Sitting around the table with friends and family is one of the joys of the holiday season, and since these are some of your favorite people in the world, why not splash out on some special bottles? We always like to greet our guests with bubbles, and since it’s the holidays, make sure it’s an incredible bottle of Champagne. Most appetizers are generally a little lighter than the main course, so once seated at the table, we like to open a couple of bottles of white wine that pair nicely with shrimp, seafood, or salads. We’ve chosen a Chardonnay from Pouilly-Fuissé and a Soave Classico in magnum to start.
The venerable house of Taittinger was established in 1932 when Pierre Taittinger purchased the original 1734 Forest-Fourneaux maison. In 1951, Claude Taittinger established a business relationship with Rudy Kopf, the American founder of Kobrand, who worked very hard to make the brand popular in the United States. In 2020, when Pierre-Emanuel Taittinger stepped down at the age of 66, he transferred management of the house to his son, Clovis, and daughter, Vitalie. Today, Taittinger is going strong and creating some of our favorite bubbly wines, one of which is this amazing vintage 2014 Comtes de Champagne Blanc des Blancs. It has a steady stream of fine bubbles and elegant mousse with aromas of freshly baked bread, lemon curd, and toasted hazelnuts that segue to flavors of lemon meringue pie, pastry crust, and marzipan on the palate. It’s drinking very nicely right now, but could also be cellared for another decade or so.
Excerpt Taken From: Robb Report
Author: Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
