A Year in Champagne (2014)

The exploding cork Endless tiny bubbles floating up and up in the glass An indulgence A celebration A seduction A triumph This is the essence of Champagne isnt it But its not just bubbles in a glass that makes the wine or the mystique Only sparkling wine produced within the boundaries of the Champagne region is truly Champagne At first glance the region is not an obvious source of romance Champagnes history is grim and bloody swept by war and destruction from Attila the Hun to the filthy trenches of WWI and the Nazi depredations of WWII The environment for winemaking is desperately hard northerly latitude chalky soil copious rain frost rot Yet its these difficulties that help make the wine unique