Toni Dockter: Filosophy with a Fuchsia Flair

“She keeps Moet & Chandon in her pretty cabinet.

‘Let them eat cake,’ she said.

Just like Marie Antoinette.”

From “Killer Queen,” by Queen, 1974

(Another champagne aficionado…)

As the Bubbles Pop, Part Deux.

“Shay, shall we continue the Champagne schtuff?” she slurred—after one too many glasses of Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée—my domestic champagne of choice. It’s delicate yet flavorful, playful yet earnest, economical yet worth every penny. Bottled by Barefoot Cellars in lovely Modesto, CA. you can find it at any grocery store for less than $10 per bottle. Tasty with no big-budget attitude to swallow.

Here’s how the wine maker describes it:

“Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée is a dry bubbly that opens with the delightful aromas of Chardonnay and flavors of green apples and jasmine. Savor the hints of kiwi and peach while you enjoy the crisp, lingering finish.  With fruit-filled aromas and flavors, our most traditional, great tasting Chardonnay Champagne will be an instant favorite for any occasion…”

I could have drunk 100 bottles and never figured out there was a hint of green apples, jasmine, kiwi, or peach. If a wine is made with grapes, I don’t get how the flavor of those other entities creeps into the process. (I also don’t get wine descriptions in general, the lofty prose, the outrageous assumptions about a liquid, such as “…truly Episcopalian in its predictability.”)

Ever since it was mentioned with such high regard in the movie Babette’s Feast (by an esteemed character named General Loewenhielm), I have wanted to try Veuve Clicquot Champagne. At first I thought using this particular brand of champagne in the movie was product placement. But years later I checked the short story by Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen, played by Meryl Streep in Out of Africa). Sure enough, “Veuve Clicquot 1860” is specified in the text.

I figured this must be an excellent libation and put it on my To-Do List to try. Don’t ask me why it’s taken so long, other than writers LOVE to procrastinate, and I figured this label to be ultra-out-of-my-pocketbook range. But when I saw the VC Yellow Label Brut vintage for sale at Costco, I knew it was my year to indulge. I forked over the $40.

The bottle is cooling in my fridge as I write…

I’m excited! The anticipation is killing me…

As far as the taste goes, I have no idea what to expect. Here’s how wine critics describe Veuve Clicquot:

“There’s plenty of finesse in this smooth-textured Champagne, whose flavors evoke apricot, peach, vanilla pastry and mineral. Racy, with snappy acidity providing energy and driving the flavors to a long conclusion. Drink now through 2012.”

- Wine Spectator (92 points out of 100)

“Lovely bouquet of fresh bread dough, chalk and vanilla. Ripe apple flavors laced with vanilla and pecan. Creamy finish with an enhancing note of autolysis.”

-       The Wine News (91 points out of 100)

I had to look up the word autolysis. Definition: The breaking down of cells by an enzyme that is produced within them.

Huh? This is a compliment? Cell degradation tastes good? Hmmm…

Now I really don’t know what to expect. I am not looking forward to chalk or dough.

Here’s how Isak Dinesen describes the Veuve Clicquot experience in her short story, Babette’s Feast:

“The boy once more filled the glasses. This time the Brothers and Sisters knew that what they were given to drink was not wine, for it sparkled. It must be some kind of lemonade. The lemonade agreed with their exalted state of mind and seemed to lift them off the ground, into a higher and purer sphere.”

Wow—I’ll drink what they’re drinking!

I’ll let you know how it goes….

In the meantime, check out this fascinating video about how VC is made at the vineyards in Reims, France. Adjust your ears to “French accent.” Here’s what the winemaker, Cyril Brun, says about the champagne:

“We are creating happiness more than creating a wine.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS-pG-fHVxU

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