It is a culinary delight to attend dinners where each course is paired with champagne. The idea of drinking champagne with the entire meal is wonderful but then to have the champagnes perfectly paired with beautiful tasting food just excites and awakens all the senses.
Each year on the 16th December I love to celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday. I love her stories they are such an escape. It is not about the dashingly handsome men or the genteel women. It is the whole experience. I romanticize about the regency age however would never want to live in that time. I can’t imagine life without my iPhone.
So on Jane Austen’s birthday each year I would gather my friends, to drink champagne and read quotes. My champagne of choice would be Veuve Clicquot because on the bottle I saw the year 1772 and as Jane Austen was born in 1775 I thought that it was lovely to drink from a champagne house of the same time.
As my love for champagne grew and grew and I looked further into the history of the various house I happen to discover one day that Madame Clicquot was born on the 16th December 1777. Absolutely speechless and all my body shaking I immediately popped a bottle of Veuve grabbed Persuasion (my favorite novel) and began to read and drink and enjoy the artistry of two amazing women. As you may have guessed all my senses plus more were awoken and bubbling.
So now on the 16th December every year I gather my friend to quote Jane Austen and drink to the window. Two women in history from different countries with different talents naturally and perfectly paired. However I need no longer wait for that one day in the year to enjoy this wonderful combination, for perfect pairing should be enjoyed often.
Kiron Barui