This is likely the coolest wine thing I’ve seen in a while, so brace yourself.

In celebration of their Bi-centennial, Epernay, Champagne’s Perrier Jouët has released a series of legacy magnums containing the 1998 vintage of the Belle-Epoque sold in pairs – one for now, one for a future generation

That’s right, you drink one now, presumably with others, and the other will be left for a generation to come. The second bottle will be stored in Perrier-Jouët’s cellars in Champagne for up to 100 years – the heir to the bottle can, of course, retrieve the magnum before hand if desired. Herve Deschamps, Cellar Master, selected the 1998 vintage with its superior aging ability in mind in order to ensure the future generations will enjoy the wine as much, if not more so, than the original purchaser.

Each bottle is contained in a special packaging that is actually half of a specially made, rare sculpture designed by Daniel Arshem. The sculpture is made up of marble dust and resin and features a series of Perrier-Jouët’s symbolic flower – the anemone – positively and negatively imprinted across the packaging. Though each bottle will have its own package, the bottles are presented as a set. The positive and negative flowers are imprinted on the packages so that they fit together to become one. When they are separated, there is a small cut in the packaging revealing each bottle. To retrieve the bottles from the pac

kaging one must have a access to a separate anemone – not sticky fingers allowed.

Unfortunately things this cool do not come cheap. The limited collection, 100 sets or 200 bottles, is estimated at upwards of €10,000 which

must be pledged prior to a private visit to the facility. Once there, the buyer will be given exclusive access to the cellar vaults for a private tasting of the 1998 Belle Epoque. If all goes well, the buyer will be given the magnum, their half of the sculpture and a Life Journal meant to hold the record of when and where the wine was drunk as well as it what it tasted like. All of these materials will be, presumably, passed on to future generations. The other bottle will remain at the Champagne house to be stored until it is retrieved in many years.

Rumor has it there are still a few sets left so if you have the money to spend and the time to travel to France….well then what are you waiting for, really? This purchase is not just one of epically delicious proportions, it is also one of history.

Santé!

Monday, August 29th will mark the 6th annual Champagne tasting hosting by the Institute of the Masters of Wine.

In two, 2-hour long sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to taste some of the region’s top wines organized by style spanning non-vintage, vintage, rosé, blanc de blancs, prestige cuvée, and sweeter (dosé) styles, including extra-sec, sec, demi-sec, and riche.

Unfortunately, this event isn’t open to the general public despite the $50 ticket fee that comes with the event. However, if you’re a Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, student of wine, key wine buyer in the retail and restaurant trade or a journalist you’re good to go.

The event will take place at Christie’s, 20 Rockefeller Plaza (49th Street), New York, NY  10020 between the hours of 12-2pm for the first session and 2:30-4:30pm for the second.

Unfortunately I can’t make this one, but I’d love to hear from anyone who could! Sounds like the perfect way to start the week off right.

Watch out Sonoma, Wallingford, CT is catching up with not just one, but two wineries.

While that’s a bit far from the truth, it’s kind of nice that I can claim my hometown as the only town in CT with two stops on the CT wine trail. Paradise Vineyards opened its doors earlier this year down the hill and around the bend from Wallingford’s first vineyard, Gouveia Vineyards. Gouveia is best-known for their slightly sweet wines made from hybrid grapes such as Seyval Blanc and Cayuga White blended with a healthy dose of Chardonnay. Sticking true to the, erm, region, for the whites, you won’t find anything much different than that at Paradise Hills with the exception that most of the wines are a bit dryer.

Paradise Hills winery is reminiscent of a Spanish hacienda guarded by a few rows of vineyards. No doubt it will be a beautiful space once the construction equipment is removed from the back along with the clearly acreage and logs… however this may or may not be greatly affected by the horrendous Italian opera music they were playing yesterday evening. However, the bit of Frank Sinatra that came on afterward remedied this somewhat.

Back to the basics. For $6.00 the tasting room crew will gladly pour you a taste of the four wines that are not sold out which includes:

Washington Trail White: Dry wine made from Seyval Blanc and Chardonnay. Pleasantly fruity without a lot else going on. Could be easily enjoyed on a hot day with people of all palates. The Chardonnay is sourced from “out west.”

Chardonnay: Dry wine made from 100% estate grown Chardonnay. Although it was described to us as a Chardonnay that isn’t very oakey, I’d beg to differ. The oak isn’t overpowering and no, you’re not drinking a butter ball, but it’s definitely present. Nice tasting Chardonnay, however, and at $16.50 a bottle, it’s something we felt okay purchasing for the atmosphere.

