picture by Michael Blamey

When I saw Wine Blogging Wednesday #25 being hosted by sam over at Becks & Posh and champagne, real champagne, was the subject, it was just so obvious that this was for me. I had written a previous post on the history of champagne in which sam had left a comment that the British could take some credit for its invention and this is indeed true! Sam also said in her hosting suggestions that we might consider a food pairing, another box to tick. There were also extra brownie points on offer for choosing from one of the lesser known champagne houses. Tick again.

So off we go.

Firstly to choose a champagne, for everything else would flow from the choice, so I headed over to Apellation Australia, my fave wine blog and asked Cam Wheeler, who incidently is hosting the next Wine Blogging Wednesday, for his advice and whether he would like to link posts and give a real wine perspective to go with my food suggestion. Not that that will stop me from saying a few words about the wine. Cam kindly agreed and suggested an Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Cuvee Non Dose, however when I went to purchase the wine I discovered that the name had been updated to Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Extra Brut VP, but was still the exact same wine.The Extra Brut and Non Dose on the labels is just a way of saying that no sugar has been added to fill the space after disgorgement. So expect a wine of this style to be fresh and racy, with a spine tingling backbone of acidity. Cam also asked for my seafood recipe so he could try the match for himself.

Champagne, being the northernmost vineyard area in France, has always produced wines of acidity, the coolness of the region doesn't allow for the build up of grape sugars. Before the English, err, French figured out how to make sparkling wine, all the wines from here were still, i.e. without bubbles, and would have required careful winemaking to make the wine palatable. With no dose of sugar in mind, food needs a certain richness to act as a partner with this style of champagne, but also must be delicate so as not to overpower it, which makes seafood such a great choice. To give it the requisite richness, the accompanying sauce needs to be a strong reduction containing butter. This allows the champagne to clean and refresh the palate between bites and the reduction of the liquids heightens the seafoods natural sweetness and along with the butter helps soften the wines natural acidity.

What I chose to do was feature a single fillet of fish, in this case wild barramundi, along with scallops and mussels. The sauce was a reduction of the mussel juices, vermouth and fish stock, gently coloured by a few strands of saffron and given shine and richness by the incorporation of butter.



picture by Michael Blamey


Because I've never featured photos of my own food, mainly for the lack of digital a camera, I wanted a great location featuring my own suburb and St Kilda beach fitted the bill nicely, tying into the seafood theme. My friend Michael Blamey, from St Kilda Today, agreed to do the shoot and in exchange, he had a very nice lunch with a glass of fizz.

picture by Michael Blamey

I didn't taste the champagne at the beach, for I wanted to share it with my wife over dinner, so after the shoot packed up and went home to do it all again. Michael had commented that he didn't find the wine overly yeasty, which was a plus in his book, but made me burn with curiousity.

When D and I sat down for dinner later that night, it was my first taste of the champagne. In the glass it was straw coloured and the bead was surprisingly fairly coarse. Michael is right, some champagnes have an over-the-top sourdough smell, but while there were some bready aromas, they were perfectly in keeping. My first taste revealed the anticipated acidity and not a lot of mousse. Some champagnes produce a kind of acidic heartburn that is off putting to some, but the acid in the Egly was pure and fine with exceptional length. My impression of the wine was of cleanness and elegance, well worth the $85 price tag. For Cam Wheelers thoughts on the wine go here.

I purchased this bottle from the Prince Wine Store and they went out of their way to get hold of a bottle for me after discovering it was on the stock list but not in stock. This wine store is one of the more serious wine shops in Victoria, with tastings of local and imported wines every weekend. They feature up and coming wineries along with established stars and their imported wine list is second to none. This is not your cleanskin type of wine retailer, they have far more interesting wines, starting from about the $20 level. At all price points, the wines they offer have more depth and complexity than other wines at the same price points in other stores, they are extremely well chosen. They also feature wine education courses as well as special wine dinners, often with the winemakers. If you have never been, The Prince Wine Store is well worth a visit.



picture by Michael Blamey

So here I am setting up for the photo shoot with the St Kilda pier and the rebuilt cafe in the background, with the gentle waves of Port Phillip bay lapping the shore. If you are wondering how I did it, the fish was cooked at the last moment, wrapped in silicone paper then aluminium foil. The sauce was made in advance, so I kept the mussels in the fridge and cooked the scallops just after the fish, warmed the sauce and mussels together, popped in the scallops and put all that into a prewarmed thermos. I also took a little sachet of chopped parsley, but judging by the photo, I need to chop a little finer. That camera lens sure doesn't lie!