Well, I perceived Champagne as a drink for old people served on occasions like wedding, anniversaries and exceptional occasions like many of us I supposed. That changed when I recently attended a few champagne-pairing dinners and I was beautifully surprised by the explosion of flavours and how they were suggested with: from seafood to red meat and as we commonly have champagne with, Desserts.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne

by Katia M • 20 November 2018

When it comes to my favourite drinks, these are my top three: Wine, gin & tonic and of course Champagne.

Champagne make things a little more special. Have a look at the gallery of the Champagne pairing event I went to, hosted by Scott Ltd and The Wine Store, being the official distributor of Nicolas Feuillatte in Mauritius. They had quite a few Champagne pairing events, but I only went to two of them. One was at The Labourdonnnais Hotel where the delicacies were made by Chef Nizam and the other one was held at the Long Beach Hotel at the Japanese Restaurant Hasu.

I love having friends over and I enjoy hosting dinners and parties. We have so much fun together and the memories we make are timeless. Most of us have about 10 years of friendship. We have BBQ nights, game nights, movie nights or pre-party nights without mentioning that we definitely have some drinks alongside… all excuses are good for some good fun right? Plus I am not a big fan of drinking for the sole purpose of getting drunk.

Last time I was going through some DIY ideas for the festivities, table set up and how to bring some wow effect to your guests while still keeping it simple and soft. So for a first trial, I went for the glitter ice cubes. Super easy to realize. Get the glitters of your choice, place a little inside the ice cube holder and pour in the water gently. When all done put in the freezer. After a few hours, or when your guests start arriving take out your chilled bottles of champagne put it in the bucket with your fashioned DIY ice cubes. Trust me it looks amazing.

Tip: You can customize your ice cubes the same way with the glitters but with the rose flower or strawberries or red fruits (say for a rosé – wine or champagne), lemon slices, herbs like rosemary for Gin cocktails… There are so many DIY ice bucket ideas.

Well, I perceived Champagne as a drink for old people served on occasions like wedding, anniversaries and exceptional occasions like many of us I supposed. That changed when I recently attended a few champagne-pairing dinners and I was beautifully surprised by the explosion of flavours and how they were suggested with: from seafood to red meat and as we commonly have champagne with, desserts. I started seeing Champagne differently, more now as a casual bubbly drink, fun and convivial!

The reason why I opted for Nicolas Feuillatte for my dinner party is very straightforward, but this is what I think about this Champagne; besides being fancy, elegant with a touch of finesse with the freedom of bubbles, it is easy to drink, fruity in taste and Nicolas Feuillatte remains an affordable Champagne to be shared in a friendly, pleasant and convivial moments.

Give it a try if you haven’t had one of the Nicolas Feuillatte champagne ranges yet. From the Brut Reserve, the Demi-sec to the Rosé, I am sure you will find one to your taste with the help of the store specialist at the Wine Store. And I believe, the Champagne will soon be pretty much present into the Mauritian culture.

If you are not a big fan of a classic glass of Champagne, well I have two of my favourite cocktails to step up your Champagne game to share with you. Like I mentioned earlier, Gin also being in my top 3, I discovered a cocktail where I could mix both Champagne and Gin! OMG, yes it exists and it is called the French 75. It is a perfect cocktail combo for Gin and Champagne lovers.

The French 75 cocktail

So we will need:

2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Lemon juice
1 tsp of refined sugar
5 oz. Champagne
Lemon peel
And your glass of Champagne (in preference opt for the Tulip shape for the aromas)

How we proceed:

Add the Gin, lemon juice and sugar together with some ice in your cocktail shaker and shake it, baby, like you mean it.
Evenly pour the mix into two champagne flutes
Top with chilled Champagne
Garnish with a lemon peel and Tadaaaaa.

The Mimosa Cocktail

A Mimosa cocktail is made with 1 part of Champagne and 1 part of chilled citrus juice, usually freshly squeezed orange juice. Best served at Brunch or just like a regular cocktail on hot days.