Veuve Clicquot Hosts Champagne Lunch at Four Seasons Seattle

Veuve Clicquot recently hosted a lunch at the Four Seasons Seattle that featured champagne pairings with each course. Seattle-based food writer Jameson Fink attended as an invited guest. The original story, which appeared on madWINE, has been edited for re-publication.

Still feeling a bit dreamy (and not just because of the Champagne) after attending a stupendous lunch with special guest, Veuve Clicquot winemaker Pierre Casenave.

The dapper Pierre was engaging and generous with his time, even to this slob in his blue jeans and ubiquitous grey v-neck sweater. Though I did get points for (unintentionally) wearing a t-shirt that strongly resembled the color of the famous Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. Pierre told me the astonishing amount of tasting that goes into producing that iconic Champagne. Starting shortly after harvest, a group of eight get together and taste 40-50 wines daily, often until January. (Doesn't sound like a bad gig, no? Of course a lot of the still wine that goes into making a finished, balanced Champagne is quite acidic. So I feel ever-so-slightly sorry for them.) Fortunately for us, we don't have to think about all that math. We just get to drink Champagne. Matched with the exquisite food of ART Restaurant at the Four Seasons in Seattle, I was reminded that Champagne is one of the best wines to pair with food, period. We started with a glass of Yellow Label with an organic baby green salad. The combination of of pickled grapes, toasted Marcona almonds, and the lemon vinaigrette was perfect with the Champagne. (Sidebar: I could eat an endless amount of those pickled grapes.) The next three courses were lovely, finely-prepared dishes, starting with a slow-poached King salmon with strawberries, watercress, and Meyer lemon oil. We enjoyed this with a rare treat: the 1998 La Grand Dame Rosé. The combination of the strawberries and salmon was heavenly with the richly-styled, substantial rosé.