Drink all the French Bubbles at DC’s First Champagne Week

If you missed Champagne Day on October 21, don’t worry! Champagne shouldn’t be celebrated in a day anyway, it clearly deserves its own week! At least that’s what my friends Jess and Alison thought. These two wine pros are throwing DC’s first ever Champagne Week, from Sunday November 6 to Thursday November 12.

The idea for DC Champagne Week started off small. Jess runs Young Winos of DC, a group that connects people in the District with wine tastings and events. She reached out to Alison, who runs her own wine consulting business Bon Vivant DC, to partner up on a champagne focused event. Jess jokes that Alison took a small idea and blew it up, but Alison retorts that Jess never would’ve reached out to her if she wanted something low key 😉 Before long, Alison was in Champagne attending le Printemps des Champagnes, the weeklong industry festival (you can read more about her trip to Paris and Champagne here). While there, she was able to meet producers, other champagne event producers and came back with a better understanding of what a champagne week might look like in DC. Right away, Alison had a vision of a grand tasting like the ones she just experienced at the Printemps des Champagnes and everything grew from there…

So what can you expect from DC Champagne Week? Here’s a run-down of the events:

• An official launch party at Proof Restaurant Sunday November 6, with a custom champagne flight and a special menu
• A grand tasting at DAR’s Constitution Hall O’Byrne Gallery on Wednesday, November 9, with a book signing by David White, author of But First, Champagne.
• A seven course champagne pairing dinner at Ripple on Thursday, November 11, helmed by Executive Chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley and Chef de Cuisine Sam Molavi.
• A masterclass on the concept of terroir in Champagne, taught by Carl Edmund Sherman and held at Ripple on Friday, November 12

The event will feature an elite lineup of champagne houses including Pol Roger, Gosset, Pierre Paillard, Charles Heidsieck, A.R. Lenoble, Canard-Duchêne, J de Telmont, Heucq Pere & Fils, and selections from the Terry Theise champagne portfolio. Select cuvées will be available for purchase throughout DC Champagne Week at Calvert Woodley, a fabulous wine shop and the event retail partner. You can find out more about DC Champagne Week right here and I definitely hope I’ll be seeing you at some of the events!!

Santé!!