Champagnes of thebody,offer happiness in every sense. Delight in their colour

and profusion of flavours. Learn to cool them to exactly

the right temperature.

With Champagnes of thespirit,present the most imaginative of Millennium festivities.

Seek inspiration from their lightness and their vivacity.

Discover the secret of successfully keeping the bubbles alive.

Champagnes of theheart,provide proofs of love to your nearest and dearest.

Express your tenderness and affectionate feelings.

Be brave enough to try the most passionate of Champagnes.

Champagnes of thesoul,provide an invitation to the sublime. Surround this moment

with mystery, imbued with eternity. And take the time to taste

these exceptional wines properly.

Champagnenotebooks

L’ABUS D’ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ,

CONSOMMEZ AVEC MODÉRATION

new year’s eve party

body

soulheart

Champagnenotebooks

number 6

millenniumspirit

www.champagne.fr

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For this special occasion gatheryour whole family, bringtogether the different

generations. Organise the whole affair in anatmosphere of affection, harmony, and memory.Appeal to the heart. Champagnes of the heartpossess just what is required- balance andsmoothness.

Mark the special nature of thedate -and of the event- by selecting

things that are rare, perfect, and refined. You will bethinking of a new year’s eve for a handful of intimatefriends, or even better, the most memorable tête-à-têteof your whole life.

The subtlety and complexity of Champagnes of the soul makes them the most perfect partners.

Why not a new year’s eve which is allChampagne? You could allow the

different Champagnes to inspire your menu,your decorations, the whole theme of your party.Just how would you like to celebrate theMillennium? The idea behind these Notebooksis to help you choose.

Just imagine

The evening could have a theme of everything inprofusion: lots of friends,

a long, leisurely dinner, a warm atmosphere,with beautiful music. Create a sensuousfeast in homage to Dionysus, one whichlasts well into the night. To accompany the festivities, naturally you would choosethe wines that, more than any others,know how to satisfy all the senses: Champagnesof the body.

Let your spirit inspire you. Offer yourguests a sparkling display of creative ideas.Appeal to their imagination,

and do everything, but absolutely everything, sothat this new year’s eve can be witty and brilliant. There are Champagnes so lightand lively that they give everyone an additional,inspirational sparkle. They are the Champagnes of the spirit.

body

heart

spirit

soul

Which Champagne for which style of Millennium celebration?

Edition: Vu d’ici.

Artistic Director : atelier Fabrizi.

Photography: Ivan Terestchenko.

Stylist : Caroline Champenois.

Illustration and design: Ivan Terestchenko, Laurent de Commines,

Dimitri et Company.

Credits : la Galerie San Marco, Baccarat, Création Mathias, Tétard Frères

et Marianne Robic.

Printed in Belgium, August , by Graphing Grafossart.

ISSN n° - .

Publishing Director : André Enders.

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Champagnes of the body:happiness in every sense

To the eye they are anintense golden, almostamber colour. Theiraromas remind you ofspicy scents, of freshbutter, of ripe wheat.On the palate they arevinous, powerful,robust, well-structured.

This is why they arecalled Champagnes of the body. Young or more mature,sometimes vintage,they are dominated bythe black grapes, pinotnoir and pinot meunier.

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Take your cue from their

Champagnes of the body offerthe eye the warmest ofgolden hues.• Let them inspire your decor:table linen, china, tableware.Mirrors, baskets and chandeliersshould be sprayed with gold.There are even edible goldenleaves to decorate your cakes.• Tell your guests that gold isthe theme of the evening.That will give them ideas fortheir clothes and their make-up.• Serve dishes with goldencrusts - tarts, pies, pastries,vol-au-vent.• And make gold also thetheme for your presents. Whynot a gold coin as a present to mark the end of the century ?

The horn of

• Champagnes of the body areparticularly full of powerfulflavours and aromas.• To do them justice,create a cornucopiamade of painted cardboardwith decorations that arelarger than life.• Make heaps of petits fours,breads, fruits, fairy cakes,macaroons, biscuits,chocolates -and among thedecorations, heaps of pinecones, branches or driftwood.• Plan a menu with animpressive number of dishes,which will allow you to servesorbets between the richercourses.• Serve rich foods, game,carved poultry, fricassées,roasts, Indian curries,Moroccan couscous, heaps of strongly flavoured cheeseslike mature Cantal.

• The power of Champagnes of the body means that theycan be served right through the meal: this is the chance to serve them in magnumsor jeroboams -Champagne is even better in larger bottles.

