Champagne and Cheese Tasting
Erick's Cheese & Wine in Banner Elk invites you to a champagne and cheese tasting and a showing of art by local artist, Giselle Wiseman on Wed., Dec. 29, from 5 - 7 pm in our tasting room adjacent to the store in the Grandfather Center. The tasting is free but a suggested donation of $10 to the support the work of the Avery County Arts Council would be appreciated. This won't come as a surprise, but these sparklers will be available for purchase at the prices indicated to support the work of Erick's! Here's our line up of bubblies we'll be pouring:
n/v Roederer Champagne Brut Premier ($51.99)rated 90 points by Steve Tanzer: "Bright yellow with a strong mousse. Fresh lemon and lime zest on the nose, plus a hint of white pepper adding energy. Tightly wound and focused, with energetic citrus and orchard fruit flavors underscored by dusty minerals. Nicely balanced and pure, with very good finishing citric bite and persistence. This leads more with finesse than with power today, which suits me fine."
The property traces its roots back to 1776. Over that time, they've figured out how to make good Champagne. Much is owed to the fact that they own vineyards and can source most of their grapes from those properties; most producers have to rely more heavily on purchased fruit. Since they lost their biggest customer during the Russian Revolution, they've had to rely more and more on sales from Erick's. Do your part by picking up some.
n/v Heidsieck & Co. Champagne Monopole Blue Top ($46.99). Wine Spectator 91 points: "Elegant and expressive, this delivers floral, pear and toffee flavors matched to a creamy texture. Beautifully integrated, this lingers nicely on the mineral finish."
A "Johnny-come-lately" firm established in 1785, Heidsieck & Co. is not to be confused with Piper Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck, which split off and are now independent houses. The Blue Top has always had a heavier proportion of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier juice than most, and it produces a wine with more richness and depth.
n/v Roederer Estate (Anderson Valley, California, $22.99). Wine Spectator 91 points: "A rich version, loaded with spicy cinnamon notes. Bold apple aromas, with a whiff of yeast, lead to complex, layered pear, cr�me br�l�e and baked apple flavors that linger."
Roederer Estate is the California branch of Roederer (Champagne) and, like its parent, it ensures outstanding and consistent wine as a result of its ownership of the vineyards (and hence every level in the production process) and the addition each year of oak-aged reserve wine from previous excellent vintages. Unlike its Champagne counterpart, the California sparkling wine is more heavily weighted toward the Chardonnay component in its blend.
n/v Louis Perdrier Brut Excellence (somewhere in France, $13.99, or 2 for $20). If you've got a party planned and money IS an object, then you need this French bubbly! Louis Perdrier Brut is a unique blend of grapes including Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Chenin, Folle Blanche, and Menu Pineau. The grapes are fermented separately then blended before the 2nd fermentation after which they undergo extended aging on the lees to produce a sparkling wine with good balance. It comes from Burgundy producer Patriarche P�re et Fils, who have gathered a thing or two about making fine wine since its founding in 1780!
Trivia time - you say you've never heard of Ugni Blanc??? Where have you been?! Ugni Blanc (a/k/a as Trebbiano in Italy) is THE most widely-planted white wine grape in France and THE second most widely-planted wine grape in the world! It is also used to make the base wine for Cognac and Armagnac ... and industrial alcohol.