The allure of the Demi-Bouteille…

The effortlessness of Half-Bottles…

The ease and grace of opening one:

Inside, there is a more than a glass of wine, and (thankfully) less than a whole bottle of wine;

You need NO excuse to open one…

It’s a little bit of luxury you deserve.

There are sooo many reasons to love a demi-bouteille…

My fascination started in Paris last year: a brilliantly sunny day in March,  we skipped along Le Boulevard Saint Michel to the renowned Restaurant ‘Les Deux Magots’  – St Germain des Prés to celebrate ‘l’anniversaire de ma Mère’ …

The sun was shining, the menu was exactly what we were looking for:

Magret de Canard, Moules Marinière, Foie Gras… perfection. The only challenge: we wanted Champagne to go with the Foie Gras, yet a glass of Burgundy to go with the Duck –  and a glass of Chablis for my mum…

Voilà – the Half-Bottle of Dellamotte Champagne was perfect for our needs! A glass (plus a splash more) each… with plenty of opportunity for the waiter to grace us with the theatrical flourish of an required ice-bucket and stand; and our experience was heightened for it…

So, in case you’re wondering where to get Half-Bottles here in Australia:

I’m delighted to share with you that Champagne Vadin Plateau – quite certainly my favourite Grower Champagne available in Australia – offer two Champagnes by the Half-Bottle: the Blanc des Noirs NV (mostly 2012 bio-dynamic Pinot Noir + Pinot Meunier) AND their Rosé NV (60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% reserve wines) … Order via www.decantethis.com 

PLUS – I have discovered the uniquely named website: www.HalfBottles.com.au !

Located in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill, they stock an ever-changing list of champagnes, white and red wines, encouraging you to ‘Drink less, Drink better’

Couldn’t put it better myself, really

Have you heard of the tasting experience ‘Taste Champagne’ ?

If you love Champagne as much as I… then you’re going to want to attend these events….

Brought to you by Tyson Stelzer – The International Wine Communicator of the Year (2015) – and expanding the event to include Canberra, Perth and Adelaide, this year the series of events across Australia will showcase an outstanding 257 cuvees from 81 Champagne Houses.

Sydney – Four Seasons Hotel – 6-9pm Monday 6th August 2018

Canberra – Old Parliament House – 6-9pm Wednesday 8th August 2018

Brisbane – Sofitel Brisbane Central – 6-9pm Monday 13th August 2018

Perth – Beaumonde On the Point– 6-9pm Wednesday 15th August 2018

Melbourne – Plaza Ballroom – 6-9pm Monday 20th August 2018

Adelaide – Adelaide Festival Centre – 6-9pm Wednesday 22nd August 2018

Tickets will be $135 per person this year,  and include (unlimited) tastings, your very own Riedel ‘Veritas’ Champagne glass valued at $60, cheese, crackers and a hot-fork dish.

Celebrating many (new) Grower Champagnes and Cooperatives, as well as the usual Grand Marques, it will be an exciting opportunity to sample your favourites, as well as make a few new favourites!

Keep an eye out for:

Achille Princier
Agrapart & Fils
Alfred Gratien
Arbeaumont
Bernard Brémont
Besserat de Bellefon
Billecart-Salmon
Bollinger
Brimoncourt
Canard Duchêne
Cattier
Charles Heidsieck
Charles Orban
Chartogne-Taillet
Chateau de Bligny
Collet
Delamotte
De Saint Gall Union Avize
Deutz
Devaux
Didier Chopin
Dom Pérignon
Dumangin J. Fils
Duménil
Duperrey
Duval-Leroy
Emmanuel Brochet
Forget-Chemin
Franck Bonville
GH Martel
H. Lanvin & Fils
Hatt et Söner
Heidsieck & Co Monopole
Henri Abelé
Henri Laurent
Jacquart
Jacquesson
Jeeper
José Michel
Joseph Perrier
Krug
Laherte Frères
Lallier
Lanson
Larmandier-Bernier
Laurent-Perrier
Leclerc Briant
Lombard & Cie
Louis Roederer
Moët & Chandon
Nicolas Feuillatte
Marc Hebrart
Moutard Père & Fils
Mouzon Leroux
Mumm
Nominé-Renard
Palmer & Co
Palmes d’Or
Paul Louis Martin
Perrier-Jouët
Philippe Fourrier
Pierre Gimonnet & Fils
Piper-Heidsieck
Pol Roger
Pommery
Royal Riviera
Salmon
Taittinger
Thiénot
Vazart-Coquart
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Fourny & Fils
Vollereaux
Vranken

Some houses and growers not available at all sessions.

 

Tasmania’s Effervescence Festival of Sparkling Wine 16 – 18 November 2018

Yes, it’s on again!

Join the Champagne Goddess at our third jaunt to glorious Northern Tasmania, as we celebrate the very best of Tasmania’s scintillating Sparkling Wines at the Effervescence Festival 2018.