• And ask yourself questionswhich will give you more ideas.Is this particular new year’s eve:a piece of music ?a perfume ?a place ?

plentycolourCool it

As the evening warms up, so thewines of Champagne will add theirtouch of refreshing coolness.It’s their nature. It’s also the temperature atwhich they are at their best: 8°C is ideal.

Lay the bottles down in therefrigerator at least four hoursbefore serving them, or plungethem in water and ice cubes for20 minutes.

Don’t try using the freezer, that will kill all the aromas andflavours.

And plan for plenty of icebuckets and larger“rafraîchissoirs” in whichthe Champenois keep severalbottles cool at one time. The extra ice buckets can bedecorated using garlands of pineor laurel, sprayed with gold or silver.

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Maybe you would preferChampagnes which, by their radiance, their lightness, their vivacity, perhaps, one might even say, by their impertinence,lead to conversation,intellectual debates, creativity, and journeys of the mind.

Always dry, sometimesexceedingly so, they

are made largely fromchardonnay, the white

grape -blanc de blancs aremade exclusively from thisgrape. Very clear in colour,with the finest of bubbles,fizzy, refreshing, they arecalled Champagnes ofthe spirit.

Champagnes of the spirit, an imaginative Millennium

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Transparency and

Champagnes are the lightestof all wines, the lowest incalories and the best suited forlong evenings. Champagnes of spirit are even more suitablethanks to the finesse of thefloral and mineral overtones of the chardonnay grape.• Emphasise transparencyin your decor. Glasses must be crystal clear to allow theChampagne to be appreciated,but why not use muslin ororgandie in the table linen,drape netting round the room,with tulle surrounding themistletoe where everyone will kiss.

• To accompany theseChampagnes, serve lightdishes -sea-food, fish cut into thin slices and laid on atranslucent dish, with youngvegetables or perhaps slices of vegetable terrines, dishes in aspic, papillottes, zabaglione,mousses, soufflés, jellies,sorbets, pancakes, thin biscuits.

• And imagine you arecelebrating the Millennium in some far-off tropical land where you would wear only the lightest of clothing underthe trade winds.

a brilliant

Champagnes of spirit are notlacking in vivacity, far from it.Obviously it is the chardonnaythat gives them this quality.• Invite your guests to amasked ball.• Decorate the scene with lightballoons which will remindeveryone of the effervescencein their glasses: they can be iridescent balloons, or perhaps pearls or soapbubbles.• With the aperitif, servesavoury cheese straws and spicy snacks.• Sharpen the senses furtherwith slightly bitter salads likeendive or rocket and a creative

cuisine laden with herbs andfresh cheeses.• Invite your guests to give wittyspeeches when the time comesto propose toasts.• Arrange a battle of wits,quotations, anagrams.• Write a short play in whicheveryone will have a part.• Organise a sparkling fireworkdisplay.

• Again, your party could beinspired by:an authora destinationeven a piece of headgear

The beauty of the sparkle

The glass plays a major role inthe sparkle. If the bubbles diedown in your glass, it may notbe that the Champagne isflat, simply change the glass.

Ideally the glass should bea tulip, sufficiently tall and wideto give the bubbles room toevolve.

And for a good sparkle theglass should be washed in warmwater, without any washing upliquid or rinse aid. And let theglass drain dry. A true sparkletraces a necklace of pearls,intense or unobtrusive but alwayspersistent, on the surface of the

Champagne, forming the mostdelicate of jewels.

occasion

light

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the Champagnes of the heart,proof of love

More tender, more harmonious,more universal, Champagnes of the heart come from anotherfamily. Because of theirmaturity and the dominance of pinot noir and pinot meunierin the blend,they are smooth,creamy, rounded.They evoke aromas of roses,honey, hot rolls and cinnamon.Their colour varies from gold to a rosy pink.

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tender

For many centuries thetenderness of Champagnes of the heart seems to have beenexpressly designed to celebrateour emotions and ourfeelings.

• Cover the tables withrose petals.• Be tender and loving in your welcome for your guests,with flowers and garlands of welcome on the doors.• Have the Champagne flutesengraved with the date of theevent.• To go with their smoothness,prepare traditional French orexotic sweet and sour dishes,vegetable mousse, ballottines,savoury puffed pastries.• Why not offer a selection of desserts from all over theworld, pastries and small, sweetmousses, babas, fruit saladswith a mix of pinks and reds, hot rolls, cooked apples.• Offer presents in the shape

of a heart or with an angelictheme.• Get one of the older guests to prepare a family tree ormake a video of the family to give to everyone.• And finally do not forget to invite those who live alone.

exquisite

Champagnes of the heart have a harmony and subtlety offlavours which will set a refinedtone for this very specialevening.

