• Articles,  Eat & Drink

    Champagne Day Out at Taste London 10th Anniversary

    Famous for constantly whinging about the weather, but also for never letting a few million rain drops or the rare intoxicating heatwave get in the way of having a good time, Londoners religiously congregate every June in Regents Park to sample a taste of the best of British restaurants and providores at annual pop up festival Taste of London. When you combine the perfect spectacle of a cooking theatre which literally oozes international A’list celebrity culinary talent, with a smorgasbord of diverse food and wine stalls to explore and experience and then pepper this with food and wine educational tastings as the piece de resistance, its no wonder Taste of…

  • Articles,  Lifestyle

    UK Bank Holiday Champagne Tips

    Champagne Summer – TOP 3 UNDER 40 (From Cheap to Chic) August Bank Holiday Weekend may officially mark the ‘end of summer’ here in the UK, but let’s not whinge just yet because Blighty has won big on international sport and enjoyed more sunny days in 2013 than anyone can remember. I’ve also been lucky enough to taste my way around Champagne from rare prestige cuvees like vintage Krug (heaven in a glass at 175) all the way to Aldi’s award winning house champagne called Veuve Monsigny (an altogether light refreshing uncomplicated go to drop that’s the perfect party tipple or cocktail base at only 12.95). What’s more practically every week since…

  • Articles,  Lifestyle

    Champagnes Fit For A Royal Baby Prince of Cambridge

    On Monday 22nd July 2013 at London Paddington’s St Marys hospital private Lindo Wing, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a healthy baby boy who will one day become the 43rd monarch since William The Conqueror. Following on from the 2011 Royal Wedding, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2013 Coronation Festival, the birth of the third in line to the throne has given Brits even more reason to pop champagne corks – but if you shop around you don’t need a prince’s ransom to celebrate in style… CJ’s Guide to 5 Great Value Royal Baby Celebration Champagnes under GBP80: Veuve Monsigny  Awarded…

  • Articles,  Eat & Drink,  Lifestyle

    Champagne’s Dark Revelation #DP2004 London Launch w/ Richard Geoffroy

    Chef De Caves Richard Geoffroy reveals Champagne Dom Perignon 2004 in London Affectionately nicknamed ‘the monk’ by industry peers Richard Geoffroy (Chef de Caves at Champagne Dom Perignon for more than two decades) is certainly following in his famous namesake’s footsteps. Although the first prestige cuvee champagne was originally conceived by Louis Roederer for the Tzar of Russia, Moet & Chandon was in fact the first champagne house to successfully commercialise this most rare expression of champagne and its legendary prestige cuvee Dom Perignon has been associated with the pinnacle of champagne since 1936. Celebrity associations with the likes of James Bond and Karl Lagerfeld and sky-rocketing consumer demand aside,…

  • Articles,  Eat & Drink,  Special Events with CJ

    #Britefest Celebrates UK’s Best Events at Shoreditch Pop Up

    Champagne and Sushi at London’s #Britefest On Tuesday 2 July more than 150 event organisers gathered at Eventbrite’s annual Festival Pop Up at the Hoxton Basement in Shoreditch to enjoy a taste of the UK’s best food and drink events. What better way for online ticketing platform Eventbrite to celebrate ticketing more than 85,000 UK events last year than by hosting their very own Pop Up Festival featuring a champagne tasting bar, sushi-making class, beer tasting, cheese tasting and sweet treats alongside a string quartet, photo booth, street painter and even an events surgery hosted by the Eventbrite UK team and company founders Kevin and Julia Hartz (who incidentally flew…

  • Articles,  Eat & Drink

    Mastering The Art of Champagne & Cooking with Krug

    Question: What do you get when you combine Gaggenau kitchen appliances, Michelin trained chefs, Scandinavian design and lashings of the champagne God gives his angels when they’ve been really good? Answer: An unmissable invitation to cook, dine and discover the many pleasures of matching food with Krug champagnes in the luxurious surrounds of a purpose built private cooking studio next door to Fleet St, London. #KrugKitchen recently invited a group of 10 lifestyle journalists to cook their own dinner under the expert guidance of professional chefs in a specially designed kitchen at Aveqia London, whilst enjoying matching individual dishes with different vintages of Champagne Krug – it literally was heaven…

  • Articles,  Lifestyle

    Champagne & Strawberries – Game, Set & Match at Wimbledon

    2013 is not only the 126th anniversary of Wimbledon but the fifth year in a row that British number 1 and World no 2 Andy Murray has reached the semi-finals of the most coveted tennis championship in the world. 2013 is also the 25th anniversary of official Champagne supplier Lanson’s partnership with the tournament which began the year Virginia Wade won the women’s title. Due to perennial poor weather, Wimbledon watchers favourite sport has often been propping up the 9 bars and various corporate marquees of the All England Club. In fact more than 25,000 bottles of champagne and 28,000 kilos of strawberries are consumed during an average Wimbledon fortnight. Of…

  • Articles,  Lifestyle

    Champagne & Art: Hosono wins inaugural Perrier Jouet Arts Salon Prize

    Ceramicist Hitomi Hisono, inaugural #PJArtsSalon prize winner, launches her first solo exhibition at The Chambers Club, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London Arts Salons originated in Paris in 1735, when France’s Louis XV commissioned the first champagne paintings “The Oyster Lunch” by Jean-Francois de Troy and “The Ham Lunch” by Nicolas Lancret to console himself after the death of his favourite mistress Madame de Pompadour. Whether depicted in scenes of lively court festivities, or luxurious still life, champagne has naturally inspired painters, eager to express the tastes of their patrons ever since. The life and times of the world’s most famous wine has been a frequent and popular motif in art,…

  • Articles,  Eat & Drink,  Lifestyle,  Special Events with CJ

    Mother’s Day Master Class at Brasserie Ananas

    Mothers Day Meet The Dames of Champagne Discover the inspiring stories of the women behind the bubbles at this special Mothers Day “Meet The Dames of Champagne” champagne and canapé class hosted by 2012 Champagne Educator of the Year and real-life Champagne Dame Jayne Powell (aka Champagne Jayne) at Brasserie Ananas in The Rocks, Sydney. Only $75 a ticket for 4 champagnes matched to 4 delicious canapés: Mothers Day 2013 Champagne & Canape Menu at Bar Ananas Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Brandade of Cod Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Lobster & Foie Gras Sandwich with Lobster Veloute Bollinger Special Cuvee Salted Caramel Éclair Laurent Perrier Rose Fraisier Strawberry Sponge Check…

  • Articles,  Lifestyle

    Cannes, Champagne & The Great Gatsby

     “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” – Champagne & the Roaring Twenties Widely regarded as one of the greatest American novels which has captivated readers ever since it was first published in 1925, Fitzgerald’s torrid tale of tragic love set in the Roaring Twenties; a period of excessive, wealth, glitz and glamour from bootlegging to ballroom dancing, cleverly anticipated the Wall St Crash of 1929. The Great Gatsby is the fascinating story of a slickly confident millionaire who hosts lavish champagne fuelled parties every Saturday night at his opulent Long Island mansion, but as we soon discover, allied war hero Jay Gatsby is not exactly what he seems. All we know for certain…