Plenty of wines are wonderful and delicious, but no wine delivers more immediate joy, laughter, surprise, and convivality amongst wine drinkers than Champagne

Christopher Ruhland, DipWSET

Champagne can be mysterious, if not downright confusing, for novices and wine enthusiasts alike. In “Press For Champagne – A Guide To Enjoying The World’s Greatest Sparkling Wine” author Christopher S. Ruhland endeavors be your guide by pointing out the noteworthy and helping you find your own path by offering recommendations of specific bottles of Champagne as exemplars of a particular style

The title of the book was inspired by the Bob Bob Richard restaurant in London, where each table has a shiny gold button, marked ‘PRESS FOR CHAMPAGNE’. Press it and voila!, a waiter appears to serve you a glass of Champagne!

Yes, please!

Disclaimer: This book was provided as a media sample. No other compensation was involved. All opinions are mine.

The book contains six chapters:

• Champagne, Essentially
• Drinking, Part 1; Playing with Grapes
• Interlude: Does Size Matter
• Drinking Part 2: Choices and Consequences
• Unleashing the Great Champagne Drinker Within You
• Drinking, Part 3; A Question of Place

In each of the “Drinking Chapters” Ruhland makes recommendations of specific bottles of champagne to try related to the chapter’s theme. For example in “Playing with Grapes”, the author discusses each of the three primary grapes varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) the make up over 99% of planting in Champagne.

The other chapters provide valuable background and context for a deeper understanding of how Champagne is made, tips for opening and serving champagne, and/or addressing some of the misleading narratives about Champagne (e.g. is Grower champagne “better” than champagne produced by large houses?).

I very much appreciated Ruhland’s tips and encouragement for expanding one’s knowledge and palate for champagne. For example, in one chapter he explains “You need to be open to the possibility that a wine will surprise you. It’s only when you relax the influence of what you already know about Champagne that you unlock your capacity to truly taste Champagne.”

The books includes 42 recommended bottles. Thanks to two trips to Champagne, including a media trip, I’ve had the good fortune of trying a third of the recommended bottles.

Some of the bottles are quite pricy (and some of the prices seemed out of date), but I don’t think the intent of the book is get the reader to try all of the recommended bottles.

Rather, it is inform the reader about how choices made in the vineyard and the cellar influence how a wine tastes. And, armed with that information, a sense of curiosity, an open mind and trusting ones experience with a particular wine, the reader can find the wines they enjoy the most.

A good example of this is Chapter 1, where the author compares and contrasts Veuve Clicquot Brut and Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée. Both are relatively reasonably priced bottles that would be fun taste back-to-back to see what the difference in taste is between a Pinot Noir dominant blend (Veuve Clicquot) of the three Champagne grapes, and a Chardonnay dominant blend (Laurent-Perrier) of the three Champagne grapes

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s deepened my knowledge of Champagne without being too technical and in process enriched my enjoyment of Champagne.

It’s a wonderful read for either the Champagne-curious novice or enthusiast who wants to deepen their appreciation for Champagne.

The Pairing

I’m a fan of Blanc de Noir sparkling wine, but Blanc de Noir champagne is relatively rare.

Ruhland recommends this bottle as an exemplar of a 100% Pinot Noir, or Blanc de noir champagne.

Champagne Paul Dethune is a new-to-me producer based in the the Grand Cru village of Ambonnay, one of the most distinguished village for Pinot Noir in Champagne.

The Paul Dethune Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut is 100% Pinot Noir. It is aged and vinified in 205-liter Champagne oak barrels (33%), 34 hl oak tuns (33%)  with 34% of reserve wine from a period of 40 different years aged and vinified in oak tuns. The family’s cellar were cut out of the chalk in the 17th century. This is a blend of almost entirely single-vineyard Les Crayeres, one of the most coveted single-vineyards in all of Champagne.

Tasting note:

Very pale copper color with Key lime zest, red fruit, dried apricot, pastry dough, croissant, roast hazelnut and toasty vanilla aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and harmonious with zesty acidity and a creamy mousse. It shows lush, ripe, but slightly tart red cherry, raspberry, strawberry flavors with grapefruit, and a hint ripe mandarin orange flavors with a very appealing vein of salinity. Long dry finish. 12.5% abv| Dosage 4.5 grams per liter| SRP – $60

This was an outstanding bottle and, given its provenance, it offers tremendous value!

Ruhland says he’s enjoyed the wine with steak. I’ve been wanting to try bottle of champagne with a steak for years, but have yet to do so.

I’ve already purchased a few more bottles if this wine, and I’m looking forward to making my champagne and steak dreams come true!

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