The Emperor Edition

Pinot meunier, translated means ‘Miller’ coming from flour, as the grape has a white dusty look to it when ripe. It is larger in size than pinot noir, which tends to yield a little more juice and is often used in blends – especially non-vintage champagne. The reason is to make the wine more approachable when young.

For those of us lucky enough to fly at the front end of the plane, your choice of champagne has never been better, with many airlines offering in flight sommeliers and prestige vintages. We take a look at some of the more impressive offerings in the air.

During mid-April, when spring is just setting in, Champagne producers from across the region come together to collaborate for what is known as ‘Printemps des Champagne’ – ‘The Spring of Champagne’. I had the pleasure of visiting Champagne at this very exciting time of the year. People from all of the world came to see their favourite producers and at one point it did seem like the growers were the rockstars, and we were the fans getting very giddy about having a chance to meet them, taste their champagne AND talk about their wines.

What can we say about this man - Frederic Savart. He is quite simply as charismatic, energetic and friendly as they come. He took over the small family estate based in Ecueil in 2005 and he has applied his energy and charm to his wines. Despite not speaking much English, we conversed perfectly well and he welcomed Australian's with open arms.