The Emperor Edition

For over a century now, the French have celebrated Bastille Day. Being in Australia, you may be wondering why this is such a big deal. Bastille Day celebrates the storming of the Bastille, a military fortress and prison, on July 14, 1789. The Bastille was a symbol of the tyranny and power of the French monarchy. It was this violent uprising that marked the beginning of the French Revolution, and the subsequent downfall of King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. Today Bastille Day celebrations are held in French communities all around the world, including Australia. Now that we...

This year, we are proud to bring a new house to Australia, Champagne Rémi Leroy, headed by Rémi Leroy himself. We first introduced this house to our Champagne Club. The wines were a hit, so we have decided to add Rémi to our extensive collections.   Rémi Leroy is a dynamic, young winemaker, hailing from a small town in the Côte des Bar. In 2006 he trained as an oenologist and agronomist in Bordeaux before taking over the 8 hectare family estate in Meurville. The terroir consists of clay-limestone from the Jurassic period. 72% of his vines are pinot noir, 20% chardonnay and 8% pinot meunier. Rémi is an...

Following a succession of lockdowns, and a curtailing of usual expenses like travel, many Australians' discretionary incomes have shifted to smaller luxuries...like champagne. This helps explain why, in 2020, Australia recorded the highest growth of champagne sales among Western countries, establishing itself as the sixth biggest market in the world.  But with this spike in demand, and some reduction in production of Champagne in France, some major champagne brands are now running very low on stock in Australia. This will cause disruptions in the Australian market this year...and for a few more years to come.  What does this mean for...

We interview Michel Drappier of Champagne Drappier on his love for champagne, making champagne free of sulphur, how Drappier became a wine served in the Elysée Palace and his favourite champagne pairing. Click here for full interview