bar into two pieces. Hear a crisp, ringing snap, which indicates a well-tempered bar of chocolate.

Taste... place the chocolate on your tongue and press it to the roof of your mouth. Within thirty seconds, the chocolate should slowly begin to melt around your tongue. The taste should not be evanescent; it should have a long, lingering finish.

Feel... recognize the life in your body as you… benefit from the anti-oxidants in chocolate, ride the natural high of chillies, boost your immune system with some of the natural ingredients. Each bar brings its own sensations and benefits. Notice how spicy bars don’t hit you until after you have swallowed.

Liquid Chocolate, How to Sip...

See... look at the cocoa mixture and see the shavings of chocolate, the cocoa powder, pieces of vanilla bean, the spices and flowers. Notice the rich depth in color of the dark, mahogany chocolate in the Parisienne cocoa, the bright, ruby spices in the Aztec Elixir, and the lavender in the white chocolate Bianca cocoa.

Smell... inhale the aromas from the cocoa. As you follow the directions and add the cocoa to the steaming milk and/or cream, the sweet dairy smells will incorporate with the chocolate.

Froth... for the true experience, it is important to add air to the mixture by using a traditional Mexican molinillo or a hand blender. The Aztecs considered the floating foam the most desired part of the drink, the essence of the theobroma cacao, food of the gods.

Sip... take some of the foam and the cocoa into your mouth to cover your palette. Swallow and then take air into your mouth and sip your breath. The bouquet unfolds.

Chew... the cornmeal in the Aztec Elixir and bits of vanilla bean in all three of the cocoa flavors add unexpected texture and bring the true flavor of the vanilla bean to your mouth.

Adjust... add more cocoa for a deeper chocolate experience. Sweeten up with a touch more sugar if desired. Jazz up the Parisienne with fresh blood orange peel or sink an exotic truffle deep in your drink.

Article by Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Types of Chocolate

If you always like to accompany your cup of coffee with a chocolate cookie or other chocolate-based treat, or if you usually order a hot chocolate drink, you might not consider yourself a chocoholic, but you certainly make it to the fans' category. But even of chocolate is not your first choice when it comes to desert, you should probably by familiar with at least its main categories, just in case you are asked if you prefer couverture over white chocolate for your ice-cream glace.

- Dark Chocolate can contain anything from 30% to 75% cocoa solids. It has a slightly sweet flavor and a dark color and it is the chocolate type most used in cooking. For everyday cooking and the majority of the recipes for dark chocolate, choose one with around 50% cocoa solids. However, dark chocolate with a higher cocoa solid content will give a richer, more intense, flavor. This chocolate is often called luxury or continental chocolate and has a cocoa solid content of between 70-75%. Occasionally, cooking experts support that it is essential to use a better chocolate, but the recipe should specify when that is the case.

- Milk Chocolate, as its name suggests, contains milk and has lovely creamy, mild, and sweet flavor. It is mostly used as an eating chocolate, rather than in cooking. However it does have its place in chocolate cookery, especially for decorations, and when a milder, creamy flavor is required. It is more sensitive to heat than dark chocolate so care must be taken when melting it.

- White Chocolate contains lower cocoa butter content and cocoa solids. It can be quite temperamental when used in cooking. Always choose a luxury white cooking chocolate to avoid problems and take great care not to overheat when melting it. White chocolate is useful also for color contrast in decoration, creating a dramatic effect when it is placed over darker backgrounds.

- Couverture is the preferred chocolate for professional use, as it retains a high gloss after melting and cooling. Nevertheless, it requires tempering and is only available from specialist suppliers. In case it can be found to special cooking supply stores, it usually is more expensive than regular milk chocolate.

- Chocolate Glace is a chocolate-flavored cake covering which is an inferior product not generally used by true chocolate lovers. However, it has a high fat content, making it easier to handle when making some decorations such as curls or caraque. In case you do not want to compromise flavor too much, but have difficulty making the decorations with pure chocolate, try adding a few squares of chocolate-flavored cake covering to a good quality chocolate.

- Chocolate Chips are available in dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties, and are used primarily for baking and as decoration materials.

- Coco Powder is the powder left after the cocoa butter has been pressed from the roasted and ground beans. It is unsweetened and bitter in flavor. It gives good, strong chocolate flavor when used in cooking.

Article by Jonathon Hardcastle

The Glory of Belgian Chocolate

Picture this on your mind: it is a food that has a circular shell-like shaped object with a diameter of at least one inch; it has shallow grooves around and is about ½ inch thick; it is slightly soft to the touch and may melt if you hold on to it for long and then when you take a bite, a burst of wonderful flavors will fill your mouth. What is it? If you answer Belgian chocolate, you are correct! Belgian chocolates are these handmade bite-sized delectables filled with nuts and cream or dark chocolate that will leave your mouth craving for more.

Even though Belgian chocolates are similar to any other chocolate made from cacao seeds, these are considered to be the gourmet standard for chocolates the world over! Belgian chocolates have been around since Leopold II of Belgium colonized Congo in 1885. Belgians were able to import cocoa beans from cacao trees planted on the rich land of Congo. Leopold II was able to take advantage of the country's cocoa beans supply and ever since Belgian chocolatiers concocted different kinds of tasty treats. However, Belgian chocolates made its mark when a Swiss family from Brussels created the praline in 1912.

Praline is Belgian chocolate with a shell-like appearance filled with nuts, nougats or creams, coffee, fruit or dark chocolate. It has a taste all its own and most chocoholics can't get enough of them. Some of the most popular chocolatiers based in Belgium since the early 1900s include Leonidas, Neuhaus, Godiva and Nirvana. Praline Belgian chocolates are wrapped in a special packaging called the ballotin. It was made when the first praline was created in 1912 because Belgian chocolates were given as special gifts during that time.

This then became a tradition and until present times praline Belgian chocolates are bought to be given as gifts by locals and tourists alike. Even though a box of praline can be very expensive compared to buying a pound of Swiss chocolates, most chocoholics would prefer biting into a Belgian chocolate just to experience bursts of flavors leaving an exciting taste in their mouths. The praline Belgian chocolate is Belgium's national pride and this is quite evident with the country's tourism. Chocolate companies around Belgium are included in tourist package itineraries where tourists can see how praline Belgian chocolates are made.

The best thing about this is that you can get a taste of the praline you will see being hand made by the chocolatiers in each chocolate company you will be visiting. Tasting this handcrafted treats will leave you craving for more. So when in Belgium don't miss visiting the many Belgian chocolate stores in every town and village in this chocolate country. If you think you are a self-proclaimed chocoholic and you haven't tasted a piece of praline Belgian chocolates, then you are really missing a lot. Biting into a Belgian chocolate will be an experience you will never forget because the unique taste of praline will leave you looking for more. Many chocolate lovers around the world visit Belgium just to discover for themselves why Belgian chocolates are being regarded as the gourmet standard for all chocolates around the world. Every chocolatier in Belgium have their own unique taste and style for creating their praline Belgian chocolates. This is the reason why many chocoholics make a round of all the chocolate stores in Belgium.

Colleen Maguire

Writer, Traveler and Chocolate Lover