Champagne
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ChampagneClub News - Newsletter [2] - 2011
Newsletter 2011: 1 | 2

Welcome To The ChampagneClub

We are delighted to say that the response that we have had to the ChampagneClub from members and restaurants has been Absolutely Fabulous!!

For your enjoyment, ChampagneClub is adding new restaurants every day from Modern British to Pan Asian and from informal to Michelin star. New restaurants include: Awana (SW3) ... Cavallino (SW3) … Hache (SW10, SW4, NW1) ... Joe Allen (WC2) ... Kettners (W1) … Locale (SW6) … Mango Tree (SW1) ... My Dining Room (SW6) … McQueen (EC2) … Orso (WC2) … Star of India (SW5) ... The Jam Tree (SW6, W14). If your favourite London restaurants haven’t registered with the ChampagneClub yet, send me an email with your suggestions and we will invite them to register

We have also been busy adding new lifestyle sections to ChampagneClub including the Social Diary (What’s On and Where to Go!! – a monthly guide to social & sporting events) … Gallery (reviews and photographs from some great events) and ChampagneECards (stunning champagne and luxury images to send free and unlimited e-cards whatever the occasion: Congratulations, Happy Birthday, Thank You, We Are Having A Party!

At ChampagneClub, we welcome the opportunity to give something back so if you are involved with fundraising in London email us to request ChampagneClub Honorary memberships as Auction and Raffle Prizes. Charities we have helped include: Household Cavalry Operational Casualties Fund 2011, WarChild, NSPCC, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, The Childrens Trust Tadworth and RADA.

Join us next month for much, much more to amuse and entertain you.

Best
(Patricia Madden - Publisher)

FAMOUS CHAMPAGNE QUOTES:

"Come quickly, I am tasting the stars! ~ Dom Perignon, at the moment he discovered champagne

"My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne." John Meynard Keynes

"Three be the things I shall never attain: envy, content and sufficient Champagne." Dorothy Parker

"Two warm bodies and one cold bottle of Champagne will produce something more wonderful than would happen without the Champagne." Helen Gurley Brown

"Champagne is the wine of civilization and the oil of government." Winston Churchill

"Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right." F. Scott Fitzgerald

"One holds a bottle of red wine by the neck, a woman by the waist, and a bottle of Champagne by the derriere." Mark Twain

In a perfect world, everyone would have a glass of Champagne every evening. ~ Willie Gluckstern

CHAMPAGNE FACTS...

The next time you pop the cork off a bottle of bubbly, consider, for a moment, these intriguing facts:

If a raisin is dropped into a glass of champagne it will repeatedly bounce up and down between the top and the bottom of the glass.

The only 3 grapes that can be used in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

Every bottle of Champagne has foil wrapped around the outside of the cage. In the old days, foil was lead-lined to try to prevent mice from eating into the cork.

A champagne cork leaves the bottle at a velocity of approximately 38-40 mph, but can pop out at as fast as100 mph.

The pressure in a bottle of champagne is 90 pounds per square inch, about three times that in an automobile tire.

There are 49 million bubbles in a 750ml bottle of champagne, give or take a few, as calculated by scientist Bill Lembeck, based on 5.5 atmospheres of pressure, when stored at 20 degrees Celsius

Why do Champagne's large-format bottles have biblical names? According to the Champagne expert Francois Bonal, the name Jeroboam for the 4 bottle size has been used since 1725. It's presumed they selected Jeroboam, because he was know as "a man of great worth," as were the larger sized bottles.

The region of Champagne followed suit with larger format bottles developed in the 1940's by continuing the practice of selecting biblical kings and patriarchs: Jeroboam (4) – 1st King of Israel 931-910 BC, Rehoboam (6) - Banned by US and EU regulations, Methuselah (8) - Biblical patriarch who lived to the age of 969, Salmanazar (16) - King of Babylon: 539 BC, Nebuchadnezzar (20) - King of Babylon, 605-562 BC.

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH ....


