Davy Zyw - 101 Champagnes and Other Sparkling Wines to Try Before You Die

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by

Birlinn Ltd

West Newington House

10 Newington Road

Edinburgh

EH9 1QS

www.birlinn.co.uk

ISBN: 978 1 78027 556 7

Copyright Davy yw 2018

The right of Davy yw to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library

Designed and typeset by Teresa Monachino

Printed and Bound in Latvia by PnB.

I HAVE WORKED WITHIN WINE FOR OVER A DECADE. I STARTED IN A basement wine shop in Edinburgh, then became a sommelier in famous restaurants. More recently I have been wine development manager for the worlds second largest wine retailer, a global wine buyer for a leading wine retailer and now a wine buyer at the worlds most famous vintner. In 2018, I was sworn into the ancient Ordre des Coteaux du Champagne as a Chevalier, so I know what Im talking about! I live out of a suitcase, blending, tasting and travelling wherever the grapes and vintages take me. My friends hate me. However, working in restaurants is where my real love of flavour and wine was nurtured. I loved the showmanship, pace and energy of being a somm. It was in fine-dining restaurants where I was lucky enough to taste some of the most exquisite and expensive wines and champagnes. Wine can raise a plate from a forgettable dinner into a memorable, taste-bud-tantalising experience. What I love about champagne is the dynamic it brings to a meal. The fizz alters textures, cuts through or combines fats and proteins and lifts flavours to another level. Champagne with food is one of lifes true delights.

Flavour can change perceptions, incite memories, alter moods, bring people together and divide the best of friends. Sourcing and blending wine for a living, I have made a career in combining flavours and textures to enhance pleasure, enjoyment and gastronomic experience. I cannot taste for you but I can recommend what I think you will enjoy. In the following pages Ill offer suggestions as to what you might like to eat both to enhance the pleasure of the wine you are drinking and to improve the taste of what you are eating.

Lots of people would enjoy wine more if it were demystified a little. Wine is made to be enjoyed by everyone, and even the smallest amount of knowledge will empower imbibers to make the right choices. This book will add to your drinking and dining experience and doubles up as a terrific coaster.

CHAMPAGNE IS DELICIOUS. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. ITS SCRUMPTIOUS and magnificent. We love its flavour; we love its fizziness. We love the sense of drama and celebration it brings to any occasion. Champagnes associations with success, partying and enjoyment are as ingrained in the wine as the bubbles themselves. As the godfather of champagne famously said: Brothers, Im drinking stars! Dom Prignon had obviously had a few glasses at this point, but his quote is poignant nonetheless: drinking champagne is liquid heaven.

I want to share with you my passion for the fizz, and in doing so give insight into how champagne has earned its eternally glamorous status, and why sparkling wine and champagne are the drinks with which we celebrate life. It marks our milestones, in a way no other drink can. There is always an excited intake of breath when the bottle pops. Most champagne bottles have close to 6 atmospheric bars of pressure within them, a similar pressure found in a doubledecker bus tyre. This danger and tension in opening a bottle is unique to champagne; it is both sexy and dramatic. It gets the party started.

But for all the drama and allure, ultimately its the drink itself which has made champagne such an irresistible choice for millions of drinkers over the past four centuries. It hasnt been one long party for the people of the Champagne region of north-east France, however. Wines have been made there since Roman times but their look and taste have changed over those millennia. The region, and its wines, have had a turbulent history: revolutions, a couple of invasions, economic turmoil, two world wars and a devastating vineyard pest. Times have been tough, and, like the production of champagne itself, this has been no quick process; it has taken time, sweat, blood, tears and a helluvalotta love. This history makes it all the more marvellous that champagne has survived and thrived.

For all its success, champagne is a misunderstood drink. Its purely celebratory positioning has meant we tend to focus on the luxurious larger brands, instead of exploring the range for our more frequent drinking habits. Many of the most famous champagne houses have a place at my table but the world of sparkling wine is evolving rapidly, even within the Champagne region. More and more small growers are producing quality champagnes, and the diversity and quality from the region is exciting.

But champagne is not the only magnificent sparkling wine available we have never had so much choice in finding our favourite fizzer. Many champagne makers have taken their trade all around the world, finding new methods, grapes and climates to producer fine examples from Australia, California and South America. There are many other sparkling wines which offer parallel quality and terrific value, from the rural slopes of the Jura, to where it all started in the land-locked hills of the Languedoc, and even to the lava dashed slopes of Mount Etna. Catalunya is home to cava, where the styles and quality have never been so good. And, back in the UK, the English sparkling wine business is booming. Many wines are now beating champagnes in blind tastings and awards, and I celebrate some of them in this book.

The UK is historically one of the largest markets for champagne and sparkling wine in the world. We love bubbles. And, although we have begun to make our own we are still the sixth largest importer of sparkling wine in the world today. The incredible success story of prosecco has opened doors for many of us to drink and try new sparkling wines, without breaking the bank. In the UK prosecco has become a go-to drink, and many prefer it to champagne.

There are so many amazing sparkling wines in the world, and my 101 recommendations are a great place to start. Get those glasses poised.

DID YOU KNOW?