There is only one thing better than drinking Champagne and that is sampling an entire range of Champagne, with a French person, who is passionate about what they do. Last week we were fortunate enough to have Ophelie Neil, the Brand Ambassador for Mumm, here in New Zealand.
From the very beginning, Ophelie brought with her an infectious enthusiasm for the product that she represents. We started with a Blanc de Blanc 2012 and our customers who attended were very respectful and sedate. The next wine we went to was the non-vintage, always a crowd pleaser. However, instead of just opening it, Ophelie asked two members of the audience to open the non-vintage using the ‘sabrage technique’. This involves a very stylish sword. This, of course, meant there was a lot of spraying, a lot of laughter, and a lot of filming!
This was such a whimsical way to start the tasting and it relaxed the whole room. After we all settled down to taste through the range, every wine a delight, all differing slightly in style, but all with a hallmark of excellence.
