"Bubbly is most people's favorite drink on New Year's Eve, and since the celebration is only three days away, we've decided to devote today's 'Please Explain' to Champagne and other sparkling wines. Joining me now are Michael Aaron, chairman of Sherry-Lehmann,
the legendary Park Avenue wine and spirits store, and Karen Page, the James Beard Award-winning author with her husband Andrew Dornenburg of numerous books including most recently WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT; it's published by Hachette.
It is my great pleasure to welcome both of them."
— Leonard Lopate, "The Leonard Lopate Show," WNYC Radio / NPR
(December 28, 2007)
Our Biggest Surprise of 2007...
 
...WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT
is Named the 2007 IACP "Book of the Year" in Chicago
Dear Friends,
We hope you've been enjoying a wonderful holiday season, and are looking forward to celebrating the arrival of 2008 tomorrow at midnight!
Who isn't thirsty this time of year for a few good tips on Champagne, sparkling wines, and other fizz-filled beverages? After all, nothing gets a party started faster than opening a bottle of bubbly. You can check out some of our favorite sparklers this week on "Good Morning America Now" and "The Leonard Lopate Show" on WNYC / New York Public Radio, and in our column in The Washington Post:
  
We're interviewed by Brianna Golodryga for a series on sparkling wines on "GMA Now"
"Good Morning America Now" host Brianna Golodryga interviewed us for a series of segments this week on Champagne, sparkling wines, and other bubbly beverages as part of the show's "Countdown to 2008."
We've been told that these segments are due to air again tomorrow, Monday, December 31st, between 9-10 am ET — or you can view them at your leisure online by visiting http://abcnews.go.com/abcnewsnow/gmanow, or by clicking the links below:
PART ONE: Pairing Food with Sparkling Wine
PART TWO: Delicious Domestic Sparklers
PART THREE: Go Global for New Year's Bubbly
Some of the domestic sparkling wines recommended (along with approximate prices) include California's Iron Horse Joy! ($147 per magnum; reportedly part of the White House's official holiday menu this year), Oregon's Argyle Brut ($20), Washington's Domaine Ste. Michelle ($10), New Mexico's Gruet Brut ($13), Virginia's Kluge Blanc de Blanc ($30), and New York's own Chateau Frank Celebre ($20).
Global sparklers recommended range from Salon ($300) and Delamotte ($50) Champagne to Bellavista Sparkling Wine ($30) from Italy, Inniskillin Sparkling Ice Wine ($75) from Canada, Rumball Sparkling Shiraz ($27) from Australia, and Poochi-Poochi ($12) sparkling sake from Japan. You'll find even more ideas online; to locate wines near you, try www.winesearcher.com.
For designated drivers, pregnant women, and other non-drinkers, we were happy to recommend Fizzy Lizzy sparkling fruit juices — which come in a rainbow of flavors, including grapefruit, pomegranate, raspberry-lemon, and our personal favorite cranberry — served in festive Champagne flutes.
Our thanks to the truly all-star production team — Jessica Stedman Guff, Laiea Smith, and Mellen O'Keefe — behind this series at ABC News Now for being such a joy to work with, and to author Laura Day for her kind introduction.
We were also able to surprise "Good Morning America" radio host (and self-described wine lover) Hilarie Barksy by wheeling in an impromptu pre-New Year's Eve party to her live radio show, complete with a 1.5-liter bottle of Mumm Napa Brut Prestige ($50 per magnum) and some bubbly wine talk on air — including how to open a bottle of bubbly and, inadvertently, certain aspects of how not to. (Apologies to Hilarie and Karen again for the drops of sparkling wine that surprised them!)
How Not to Open a Bottle of Bubbly
- Don't open the bottle before it's well-chilled (to about 45 degrees).
- Don't shake or jiggle the bottle before opening.
- Don't forget that a cork can fly out on its own any time after removing the wire cage on top (with 6 1/2 turns of the wire), so don't point it at anyone you love!
- Don't hold the cork directly; use a towel (which is also handy to have on hand for any inadvertent drips, sprays or spills).
- Don't turn the cork; turn the bottle slowly while holding the cork firmly.
- Don't pour into wide-mouthed saucer-shaped glasses, which cause bubbles to dissipate too quickly; use narrow Champagne flutes instead.
- Do, by the way, take a moment to appreciate the visual treat of seeing all those bubbles sparkle in the glass, the aromatic pleasure of a sparkling wine's nose (which, while less than that of a fragrant red wine, is still present), in addition to, of course, its delightful taste!
Cheers!
Michael Aaron, Leonard Lopate,
and Karen Page at WNYC Radio
On Friday afternoon, Karen was interviewed on WNYC (New York Public Radio) along with Sherry-Lehmann chairman Michael Aaron (who shared that he's spent the past 50 years with the store, which moved this year to a gorgeous new Manhattan location at 505 Park Avenue near 59th Street) for an entertaining and informative segment on Champagne and sparkling wines by Leonard Lopate, distinguished host of "The Leonard Lopate Show."
Lopate so deftly addresses a vast array of topics day in and day out — from current events to art to food and wine — that his wide-ranging knowledge literally boggles the mind. And his listenership is so devoted that we credit our appearance on his radio show last year with first putting WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT on the map.
You can listen to this mouth-watering discussion online by clicking here: www.wnyc.org.
 