Hosted by passionate sparkling advocate Tyson Stelzer, and showcased at the elegant Josef Chromy Winery, Tamar Valley (Launceston), this is a weekend you won’t want to miss!  Not least because it will SELL OUT:

Featured on the ABC’s ‘Taste of Landline’ programme (on 17 March 2018), Tickets for several components of Effervescence 2018 have already been allocated (effectively selling-out)

The Black-Tie degustation dinner on the Friday evening is a blockbuster every year! Last year the menu was created by Tasmanian Fresh Produce Ambassador Jacques Reymond; the year before Tetsuya’s menu was talked about for months!….

There will be several Masterclasses featuring blind-tastings of Tasmanian Sparkling (against Champagne); Tasmanian Cheese and Sparkling matching; and tours of the working winery, including a disgorgement and unique opportunity to blend your own sparkling wine.

With elegant lodgings at Relbia Lodge, simply moments from Josef Chromy, you’ll feel revived and inspired by the surrounding vineyards of the Tamar Valley…

Secure your spot now. Contact Susan Le Roux:  info@champagnegoddess.com.au  [Only eight places this year]

For detailed information of inclusions see the Tours page.

Tasmania’s Effervescence Festival: Josef Chromy Winery; 16 – 18 November 2018

 

 

Join the Champagne Goddess foodie and indulgence tour to Paris, Epernay + Reims: 2-8 September 2017.

Escape (the Australian) WInter and join me, the Champagne Goddess in a sensory overload of all that is delicious in Paris and Champagne. 6 nights: Paris, Epernay and Reims.

Join our small group of fellow-adventurers as we spend two days/nights in Paris exploring the streets and foodie quartiers with a keen photographer willing to share her skills; before exploring the region of the world most exclisive and alluring wine: Champagne.

Il n’y a le champagne que de Champagne…’
‘It is not champagne, unless it comes from Champagne’…

Uncover the secrets of this delicious region, with trips into les Montagnes de Champagne and the villages of Epernay and Vinay, before ‘hitting the streets’ of Reims for photography tours of the legendary city of Champagne, a Michelin Star restaurant experience and underground adventures in the caves of the ‘Grands Maisons de Champagne’.

With options for single or twin-share, and opportunities to extend or shorten the program according to your schedule, contact the Champagne Goddess now to request the program outline:
info@champagnegoddess.com.au
0415 735 587

Yours in bubbles,
Susan Le Roux

Make the Fortnum + Mason Champagne Popsicles at home.

The briliant, and evidently desirable Fortnum & Mason’s Champagne Popsicles are now only available at The Shard – London’s newest and sexiest sky-high venue, as part of their ‘Sky High Tea’ experience.

 

However, the good news is: they are quite easy to make at home!

 

Recipe for this weekend:

You only need three ingredients: 400ml Blanc de Blancs Champagne, 65ml water and 65g sugar, plus containers to freeze them in.

 

Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, whisking all the time, until it turns into a syrup. This happens quite quickly – 5 minutes only. Set the mixture aside to cool, completely.

 

Add the Champagne to the syrup and whisk it all together. Pour the liquid into containers, freeze overnight… et voilà!

An elegant history, all of it’s own: The Champagne Bar, The Plaza, New York.

I love to learn the history behind elegant venues….

The Plaza Hotel, New York’s Champagne Bar was originally ‘The Champagne Porch’ – overlooking Fifth Avenue and the Pulitzer Fountain, when the Hotel opened its doors in 1907… Even back in 1907, they had the wherewithal to establish an elegant, probably open-aired space, devoted to sipping Champagne and undoubtedly, being seen!

Today, as one of The Plaza’s most exclusive dining venues – which once welcomed legendary figures including the Prince of Wales and Diamond Jim Brady – it has become a favorite destination of ‘the who’s who’ of New York – and beyond.

You can really imagine yourself in the glamourous #champagnelifestyle of pre-WWI with the full service caviar menu, of an evening…. By day, channel your inner ‘ladies who lunch’ by starting your day with freshly baked pastries, smoked salmon and ‘coupes de Champagne’.

The Champagne Goddess will be sure to let you know when a specialised-tour to New York is planned….

Did you know this fact about the Musée d’Orsay…?

I was spellbound…

I immediately imagined myself there…

The Musée d’Orsay used to be a train station (that’s not the secret-fact)…

The alluring fact is: elegant, grand events such as balls, dinners and ceremonies were held in the dramatic ballroom above the busy station, below. Well-to-do aristocrats from regional destinations would arrive at the station to attend ‘haute-socièté’s events.

Commencing with dinner, adjacent to the ballroom, guests would dine on 5-courses, before joining the soirée under the glass dome, at the highest point of the building…

I can only dream of such an evening…

At the conclusion, guests would retire for the evening, and board their respective trains home….

Now that gives rise to a whole new question regarding original ‘sleeping compartments’…