Piper-Heidsieck & Wolfgang Puck Conjure A Red Carpet Ready Champagne Treat

Well, well, well, the Oscars are causing quite the stir this year. Will you be watching the show? Personally I can’t wait to see what Chris Rock does with the opening monologue. Then there is Leo Dicaprio. This year could be the one that he finally wins an Oscar. He has waited long enough.

No matter why you are watching the Oscars, you can luxuriate like a celebrate by sipping on Piper Heidsieck Champagne. Besides being one of my favorites, it is the exclusive champagne of the Oscars.  Bubbles are perfect to watch during all of the glamour and glitz of the night! What will be in your glass?

If you want to eat like the celebs at the Governor's Ball then whip up the Red Carpet Ready Raspberry Panna Cotta that Wolfgang Puck will be serving to celebs at the official post dinner of the Oscars.

“Red Carpet Ready” Raspberry Panna Cotta 

with Lychee-Champagne Gelee

Yield: 24, 4-oz glasses

Lychee Champagne Gelee:

1/2 ounce sheet gelatin

7 fluid ounces Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut Champagne

7 fluid ounces lychee puree

Fresh raspberries

Raspberry Panna Cotta:

1/2 ounce sheet gelatin

21 fluid ounces cream

1 cup granulated sugar

24 fluid ounces raspberry puree

First, make the Lychee Champagne Gelee: Put the gelatin sheet in a small bowl and add ice water to cover. Leave the gelatin until it blooms, turning soft and pliable, 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the Champagne and lychee puree in a saucepan and warm, stirring, over medium-low heat.

When the gelatin has bloomed, gently lift it out and gently wring to remove excess water. Add the gelatin to the warm Champagne-lychee mixture and stir until fully dissolved and blended in.

Spoon the mixture into individual small serving glasses or bowls to form a thin layer in their bottoms. Add a few raspberries to each glass. Place the glasses on a tray and refrigerate until set completely.

While the Lychee Champagne Gelee sets, prepare the Raspberry Panna Cotta: Put the gelatin sheet in a small bowl and add ice water to cover. Leave the gelatin until it blooms, turning soft and pliable, 5 to 10 minutes.

Put half of the cream and all of the sugar in a saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Gently squeeze excess water from the bloomed gelatin, add the gelatin to the pan, and stir until completely dissolved. Stir in the remaining cream and the raspberry puree.

Immediately  place the bottom of the pan in a large mixing bowl filled with ice cubes and water and stir until the mixture feels cool to the touch. Spoon the Raspberry Panna Cotta mixture evenly over the Lychee Champagne Gelee in each glass and return to the refrigerator to cool until completely set, 2 to 4 hours, before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering, Executive Pastry Chef Tyler Atwell

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Will Make You Fall In Love

Last month Champagne Week popped into New York City for a week of bubbles and glamour. This year the week focused on grower's champagnes and lesser known brands in the United States. There was one champagne that  completely won my heart: Billecart-Salmon. I had the pleasure of attending an intimate tasting of their line of champagnes at the speakeasy, Riddling Widow. It was the first time that I got up close and personal with this champagne.

Founded in 1818 by husband and wife, Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, Billecart-Salmon’s origins began as a love story. The champagne is still a family-owned and independent Champagne House. Each generation of the family has been involved in the art of winemaking and carrying on the family’s tradition.

What I love about Billecart-Salmon is that they really are a champagne that is for as person’s lifestyle. They pride themselves on being food friendly which means that you can pair their bubbles with numerous dishes.

During the tasting I got to sip on four champagnes from their portfolio:

Billecart-Salmon Rosé

Winemaker’s notes:

Its pale and bright pink colour is adorned with warm glints of gold and its delicate slowly rising bubbles give it a persistent mousse. This cuvée unveils a subtle aroma leading to an elegant, delicate bouquet of fine notes of red fruits and zest of citrus fruit.

Billecart- Salmon Brut Réserve

Winemaker’s notes:

This cuvée, with reflections of straw yellow, stands out by the finesse of its slowly rising bubbles and its persistent and abounding mousse. Maturity touched with floral freshness for this cuvée that breathes aromas of fresh fruit and ripe pear.

Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois

Winemaker’s Notes:

A radiant yellow crystalline appearance with golden glints brought to life by a luminous bead of persistent fine bubbles. There is an olfactory impact due to the richness of harmonious expressions (dry fruits, fresh citrus and white fruits) coupled with finely buttered seductive notes. A defined aromatic undertone which expresses the mature complexity linked to the vinification in oak barrels.

Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec

Winemaker’s notes:

Its pale gold colour is beautiful, emitting a constant ballet of fine, regular and persistent bubbles in the flute. Its nose is lively with a hint of delicate white flowers and involves towards aromas of buttered brioche.  

I highly recommend checking out Billecart-Salmon next time you need some bubbly. Their champagne is exquisite! The love story that planted the seeds for the champagne continues with each bottle.

Vins Clairs Tasting with Piper-Heidsieck

I always love when I get to spend time with winemakers. They are such passionate people, especially when they talk about their wine. Let’s just say, they take winemaking very personally.  

I recently attended a Vins Clairs Tasting with Régis Camus, the Chef de Cave for Piper-Heidsieck. Camus was named Champagne Maker of 2013. In fact he has won the prestigious award 8 times. It was the first time that Camus has done this type of tasting outside of the Piper-Heidsieck cellar. Not sure what they did to lure him out of the wine cave, let’s hope it happens again.

It was interesting to taste the wines as Camus told us about his process. The wines that we tasted were in different fermentation. What most people do not realize is that champagne is all about the blend.  Tasting and blending vins clairs is a process which often takes several months. A winemaker has to have just the right wines to bring it all together.

Camus likes to talk about his wines in terms of emotions, His goal is to make happy wine. Once the wine is happy is it ready to go into the bottle.

After the tasting, the attendees got to sip on the full range of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne to experience the final product. I enjoyed all of the champagnes that day, but I give an extra round of applause to the Piper Heidsieck Sublime Demi Sec and Piper Heidsieck Rare Millesime 2002. I could sip on those all day.

Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is an excellent choice for your next celebration. There is a lot of love in their bubbles.

Champagne Week: Let The Bubbles Begin

Get ready for bubbles, Champagne Week is coming November 9th- November 13th in New York City! I had the pleasure of interviewing Blaine Ashley, the found and creatrix for Champagne Week. Tune in to find out what to expect during the week as well as how she came up with the idea for this bubblicious week which is headed into it’s third year.

Champagne Week Events: 

The Blow Your Mind Champagne Tasting


Wednesday, November 11th | 6-8 pm | Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit

Join Champagne specialist Alyse Mizia for a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience several of the world’s best Champagnes—including Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, Dom Pérignon, and Krug Grande Cuvée—all while seriously upping your sparkling wine knowledge.

Champagne Devaux Portfolio Tasting Class


Thursday, November 12th | 6–7:30pm | Back Label Wine Merchants

Brand Ambassador Anne-Caroline Dussort will lead an intimate class featuring boutique brand Champagne Devaux, as guests taste their way through six cuvées complemented by cheese and charcuterie.

The Bubble Bash: New York Champagne Week’s Official Closing Party


Friday, November 13th | 9pm-12am | Hornblower Hybrid Yacht

Dance and sip the night away aboard a state-of-the-art luxury yacht! This ultra-fun fête will feature multiple bubbly Brut and Rosé bars, sparkling wine cocktail stations, a rotating set of DJs, and more. Refill yourRiedel flutes all night long and get home safe with $20 credits via UberPOOL. Code: SIPSAFE

Beyond Bubbles: The Essence of Champagne

I fell in love with champagne and French lifestyle while watching the movie, Gigi. I use to sing " The Night They Invented Champagne" over and over again. I imagined myself in the scene with Gigi and Gaston, doing the can can with a flute of champagne in my hand. The scene in the movie oozes of joie de vivre and luxury in other words the essence of champagne.

