It’s nearly time for the Academy Awards! If you’ve managed to see any of the movies, even those that clock in at under 3½ hours long (thanks for pointing that out, Hugh Grant!), you’ll have seen some very deserving technicians and artists. My favorite thing to have while watching the show is either fried chicken with French fries and a salad (which I use to fool myself into thinking that I’m eating semi-healthily), or Kung Pao chicken, rice, and steamed asparagus with sliced almonds and a clear sauce… No matter what foodstuffs you are planning, there is only one beverage that matches perfectly with this event...Champagne!

Benchmark Producers to Start Your Wine Collection

Whether you are collecting for investment or for decades of enjoyment ahead, there are certain tried-and-true benchmark producers that are always the wisest of bets for your wine cellar. I’m pleased to share a few thoughts on some of my personal favorite producers, all of whom I hold in the highest regard. These are among the finest in their regions and provide exceptional value at their level. If you are looking to start a wine collection, you absolutely cannot go wrong if you start with wines from any of these estates.

Celebrating the Top 10 Most Memorable Champagnes of 2023

This year has marked my 23rd in my job as Champagne Buyer here at K&L, and I feel lucky to say that it was one of the best for memorable Champagnes. This list could have been much longer than just ten, as I have been treated to so many noteworthy wines over the last 12 months. I have noticed three themes for 2023: large bottles (magnums and jeroboams) account for about one-third of the list, as do pairings with tinned fish, and half the bottles were not vintage dated. The flexibility that blending across time gives the Champenois is not just for basics—a skilled chef de cave can make magic with multiple vintages.

Krug x Lemon

Every year, Champagne Krug decides on a single ingredient to inspire top chefs and home cooks a like. This year, that ingredient is the lemon, a fruit that my wife Cinnamon is obsessed with. We decided on a variation of one of my mother’s signature dishes, lemon chicken. But instead of the regular Western presentation with sides, we decided to do it as a Japanese style chicken katsu bowl.

Olivier Krug Debuts the 2008 Krug Clos du Mesnil

This past Monday, I was invited to lunch by Olivier Krug, who was visiting California with his team for the debut of the 2008 Krug "Clos du Mesnil" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne. We went to Spruce, in the beautiful Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, and had a great time catching up while enjoying some excellent food and unforgettable Champagne. To call this 2008 release anticipated would be a gigantic understatement—it is one of the very last from this vintage, which I consider the best of my career, and from one of the most important vineyard sites in Champagne.

The Krug Highlands Quest: A Once in Lifetime Trip!

I just returned from the most over-the-top wine trip of my life—and it wasn’t even to a wine-producing country! Champagne Krug invited me, along with about 80 of their top ambassade from around the world, on a two day “Highlands Quest”—filled with more great Krug than anyone has a right to drink in a lifetime. I still don’t think it has all sunk in…

2008 Krug: Monumental Champagne

This Friday night, Cinnamon and I shared a bottle of the greatest young vintage I have ever tasted from the legendary house of Krug, their monumental 2008. Expectations were high for this bottle, given that it was the most anticipated release in my 22 years of doing the Champagne buying at K&L. Those expectations were exceeded. This wine will be a legend like 1945 Mouton, 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle, or 1921 Salon. They nailed it.

Valentine's Day with Krug x Rice

On Monday, for Valentine’s Day, Cinnamon and I opened the best bottle of wine I have drunk in quite a while. It was the Krug Grande Cuvée 165ème edition, which had been in my cellar for just over four years. Just last week, Krug announced their ingredient of the year—rice—as part of their wonderful single-ingredient program. Each year they choose a “humble” ingredient to inspire everyone from top chefs to Krug-loving home cooks to come up with great pairings. Cinnamon and I had been talking about which rice dish to cook ever since. I settled on crab risotto, a dish we used to make every Dungeness crab season, but due to poor supply of the crustaceans over the last few years, have not made in quite a while.

Krug Rosé and Ramps—A Rare Spring Treat

Last week, my wife, Cinnamon, found ramps, a rare onion that has a very short season and usually must be foraged at our local market, Sigona’s. As I wrote about earlier this year, Krug features an ingredient every year to pair with their Champagne, and this year it is Krug x Onions. Clearly, this was a Krug occasion, and I didn’t hesitate—we had to try these rare onions with some Krug Rosé.

Krug x Onions

Every year, Champagne Krug selects an ingredient to pair with their wines. This year the ingredient is the onion—and I have to admit to already being a convert to this combination—it is a great partner to Krug! Mentioning the word Krug to my wife works magic, and she did not hesitate to volunteer. She made a gorgeous tarte à l'oignon that included leeks and shallot as well as a little Beurre Bordier butter from Brittany. I am a lucky man—all I had to do was open a bottle of Krug "Grande Cuvée" 168 ème Édition Brut Champagne and enjoy!

Iconic Single-Vineyard Krug

Very few wines in the world are as rare, special, and profound as Krug's Clos du Mesnil. Any wine lover should count themselves lucky just to have tasted it once in their lifetime. I felt blessed indeed to drink a bottle of it in my front yard with Cinnamon during this year's endless California Indian summer. Given my previous experience with this wine and the high price, my expectations were very, very high. I was not disappointed.

Krug Grande Cuvée 168 Ème Édition—A Toast-Worthy Champagne

Last night, I opened a bottle of the Krug Grande Cuvée 168 Ème Édition Brut Champagne as the aperitif for Cinnamon and my father. We paired it with some excellent pistachio paté that Clyde had given us as well as the Jamon Iberico that Cinnamon gave me for my birthday. Krug Grande Cuvée is one of the world’s great wines, and unlike most of the other great wines of the world, it is a wine that is defined by time as much as it is by soil or grape varieties.

champagne, wine pairingGary WestbyDecember 30, 2019Krug Champagnechampagne, krug, new year's eve, perfectly aged

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