Not the formal stuff. Not the bottle you save for a toast and then forget about. The everyday kind, cold, poured right next to dinner, outside, while the evening is still warm. Grower champagne does this better than the big houses. The bottles are more vinous, more tied to a single piece of land, more flexible at the table than most large-house non-vintage blends. That makes them built for summer eating. Here's how the people who make it actually eat in July. M. runs the kitchen. She's the chef in this family. I pour.
Boats, porches, picnics, cookouts — champagne handles summer better than anything in the cooler. Here's what to pour, what to pair, and why the occasion is enough.
Flowers are fine. A bottle of grower champagne is better. Here's how to choose the right one for Mother's Day — and why opening it together is the real gift.
Brunch deserves better than a mimosa. Learn how to pair brut, Blanc de Blancs, and rosé champagne with everything on the table — from eggs to bacon.