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!

Champagne Aspasie: Always Number One in Our Hearts

If my memory serves me correctly, we are approaching our 20th year since initiating our very successful small-estate Champagne import program, care of Gary Westby! It was an immediate hit, and to this day it still surprises me how well the wines beautifully balance high quality and extreme value. As many of our long-time customers know, the nonvintage bottling from Champagne Ariston Aspasie was our first direct import for this program. Paul Vincent Aristan and his wife Caroline have been with us from the start.

The Annual Champagne Summit Dinner Sparkles with Billecart's Brightest

Earlier this week, the K&L Champagne team kicked off our annual staff summit with a dinner hosted by Billecart-Salmon. It has become a welcome tradition to start off our yearly survey of all the grande marque producers with a sushi dinner at my place featuring the wines of this great house. Christian Esser, who just returned from a visit to Billecart, and Eric Lecours presented the wines and treated Scott Beckerley, Michael Benoit, Philip Roufail, Will Langhi, Cinnamon and me to a great spread from Kanpai sushi in Palo Alto.

Champagne Dreams Made Possible with Friends

I have the great fortune of belonging to a Champagne tasting group that meets quarterly. Since August 2019, we have been having our get-togethers. Everyone in this group is an absolute Champagne fiend. Luckily, we have never had to suffer through an even slightly mediocre tasting. Yes, a couple of bottles have been corked here and there, but, amazingly it’s only been very, very, few—especially considering that we taste 15-plus bottles per meeting. This last one, a week ago, was another stunner.

Two Hours in Louis Roederer Heaven!

On Friday, the 23rd of June, we had the extreme pleasure of hosting a wine tasting with the Champagnes of Louis Roederer in all three of our K&L locations. I am reporting on the San Francisco tasting, which was hosted by Roederer representative Andrea Miranda. We will start with what everyone was the most excited about, the 2015 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne.

A visit with Mathieu Roland Billecart

On the morning of May 12, 2023, our San Francisco staff had the extreme pleasure of attending a seminar and tasting with Mathieu Roland Billecart of Champagne Billecart-Salmon. We learned about the history of Billecart-Salmon, including its founding in 1818 occasioned by the marriage between Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. Billecart fans will likely be familiar with these names as they appear on the current 2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne and on bottles of the famous Cuvée Elisabeth Brut Rosé that we regularly have in stock.

The Perfect Day: A Visit to Laurent Perrier

Though it seems like a lifetime ago, only a few weeks have passed since Team Champagne was passing idyllic days meeting winemakers and evenings drinking and eating divinely. Scott Beckerley looks back at his favorite part of the trip: dinner with the folks at Laurent Perrier.

A Visit with Alexandre Le Brun

Gary and Scott visited Alexandre Le Brun, a do-it-yourself winemaker. The entire winemaking process from start to finish is his, and his alone. They were greeted at his winery by his cat, Ninja.

In Champagne, the Wine Is Fine—and the Food Is, Too

While drinking their way through Champagne, Gary and Scott have been eating their way, too. Scott Beckerley reports on some of the joys of eating while on the trail—from Michelin-starred restaurants to cheese and apples under a tree. Ah, le belle vie.

Bring on the Bubbles: K&L's Champagne Newsletter!

February marks the 20th anniversary of our Champagne Buyer’s tenure at K&L, and over the years he’s built a remarkable Champagne program for us. The secret sauce: relationships with wonderful producers across the Champagne region, from small, family-run estates to infamous Grande Marques. In today’s newsletter, he and his team profile some of their favorites.

K&L Wine Merchants

www.klwines.com