out and about: french gourmet holiday champagne and caviar tasting

sterling caviar: baguette, crème fraiche, egg yolk, red onion, lemon

Every year (minus the ‘vid years) the french gourmet hosts a holiday champagne tasting event, comprised of different vineyards, varietals, and lots of yummy bites. I can’t remember how many of them I’ve been to, but it’s a lot.

This was the first year back, and things were a little more disorganized than normal, due to staff turnover. While things didn’t run as smoothly as they have in the past, (lack of a spit bucket, missing champagnes, no regularity to the tasting order, no wine lists, etc), we were able to sip some pretty delicious bubbles, and taste some fun bites.

a few of the champs up for tasting

Hands down, the bollinger was the favorite among recognizable labels. Which was somewhat expected.

What wasn’t expected was the english champagne from chapel hill. Reps from the company were on hand with 4 different chapel hill champs to try. They also explained that champagne making is relatively new to england, and only possible due to climate changes. Haven’t had an english champagne? Let me tell you, these were the best of the night. Dry, flavorful, and just the right amount of bubbles.

deviled eggs with prosciutto

There were tons of passed bites to enjoy, along with a charcuterie board to pick from. I was too busy enjoying them to take a picture of every one, and a lack of plates to set them on made for awkward photos.

There were three types of deviled eggs, but we only saw the salmon and the prosciutto. They weren’t bad.

duxelle mushroom puffs

beef tartare

I enjoyed the addition of truffles to the tartare, but if you aren’t a truffle fan, you might want to skip them.

The mushroom puff was excellent. I could have had a lot more, and kept hoping for a repeat tray.

Word on the street is they are repeating the event for the second time this week; it’s definitely worth a try.