Champagne with Ruinart

I want to extend an enormous thank you to the Guild of Sommeliers and Ruinart for making the trip to Champagne a reality; it was truly an honor to be a part of such an experience. To give future competitors some insight to the itinerary we all experienced I thought I might write about some of the highlights:

When I first sat down to the examination with 19 other competitors in the Chicago area, I hadn't the slightest idea what to expect, nor did I go in thinking I would win, but a few days after the event I discovered that I had scored first place for the midwest. Blown away, and obviously more then happy, I was lucky enough to be able to renew my expired passport just in time for the trip.

The four winners were flown into Paris from their various home towns and the morning of June 2 we were picked up and driven to Reims where we were enthusiastically greeted by Mr. Frederic Panaiotis, the Chef de Caves, or wine-maker for Ruinart, along with Charlotte Duntze, Ruinart's US Brand Manager. Opening the visit with a beautiful lunch outdoors, accompanied with a MV Ruinart (not yet available in the US) and Ruinart Rose, we chatted about the upcoming days events...and events they were.

That afternoon we visited the Cathedral de Notre Dames in Reims, after which we were taken to the caves of Ruinart where we were able to walk through the Crayeres. These incredible triangular shaped holes deep in the chalk of Champagne are what serve as storage and caves for many of the houses in Champagne; Ruinart being one of the oldest houses owns about 25% of all the Crayeres and it was incredibly impressive to walk amongst the rows and rows of Dom Ruinart and other bottlings laying sur point. As we came back out into the light we were directed towards a room where we tasted through verticals of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs and Rose. The Blanc de Blancs were vintages '88, '90, '93,'96 and '98, while the Rose was '88, '90 and '96. It was incredible to compare these wines side by side, taking into consideration the variables for each vintage. All the wines were showing beautifully, however I felt the 1990 vintage for both Blanc de Blancs and Rose were showing perfectly. Dinner followed shortly there after, a great restaurant in the heart of Reims.

The next morning we returned to Maison Ruinart where we spent several hours blind tasting through different Champagnes from different regions. We began with still, pre-blended wines from Ruinart, then moved into 4 flights of 5 Champagnes, some of which were Negociant, some grower-producer, the last 2 flights being from the Cotes des Blancs. Frederic was instrumental in heading our discussion on Champagne regions and styles, and as we round tabled the flights, it was impressive to see how differently everyone ranked and compared the wines. A picnic followed in the backyard of Ruinart. That afternoon we drove from Reims to Epernay (only about 45 minutes away from one another!), where we attended a lecture by a specialist for the CIVC discussing sustainable development and biodynamic wine-growing practices and goals in Champagne. We were taken to an experimental vineyard in Chouilly in the Cotes des Blancs where we were able to see the vine training systems and discuss even further the techniques being introduced. That evening at dinner we celebrated the competition winners over a tasty dinner back in Reims.

The following morning we all headed back to Paris where we got an in depth tour at the first Atelier of Louis Vuitton. The four winners were then taken to a luncheon with Frederic at the Hotel Crillon, Restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, where we indulged in an other-worldy tasting menu; the Chef Sommelier and Frederic had coordinated a blind tasting for all of us, so the afternoon was spent evaluating wines and eating superb food...pretty fantastic to say the least. This was the pinnacle of the trip, as that evening and the day to follow were deemed free days for us all, and we were allowed to explore on our own; the trip came to a close that Sunday morning when I flew back to Chicago armed with a depth of understanding about Champagne I would never have known had I not gone there (and an additional 5 pounds).

Ultimately, this experience was enlightening, educational and thought provoking. I am so very grateful to all who made it possible, and I hope this will inspire even more to compete at the Chardonnay Challenge next year. Being able to visualize, touch and smell all that I have read in my studies concreted this knowledge in a fundamental way; I look forward to moving forward armed with a greater understanding of Champagne, and look forward to future travels on my own as well. Thank you so much to Ruinart and the Guild of Sommeliers!!!