Washington Trail Red: A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the French hybrid Chambersin. This wine was my favorite, as I noted, it was light and full of spice and it was easy to drink yesterday despite the fact the humidity was reaching weekend-highs. Downfall: The wine’s aroma was reminiscent of alcohol despite the fact the abv was only 12.5% (at least according to the label.)

Vino Bianco del Paradisco: This is their semi-sweet wine made from a blend of hybrid grapes and Chardonnay. Although I’m not sure I could sit through an entire bottle, the sweetness in the wine wasn’t clawing and it was pleasantly blended into the fruit and citrus notes.

The winery also features two other wines: Cayuga White (white) and President’s Choice (red), but as I said they were sold out so it looks like we will have to wait until next year for a taste.

So why Washington Trail White/Red? Well, as our pal Gary explained to us, it’s because George Washington traveled through CT on his trip from Boston to New York. Makes sense to me.

I’ve read a lot of articles that state that Gouveia Vineyards and Paradise Hill Vineyards are not in competition in any way – but c’mon everyone needs a favorite. So here’s my verdict:

Gouveia has the advantage of the scenic overlook of the entire town.

Paradise Hills has the advantage of taste.

I have to admit that sometimes I indulge in the occasional bad reality TV show – but only when I’m feeling like being an absolutely and totally useless human being, I swear.

That being said, I just so happened to tune into the final episode of ABC’s the Bachelorette this past Monday night (which quickly proved to be a mistake.) In case you hadn’t heard, her two final choices were between J.P. an owner of an NYC construction company and Ben F., Sonoma winemaker. You’re likely thinking the same thing I am – is there even a contest???

Apparently there was because she chose the construction worker – absolutely crazy, I know. Perhaps she’s more a beer girl or perhaps he gave her a taste of his juice and it just wasn’t for her (no innuendos intended here, I promise.) If you haven’t seen a picture of our man Ben, check out their website…he’s the guy in the blue checkered shirt. One look at their website and I have to question her choice…I also have to question if the pictures were all boy-band-esque before the show or after, though.

If you’re like me, however, your first question wasn’t why she chose J.P. over Ben F. (because in all seriousness, who really cares?) but it was that of which winery is Ben F. from? Turns out he’s from the small winery of Evolve Wines – co-founded by himself and Michael Benziger (Benziger….sound familiar?)

I haven’t personally tried Evolve Wine and I’m guessing that I won’t try it anytime soon since every wine-drinking, reality-TV obsessed female has probably gathered up a bottle in hopes of connecting with the illustriousness Ben F which is jacking the price up to astronomical proportions. In the event I do, however, I will certainly update this post and let you know how it was.

It looks as though their newly founded profile is fairly limited – a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc moderately overpriced at $20-30/bottle or $38 for a pair. Unfortunately this wine is only available for sale online unless you are in CA or the one town in GA that sells it.

There are rumors that our dear winemaker may become the next Bachelor – after all, what better marketing than reality TV? Perhaps I’ll even become a contestant…

You may think I’ve become obsessed with the Summer of Riesling and I have to admit – I probably have. I wish I could blame it on the fact that I work with (and am obsessed with) Austrian wines and I’m obsessed with Austrian Riesling… but I can’t because as sad as it is, there isn’t that much Austrian Riesling involved. (Special shout out to Edi & the Wolf for offering an Austrian Riesling as their contribution to the crawl… then again they’re Austrian so I wouldn’t expect anything less.)

No worries – there’s lots of Riesling from other areas of the world including (mostly) Germany, New York and there might even be a little Australian in there (I’d imagine so – there is actually a Riesling from North Carolina!)

So what brings this post into being today? Well the simple fact that the annual Summer of Riesling Bar Crawl started August 1st – I’m already behind. However, this isn’t a traditional bar crawl so I have a good 28 more days to fulfill my Riesling overload.

How does it work: Good question. It’s really not that complicated. Basically, you obtain or print out a copy of the Summer of Riesling 2011 Passport, stop by the 16 stops in NYC (and the 3 bonus stops if you happen to be a national traveler,) obtain a stamp at each upon purchase of the specified Riesling and voila….OK not quite. Then you must submit the completed passport to Hearth where you will receive two questions that you must answer and submit to be entered into the contest to wine dinner for six at Hearth at a later date.

Yes it sounds like a lot of work, but I believe this is one of those contests where the amount of work won’t be a turn-off to many.

If nothing else, it’s a great way to taste a variety of Riesling wines you may otherwise never try – and even more, it’s a great excuse to visit all those wine bars across the city you always thought were too far away before…and to most of the days out of the month if you go to one a day.

Need more info? They can tell you about it (including safety tips.) Let the games begin!