Costco Connection - December 2006

wine connection

CFine grapes, skilled hands and time create a classic

hampagne

Chronicles

ADISTINCT chill can

be felt in the morning air here

in France’s northern winegrowing

region, a place of rolling vine-

yards, ancient stone buildings and

roads that wind through pictur-

esque estates and centuries of

history. It’s October, and the chill

is warmly embraced because it

means harvest time is here—and

Champagne will be made.

I have traveled from Paris some 90 miles northeast toward Epernay in France’s northernmost winegrowing region. The goal: Visit several of France’s leading Champagne makers, including the house that makes Costco’s Kirkland Signature™ Champagne, to learn about the 2006 crop and the fascinating process of making Champagne. My trip involved occasional sampling, a traditional French meal or two and tours led by gracious hosts at the various estates.

Champagne in the true sense of the name

can come only from France’s

Champagne region. The 2006 harvest was just wrapping up when we arrived during the first week of October. For Champagne, only three grape varieties are allowed: Pinot Noir, which adds weight, structure and power to a blend; Pinot Meunier, which dominates the plantings and provides fruitiness and roundness; and Chardonnay, which contributes finesse and elegance to the blend.

FRANCE FREEMAN

Ode to Dom Pérignon

My first stop is the museum at the Abbey of Hautvillers (property of acclaimed Champagne maker Moet & Chandon), which lies along the Marne River. I am received with a glass of Dom Pérignon while taking in the beautiful vineyard sites. Following lunch is a tour of the abbey and a lesson in the history of Dom Pierre Pérignon. He was, I learn, a late-17th- century Benedictine monk who was the cellar master at Hautvillers and one of the finest makers of white wine from red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier).

At Hautvillers, Dom Pérignon was in the perfect location for his craft. This is one of the coolest wine regions in the world—and a place of distinct vintages since the Roman times. During cold winters, fermentation is often arrested before all the sugars are converted to alcohol. With the arrival of spring, the wines (and yeasts) warm up and begin fermentation again, creating the “sparkling”

By Annette Alvarez-Peters

character as carbon dioxide is trapped in the bottled wine (carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of fermentation).

Dom Pérignon is credited with placing the wines in glass bottles before the secondary fermentation to preserve color and freshness, as well as with developing the unique blending that goes into the making of Champagne. He did this by keeping various vineyard lots separate, then blending them to create a perfect balance. Up to 60 different wine lots can be used to blend Champagne.

Current chef de cave (head winemaker) Richard Geoffroy takes me through several vintages of Dom Pérignon to demonstrate how beautifully Champagne can age. It develops toasty bread and yeast notes that are exquisitely balanced and present a foundation of mineral and acidity.

A final stop to pay homage to the statue of Dom Pérignon at the Moet & Chandon headquarters precedes a dinner/tasting featuring 1983 vintage Brut, chosen to commemorate the year Costco opened its first warehouse in Seattle. Costco is the largest retailer of the tête du cuvée (top blend, the highest-quality and usually most expensive group of Champagne) Dom Pérignon in the United States, selling nearly 125,000 bottles last year.

Grapes, skills and history

A brief look at how Champagne is made is called for here. Champagne makers are skilled and talented—they mix dozens of still wines from different vintages and different