While bubbles and celebration come to mind when people think of champagne there is so much more to this wine.There is a rich history and culture attached to champagne as we see it today. Can you believe that when champagne was first produced, wine producers tried to get rid of the bubbles. They saw the bubbles as a failure. No matter how hard they tried the bubbles in the wine remained. It did not hurt that eventually doctors made claims that the bubble cured illness. It was when champagne became the drink of choice for the rich and royalty that everything began to change.

After champagne was introduced to King Louis XIV, he drank it exclusively.The women of the French royal court took a sip and went crazy over it. It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte would make a stop in the Champagne region before all military action to pick up some bottles of bubbly to take on the road as he went into battle. Champagne became such a trend during the 18th century that the top champagne houses had traveling sales people to take their champagnes to courts throughout Europe to compete for the affection of drinkers.

As the most influential people in society drank champagne, they bragged about it. Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV and member of the French court was an avid lover of the wine. She is quoted to having said "champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it." Cora Pearl who was one of the wealthiest and  most famous women in the 19th century filled up her bath tub with vintage champagne and invited her admirers to come watch her bathe in it. While something like this sounds over the top, it was a big coo. Fast forward to today and champagne is still the favorite drink of many celebrities, trendsetters and influential people. For example, the icon Marilyn Monroe loved champagne and was photographed many times taking a sip. Just like Cora Pearl, Monroe made the headlines by taking  a champagne bath. It took 350 bottles to fill the tub. Everybody who is anybody drinks champagne, because it is a lifestyle.

An amazing 200 million bottles of champagne are produced each year. The only way to drink an authentic champagne is to have one produced from the Champagne region of France. From the people who produce all of the bubbles to those who love to indulge drinking it, it is a wine of passion and life. Champagne is the meaning of joie de vivre.

Most of the founding champagne houses are still producing the top selling champagnes around the world. Every day a new sparkling wine comes on the scene to attempt to recreate the magick that is champagne. While the founders of champagne are no longer with us, they have left their art and joie de vivre in the bottle.

Champagnes & Sparkling Wines for Valentine's Day

The day after Christmas there was a Valentine's Day explosion. Hearts, roses, and big teddy bears were every where. I'm even rolling my eyes now as I write this. Not that there is anything wrong with V-Day paraphernalia, it can just be so over the top. I'm the type of lady who could care less about a stuffed bear, in fact if a man got me one I just might throw it back at him.

What I do love on V-Day is a nice champagne to sip on as I celebrate life. Champagne is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Research shows that the aromas of a dry champagnes and sparkling wines replicate the smell of female pheromones.

This Valentine's Day while you nosh on chocolate and hold that stuffed animal break out the bubbles. Put some thought into what is going on in your glass. Whether you are in a relationship or single indulge in a bit of bubbly to celebrate love which could be love of self, with a partner, love of a pet, or just because you love life. 

Here of some of my picks for champagne and sparkling wine for Valentine's Day:

Moet  & Chandon- This champagne was the drink of choice of Madame de Pompadour, a famous courtesan in France. She served it up to the Royal Court and the rest is history. If you want to drink like a royal or do it like the bougie, this is the champagne to get.

Menage a Trois Processo-  First of all the name alone says it's going to be a good time. This wine is crisp, a bit tart, yet refreshing to the tongue. After a few sips of this one, you will feel flirty and ready for just about anything.

Mumm Napa Rose- Since it is time to celebrate, break out the Mumm. This sparkler goes great with everything and anything. It is the great selection for celebrating Valentine’s Day due to the aphrodisiac aromas of vanilla and strawberries. A sip of this will rock your world.

Cristalino Rose Brut- This rosé is an excellent choice for Valentine's Day. It's pink, bubbly, and affordable what's not to love about that. It is delish with fried food and desserts so have it at the beginning or end of your meal.

Dibon Brut Cava- This is one of my favorite cavas. It’s crisp and the bubbles are kicking. The aromas in this one are apple, pear, and stone fruit. It’s also an organic wine so if you want to impress your lover who is all about being  green, this is the one to select.