Champagne and Port

What better way to celebrate the end of the week than with Champagne and a nice glass of Port? Or, even better, several glasses of each, which is exactly what I did last night at a fantastic dinner hosted by Jade Floyd and Jessie Niewold of the Center for Wine Origins, and Scott Zoccolillo of XIX, one of Philadelphia’s top restaurants.

This was not just a great chance for some local wine professionals to get together, but it also marked the beginning of my tenure as the new Philadelphia ambassador for Champagne and Port for the Center for Wine Origins. The menu, below, was excellent in its own right and helped to showcase the wines beautifully. From the Perrier-Jouët Fleur de Champagne 2002 that kicked off the evening, through to the Blason Rosé and the Dom Perignon 2002, and all the way to the Ports (the last one was a 1999 LBV, not a 1995 as it appears on the menu--and it was utterly delicious), this was the kind of night--and these were the kind of wines--that we definitely didn’t want to end.

With that in mind, check out this story, posted on Decanter.com today, about a very, very good problem that LVMH is facing: People have been buying too much of their Champagne and they’re now running short. I guess when you’re crafting a good product, people will buy it, no matter how much they’re cutting back!