Almost exactly four years ago, we were invited to a luncheon that changed our lives. We were happy to have an opportunity to memorialize it in our column in this week's Washington Post entitled "A Sparkling Toast for Every Course." It begins:
Until four years ago, we were used to drinking champagne at 12 — but at midnight, not noon. Then Ruth Reichl, Gourmet magazine's editor in chief and best-selling author of a trilogy of memoirs ("Tender at the Bone," "Comfort Me With Apples," "Garlic and Sapphires") invited us to an all-champagne lunch. It forever changed the way we thought about sparkling wines.
Around her table, we were joined by a dozen heavy hitters in the food world, including restaurateur Drew Nieporent and designer David Rockwell (who worked on Washington's Rosa Mexicano). At the stove was chef-restaurateur David Waltuck of Chanterelle, which has won James Beard awards for outstanding restaurant, service and wine service. With each of Waltuck's perfectly matched courses, our idea of bubblies as simply the go-to beverage for toasting the new year faded. Champagne became fine wine. We were amazed by the range of styles, and their versatility with food, as we tasted our way through a succession of flutes: from lighter- to fuller-bodied, from drier to sweeter and from delicate to richly flavored...
To read the rest, click here to be taken our column on The Washington Post's Web site.
   
Left: Daisy May's BBQ chef Adam Perry Lang carves our half pig and beef ribs
Center: Andrew blows out the candles on his red velvet birthday cupcake
Right: Andrew, Steven, Bill and Rikki at Daisy May's BBQ
THE LAST WORD: At the end of every year, we like to recall the wisdom of 14th century German mystic Meister Eckhardt:
"If the only prayer you ever say is 'thank you,'
that would be enough."
We thank all of you who have been a part of our lives this year by reading our e-newsletter, our wine column in The Washington Post, our Blog (which this year was named "One of the 50 Best Links for Epicureans" and re-named by Manhattan User's Guide editor Charlie Suisman to the "MUG400" list of the top 400 New York City Web sites for its "distinctive contribution to life in New York") and/or our books.
Thanks to everyone for continuing to spread the good word about our book WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, which has the power to enhance every single meal you enjoy in 2008 through the magic of food and beverage pairing.
Thanks, too, to all of you who helped Karen surprise Andrew on his birthday this month with a deluge of good wishes in his emailbox. After being homebound for weeks with bad colds after Thanksgiving, we indulged in a series of celebrations, starting when our dear friend Susan Butler visited from Tucson the week before and continuing the Saturday night before over dinner with Cynthia and Jeff Penney at Jimmy Carbone's East Village restaurant Jimmy's No. 43, the night before with a literal pig-out at Daisy May's BBQ with LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, actress and CBS legal analyst Rikki Klieman, Insatiable author Gael Greene, and photographer Steven Richter; and finally the actual night on Broadway seeing "Cyrano de Bergerac" starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, thanks to our Broadway agent friend Marilynn Scott Murphy, who scored us house seats).
We are grateful that we have much to look forward to in the year ahead, including the Fall 2008 publication of our book THE FLAVOR BIBLE, which has been a labor of love for us both since 2000. Keeping our heads down to finally finish the book this year (along with meeting our new weekly deadline for The Washington Post) unfortunately kept us from being in regular touch with you...but we resolve to do better in 2008.
In the meantime, we wish you every good thing you wish for yourself in the New Year!
Delicious wishes,
Andrew & Karen
P.S. We love hearing from you, and appreciate your emails at DornenburgPage@aol.com.
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
527 Third Ave. Suite 130
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 642-5870
Email: DornenburgPage@aol.com
Web: www.becomingachef.com |