• Match this with the attentionyou give to personalising yourinvitations, your table plan andyour china.• Offer exquisite littleappetisers like vol-au-vent,canapés and other dainties.• Serve an assortment of threedifferent foies gras on a variety of different types of bread.

affection

refinement

Dare to be different

Rosé Champagnes are usually producedby blending Champagne and a red winefrom the Champagneregion. Their palette ofcolours ranges from thelightest to the deepest ofpinks, their flavours from the mostdelicate to the most robust.

Demi-sec Champagnes are given a touch of sugar which rounds off theiraromas of honey and candied citrusfruit. The warm, rich flavours mean thatdemi-sec Champagnes are the idealaccompaniment for really sweet dishes.

Usually Champagne is blended froma number of vintages but VintageChampagnes are exceptional wineswhich are produced only in years whenthe harvest is particularly good. VintageChampagnes are always wines ofcharacter, and in the case ofChampagnes of the heart, passionatewines which can accompany the mostexuberant dishes.

• To continue the theme, askyourself if this new year’s eve is:a flower ?a song ?a poem ?

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Champagnes of the soul, an invitation to the sublime

Only a handful of Champagnes havethe character of genius; they aspire toabsolute perfection, almost to eternallife. These are great Champagnes,wines of a richness and completenessthat comes from age and the way theyhave been created. They are at leastfive years old, or come from rarevintages. They are the special or prestige cuvées, perhaps wines from a single grape variety. They areChampagnes with great names.

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• Invite a performer to recreate agreat artistic work,• Treat yourself to the talents of agreat cook for your party or usethe services of a great couturierfor your dress.

• Finally look to the canopy ofthe heavens while tasting thegreatest of Champagnes, and reflect how magnificent lifecan be. And you may even believethat eternity was captured in thatmoment.

eternitysurprise and

Whether it is a question of howthey are made or of theirbouquets, Champagnes of thesoul love secrecy.

• Maintain this mysterythroughout your menu-don’t let on to your guests what is in store for them.• Hide your dishes undersilver covers or decorationsmade from foliage, flowers,pebbles or shells, disguiseyour vegetables and your

desserts. Serveconcoctions which will

leave your friendsguessing the ingredients or the spices used.• Choose unknown dishesor recipes from far-off lands.• Begin the mystery by givingthe invitations in the form ofriddles that your guests willneed to solve in order to findwhere the party will be held orby taking your guests in a caror a plane to some secretdestination.• Think of inviting a surprisemystery guest.

from here to

With these Champagnes,everything can be magnificent.

• Find a place steeped inhistory or travel the world tosee the first dawn of theMillennium rise again and again.• Perhaps eternity is notattainable but if every guestbrought a special book,you will have made a starton a library for the thirdMillennium.• Why not hunt out styles ofcooking or individual recipesfrom past times, like chickenRossini with foie gras andtruffles or caneton à la cuillère.• Present a style of cookingwhere the purity and theaesthetic qualities create afeeling of perfection, as someJapanese dishes do.• Serve bisques, sea-urchins,langoustine in puffed pastry,rare mushrooms, or wildfowl.• Offer presents of a vine orsapling which will grow with thenew century.

mysteryThe better to taste and appreciate

You have chosen a great Champagne. It would be a pity not totaste it properly. You don’tthink you can? Yet it’s verysimple. Just try.

To start with, there shouldn’t be anysmell of tobacco or a perfume in the airas this will only mask the aromas fromthe wine. Pour the wine so that theglasses are only half full.

Don’t forget to admire the nuances of the wine’s colour: pale or grey or, by contrast, old gold. Watch the bubblesdancing - light, lively, generous.

Then inhale, slowly and at length, andthen start again. Do you recognise in thisbouquet of aromas - fruits or flowers orricher smells like hot rolls, vanilla, spices?

Finally taste. Keep the wine in themouth for a few seconds. Start again.You will not only find the aromas you haveidentified with your nose but you will alsouncover the true nature of yourChampagne: smooth or meaty, delicateor more complex.

You will never forget this moment nor thisChampagne.

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