Francois Hautekeur flies in to show us his champagne etiquette.
A nice bottle of bubbly is the ultimate way to begin Whenever there’s a celebration, we bring out the bubbly and share it with our guests. Champagne has become a favourite choice when it comes to celebrating. However, it does take some finesse to uncork and pour champagne. Winemaker for Veuve Clicquot, Mr. Francois Hautekeur was here in Hong Kong yesterday. We caught up with him as he, along with celebrity model Ms. Amanda Strang, demonstrated for us the proper way to serve champagne.
First, chill the champagne: Get an ice bucket and fill half of the bucket with water and the other half with ice cubes. Let the bottle sit for 20 minutes. The perfect temperature to enjoy champagne is at 7°C.
To uncork: Opposite to what we see on TV, there should not be a “pop” as we uncork the bottle, “we want to do it as elegantly as possible,” explained Mr. Hautekeur – who consider the popping of champagne to be “vulgur”. You should have your thumb placed on top of the cork while your other hand has its palm stabilizing the bottle at its base. Slightly tilt the bottle until you can feel that there’s enough pressure on the cork for you to gently tear it off at the tip. This way your champagne won’t foam up out of the bottle and all over your floor (or injure your guests).
To pour: Hold the bottle by its base. Pour without making contact with the side of the glasses. Pour only two fingers’ worth and wait for it to settle. When it stops foaming, fill the glass to about two-thirds of the way.
To enjoy: Appreciate the color of the champagne, the smell and taste. Pay particular attention to the smell as it is an important part of enjoying your champagne, it directly related to the taste of of of the champagne.
You’re all set now to show off your champagne pouring skills at your next celebration.
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Pierre Legrandois, Chief Sommelier at the Mandarin Oriental give us some pointers on how to navigate the wine list at restaurants. When you are taking your clients out for a business dinner and its up to you to order the wine, Pierre suggests the following:
Choose a wine according to the food of your guests. It shows you are paying attention, thoughtful and want to ensure an enjoyable experience.
When in doubt, 0pt for classic wines like Burgundy white like Montrachet &Meursault or a red Bordeaux.
Know the French Vintages: 1982, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003
Ask for a recommendation without mentioning your budget out right.
A good way to handle this is to mention to the sommelier that you like a certain kind of wine. For example, do you have Chateaux “this vintage” for “X price,” if you can you please recommend something similar? Another way is to mention you would like a wine similar to “X” and point to the price on the wine list to your sommelier. Its a gesture most sommelier understands.
Looking to enjoys unparalleled access to advice on all aspects of wine buying, tasting, education, storage and investment? Here is a new service just launched this month to Hong Kong wine drinkers called Sarment.
Sarment offers the knowledge and services of some of the world’s most experienced sommeliers to a select group of wine collectors around the world. By matching the individual members to sommeliers whose personality and approach to wine complements their own tastes, Sarment offers a tailor made wine service available seven days a week from anywhere in the world.
The idea behind Sarment is simple. It is based on the relationship between founder, Bertrand Faure Beaulieu and award winning sommelier, Philippe Messy. Ten years ago, the pair met in Marco Pierre White’s restaurant, where Philippe Messy was the youngest ever head sommelier of a three Michelin-starred restaurant. Philippe invited Bertrand to broaden his tastes in wine and inspired him to explore new vintages outside of his comfort zone. Bertrand explains, “I had found a sommelier who was not only empathetic and exceptionally talented, but was not afraid to challenge me. He was never patronizing; he simply had a passion for sharing great wine.” It was this personal relationship between customer and sommelier that Bertrand and Philippe wanted to make accessible to wine lovers around the world.
Bertrand says, “I knew then what I wanted from a top wine service. I wanted to have the unbiased advice and privileged access to wine and wine makers through the best in the business, the world’s top sommeliers and not bother about anything else. I wanted a truly personal service.”
Sarment has launched with offices in London and Hong Kong. Award winning sommeliers who have come together creating a fresh team and forming Sarment include co-founder Philippe Messy, Sébastien Chevalier, Christopher Delalonde and Gearoid Devaney. Membership to Sarment is by invitation only with no more than 75 memberships to be released globally this year.
Pierre Legrandois, Chief Sommalier at the Mandarin Oriental give us some pointers on how to enjoy wine during lunch. Many people don’t order wine during lunch for fear of the after effects when they still have to be at the office. Pierre has some tips on how you can enjoy wine during lunch.
The trick is to order lower alcohol content wine from countries like Germany and Eastern Europe where most of the lower alcohol content variety of wine are made. Not all wine have the same alcohol content so choose the variety with less alcohol content if you don’t want to be impaired at your meeting after. For whites, go for Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling and for red, choose Pinor Noir or Niebbiolo. For example a Reisling normally contain 7-11% alcohol while alcohol level in Chardonay is usually 12-14%.
So now you know, go ahead enjoy some wine during your business lunch, it might make it a little more amicable, just a little.
Chief Sommelier at the Mandarin Oriental, Pierre Legrandois gives us some tips about appreciating wine at the recent workshop organized by Hong Kong Land’s Boutique Boulevard: So Chic, So Central program.
Pierre’s wine tasting tips;
1. Look at the wine, especially around the edges. Tilt the glass to see the way the colour changes from the center to the edges. Look for the colour of the wine and clarity. White wines become darker as they age and time causes red wines to lose their colour turning more brownish with small amount of dark red sediment at the bottom of the glass.
2. Swirl the wine in your glass. This allow oxygen into the wine and opens up its aromas.
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