Champagne and raspberry cupcakes
January is bleak enough withouth thinking about diets and detoxes, so we asked Cuckoo’s Bakery in Edinburgh to…
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Lovely bubbly
Why Champagne is the foodie’s go-to drink
We know the basic wine rules: a zesty sauvignon blanc with fish, a spicy shiraz with a rib-eye, a sweet riesling with a chocolate pudding. But it’s time to throw the wine rulebook out of the window, as the hottest foodie trend is matching champagne with your supper.
“Champagne has always been popular for special occasions or as an aperitif,” explains Christina Larsson, the divinely titled ‘champagne angel’ at London’s new The Balcon restaurant. “But there’s a definite move now towards matching a glass of champagne with each course of a meal.” The figures back this up: despite the tough economic climate, champagne sales in the UK remained the biggest outside France.
So how do you know if a bottle of Ruinart will go with your rhubarb crumble? “With champagne and food, it’s all about matching like for like,” says Ivan Dixon, wine and spirit buyer at Harvey Nichols. “If you have savoury, earthy elements in the food, it goes with a savoury style of champagne; whereas if you have light, elegant champagne, the worst thing you can do is pair it with heavy, dominating food.”
Acidity is also key: for creamy dishes, you want champagne with more acidity to cut through and freshen the palate; for lighter dishes, less acidic champagne won’t overwhelm the food’s delicate flavour. So we asked 10 experts to pair fizzes with food…
Words: Julia Maile
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Moët & Chandon Brut Impér…
“This champagne is adaptable, so works with a… More details
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Laurent-Perrier Brut NV wit…
“The lighter style of this champagne means that… More details
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AndrÉ Clouet Grande RÉser…
“Made using 100% pinot noir, this champagne has… More details
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Taittinger Folies De La Mar…
“This is Taittinger’s gastronomic champagne… More details
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Ruinart Blanc De Blancs NV …
“This is zesty and lemony, so goes well with… More details
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Gosset Grand RosÉ NV with …
“This wonderful wine is pinot noir-based, so it… More details
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Benedick Grande RÉserve Br…
“I love champagne with something simple like… More details
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Dom PÉrignon 2002 magnum w…
“I would suggest a seafood match, such as… More details
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Billecart-Salmon Brut RosÉ…
“Strong cheese overpowers most champagnes but… More details
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Franck Bonville 2006 Blancs…
“Champagne and chocolate are hard to match, but… More details
Smoked Mackerel Pâté
Asda and the legendary Leiths School of Food and Wine have joined forces in an exclusive partnership which has…
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How to serve Champagne
Avoid flying corks and mass spillage. Neil Phillips, the Champagne ambassador for G.H. Mumm and Perrier–Jouët,…
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