Could Champagne be a magic elixir? Casellula wine bar

Last night I took a break from studying & went to see the fabulous Miss Kitt at Carnegie hall.

This down right sexy 80 yr old woman rocked the house. With all of her songs about Champagne and the fact that she had a young man with her on stage drinking it made me wonder if it is some magic youth elixir?

Also went to Casellula a great new Wine & Cheese place on the West side located at 401 w. 52.

Nice small place with friendly staff, nice by the glass list, & 40 different small production cheeses.

We had a bottle of Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne blend from Australia called The Black Chook that was complex, nuts & fruit on the palate as well as the nose. It went really well with the vast selection of cheese as well as standing up to some of the exotic dried meats we ordered.

It even stood up to an incredible version of mac & cheese that was just pure cheese hedonism.

Check out their website http://www.casellula.com/

Don't get a package on while waiting for your package

I guess in the world of big brother or whatever FedEx drivers are expected to be bartenders as well as delivery people.
My package was cleary marked Wine Chateaux.com. Slapped on this box was a label stating CONTAINS ALCOHOL/PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED/ DO NOT DELIVER TO AN INTOXICATED PERSON.
I guess you can't sit in the privacy of your own home and enjoy a tasty beverage if your expecting a fine wine shipment. What are you going to do open up this box and go driving around showing off your good taste in wine? Not that I sit home in the daytime buttwasted but I found this labeling pretty ironic!

French Bubble Connection 2007

I was thrilled to attend the bubble connection 2007 held in NYC at the Bubble Lounge on West Broadway.

I'm a big fan of sparkling wines produced in the traditional method. Having spent time recently touring producers in Rheims & Epernay I was eager to find some other houses to visit on my next adventure to the EU in September.

This was the first time 14 different vintners & negociants gathered together to showcase not only Champagne but also Cremant, Sparkling Vouvray & Saumur, Limoux to name a few.

I made some great connections & most vintners where more than happy to offer advice on cellar & vineyard visits. Laurent Mingaud was in particular very charming as well as having some Delicious Limoux produced from Mauzac based blends. Limoux is famous for sparkling production dating back further than Champagne (or so they claim). Thomas Jefferson was the first to import this tasty wine to the US. I tasted 6 from Sier d'Arques, all where very well balanced with medium acidity,mousse, & nice light fruit profiles.

Another standout producer was a small grower from Brouillet "Champagne Aspasie". For 5 generations this family has produced artison wine. Paul -Vincent Ariston the current vintner was on hand to discuss at length his fabulous wines! The Brut prestige NV made from 50% Chard, 25% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier was definitely my favorite find for the day. This wine had a stoney minerality, granny smith apple on the palate with a finish that went on forever!

All in all a great tasting with the Frenchie's along with discovering another wine bar to put on the list of must go backs. They even saber bottles here! And not that this matters but the eye candy at this tasting wasn't bad either! I noticed one taster rating the men instead of the wine!