Skip to main content

La Fête du Champagne opens in Houston with a Pierre Paillard Lunch at Navy Blue

A Sparkling Lunch Line-up.


La Fête du Champagne made their debut in Houston this past weekend. This multi-day celebration of the premier sparkling wine region of the world will be celebrating 10 years in New York next year. The Houston festivities started with a Pierre Paillard paired lunch at Navy Blue in Rice Village where Quentin Paillard hosted, along with event creator and Champagne expert and author, Peter Liem.

Quentin Paillard talks Champagne with Double Decanted owner, Kelly Prohl.


Pierre Paillard is a Pinot Noir dominated brand from a family consisting of 8 generations of growers located in Bouzy in the Champagne region of France. The family have been producing wine for over 200 years.
 Quentin and his brother Antoine focus on protecting the soil by using their own organic composts and by treating the vines with biodynamic inspired natural infusions and without the use of chemical herbicides and insecticides.



In the cellar, minimal intervention is the program, no chaptalization, enzymes, artificial settling agents or cold stabilization. The wines gain elegance and balance from extended aging with some of their cuvées aging for up to 10 years before disgorgement and release. The dosage for all cuvées normally falls in the Extra Brut range (2-4g/l) resulting in authentic wines with richness, power and finesse.

The Menu and Pairings by Navy Blue.

Seafood centric Navy Blue did an excellent job with the pairings. Their sister restaurant Bludorn was the site of the very successful Saturday grand tasting event and the finale gala. 

Champagne educator and La Fête du Champagne creator with Wine Life - Houston's Sandra Crittenden.

Houston hopes to see the return of the La Fête du Champagne next year but for those with some extra cash to spare, the New York La Fête will be even better than usual as the group is already gearing up for their ten year anniversary which they expect to top all prior years, start following them on social media and Eventbrite so you can start making your plans. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

Lunch at Cépage paired with Paso Robles Sparkling Wine

Cépage is the elegant new restaurant inside of the recently refurbished Paris Valley Road Estate & Winery Tasting Room. Cépage opened in 2022 and currently serves lunch and weekend brunch. Paris Valley Estate is a fairly new brand that is named after the two lane road in Monterey County where the owners, the Stoller family, planted their first vineyard over 20 years ago. The new name inspired them to renovate the former Arciero Winery in the opulent style of French Grand Cru domaines they had previously visited, explained winemaker, Doug Hidinger. I was visiting on a rainy day so I did not get to tour the grounds or take many outside pictures, unfortunately. The table was set and ready upon arrival. Hidinger was at lunch to present both the Paris Valley Road Sparkling Wine 2019 and the Sextant Edna Valley Sparkling Wine 2012 from a sister property of Paris Valley Road. Owner/Winemaker of Vino Vargas , Pedro Vargas, was also there to present his three sparkling wines. All of these

Tasting Tin City - Paso Robles

Located in a small industrial warehouse district, 3 miles south of downtown Paso Robles, is an easily walkable zone of contemporary industrial-style tin buildings called Tin City which is home to an innovative beverage scene. Tin City has several small-production wineries such as Anarchy Wine Co., Benom, Cordant Winery, and Giornata along with somewhat larger producers like Field Recordings . It is not unusual to be greeted by the winemakers in these modern tasting rooms and find them ready to share both their wines and their stories with their guests. Superfly Zinfandel blended with Cabernet and Petite Sirah At Anarchy Wine Co , expect to find a wide range of wines which includes a Bordeaux-Style Blend, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, a Red Rhône-Style Blend, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Zinfandel all deliciously served with a rebel yell in a rock and roll environment. Les Deux Freres means The Two Brothers and is unique