Puydeval Red Blend, Languedoc, FR, 2011
We’re starting to gear up for another grand tasting at the bistro which means new wines to sample! Bastille Day (July 14) is just a good a day as any, if not the best day to celebrate and drink great French wine. My favorite of the ones we’ve tried so far is called Puydeval, a red blend of Cab Franc, Syrah, and Merlot from Languedoc that drinks like a Bordeaux. The spicy aromas invite you to indulge in the smooth tannins and blackberry flavors that envelope you like a hug from a long lost friend. This wine is serious business. It’s simple yet jam packed with deliciously earthy flavors. The winemaker, Jeff Carrel suggests pairing this wine with pizza or burgers which I wholeheartedly agree with (anyone who knows me knows I love pizza), but I also think a chevre or another creamy goat cheese would complement the Puydeval nicely. – Jessica Coburn
Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve Champagne, Champagne, FR, NV (Non-vintage, not an abbreviation for Nevada)
Winston Churchill’s wisest words may have been those spoken in WWI, when he said, “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!” And today we thank those brave men for preserving and defending the best thing to come out of France since sliced baguette. Champagne has one of the richest histories in the wine world. I could go on and on about the late 19th-century party girl Madam Cliquot Ponsardin who made Veuve Cliquot what it is today, or how Champenois during WWI hid or intentionally mislabeled their bottles to keep the invading Nazis from drinking the good stuff. But I’m not going to do that, so you’re welcome. I am going to recommend you try the Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve, which has a great price on it considering it was voted Champagne of the Millennium in 1999. It’s light and crisp, with fine yet thick and defined bubbles. It’s Brut, so there’s no sweetness to this one, but it has a delicate pear flavor behind the bubbles. Don’t wait until New Year’s to drink Champagne. There’s always some reason to celebrate with it, and if not just remember, sometimes the best reason to celebrate is because you have a bottle of Champagne. – Candace Gahan