SOCIAL DIARY

The ChampagneClub Social Diary tells you What’s On and Where to Go !! – a monthly guide to social, sporting and business events to keep you entertained all year round.. In August you can enjoy .. Cowes Week - Isle of Wight (6-13), Goodwood Vintage (12-14) and Venice Film Festival - Venice, Italy (31-10 Sep). Check back regularly to see updated events, as suggested by our Members and Visitors. If you have an event you would like us to consider listing just email Catherine our Membership Secretary.

THE CHAMPAGNE GALLERY

Featuring news and photographs from some of the best events listed in the ChampagneClub Social Diary. Henley Festival is an extraordinary and elegant mix of music, art, culture, dining and location - the most magical summer event in the United Kingdom. Coming the week after the Regatta and lasting 5 nights, audiences are treated to an event full of contrasting performances on whichever night.

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS

Die hard champagne enthusiasts may consider it sacrilegious to add ingredients, but we love to experiment and including champagne in a recipe can make a great cocktail really spectacular.

BELLINI COCKTAILS

2 oz Peach Nectar
1 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Peach Schnapps
Crushed Ice
3 oz chilled, Champagne

Mix the peach nectar, lemon juice and schnapps in a chilled glass. Add half a cup (or more) of crushed ice, stir, and add the champagne. (Serves 2).

May be prepared in a blender to produce a frozen drink. 9% (18 proof)

PERFECT PRESENT

Giving a ChampagneClub Membership to your Friends, Family, Neighbours and Business Associates is the perfect present - whether for a Birthday, Christmas or to say Thank You !!!

Your gift will have a life span of 12 months, much longer than flowers and every time �A Welcoming Glass Of House Champagne On The House� arrives at the table for the member they will think of you !! It�s value over the year could be well over �1,000!

It truly unisex, one size fits all. Its easy to wrap, light to carry and/or post, won�t break, get squashed or leak. The perfect present !

CHAMPAGNE: THE EARLY HISTORY 2

During the Middle Ages, the wines of the Champagne region were various shades of light red to pale pink as a bitter rivalry developed between the Champenois and their Burgundian neighbors to the south. The trade route that Flemish merchants used to get to the Burgundy went right through Reims and the Champenois were eager to entice their business with a "cheaper" alternative.

Unfortunately the climate of the region made it difficult to produce red wines with the richness and color of the Burgundian wines, even though the Champenois tried to "improve" their wines by blending in elderberries. Eventually their attention moved to produce white wines in an attempt to distinguish themselves from their Burgundian rivals. However, the white wine produced from white grapes were found to have a dull flavor and quickly spoiled. The most sought after wines were those "white wines" made from red wine grapes, such as Pinot noir which had more flavor, aromatics and longevity.

Throughout the 16th and early 17th century, Champenois winemakers tried to produce the best "white" wine they could from red wine grapes though the results were often not white at all but ranged from greyish color to a shade of pink known as oeil de perdrix or partridge eye.

It wasn't until a Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Perignon from the Abbey of Hautvillers perfected his techniques would the Champenois be able to truly make white wine from red grapes. More next issue....


WE WANT TO LAUGH!!

Send us your wild and wonderful words, make them count and make them funny. We want to laugh !! Stories must be about Champagne, in English, be no more than 200 words in length, typed, and have the author�s name and contact details in the email. One story per person, no entry fee.

Ist Prize � Gift pack of 4 Honorary memberships to the ChampagneClub - 2nd, 3rd, 4th Prizes An Honorary Membership to the ChampagneClub.

Deadline: Friday 9 September 2011 5pm. Entries must be sent by email to Catherine Dewsbery: Catherine@ChampagneClubUk.com

Winners will be notified by Friday 16 September.

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

The ChampagneClub enables members to save �1,000�s every year whilst dining at the great restaurants that are offering our members and their guests �A Glass Of House Champagne On The House� on arrival. Your company, business, organisation or social group can offer membership of the ChampagneClub to your employees and members at a reduced rate.
ABOUT US
Patricia Madden
Founder | Publisher
Catherine Dewsbery
Membership Secretary
Eliza Burnett
Account Director
James Cooke
Account Director
Jean Francois D'or
Account Director
Kevin Keogh
Account Director
Michael Boyle
Sales & Marketing Executive
Peter Da Silva
PR