December ...Month For Champagne And The Kir Royal

December is the month for celebrations not only with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,  Boxing Day, and New Year's Eve but also birthdays and name days in my family.



For example Maria's birthday is December 3, a Sagittarius (goes very well with Leo...me). December 4th, our Barbara's name day, Santa Barbara or La Sainte Barbe in French speaking countries. So there are many occasions to drink champagne. When I talk of champagne I mean  a sparkling wine which comes from Reims in the Region of Champagne in France. The best champagnes are usually Brut meaning dry.  Sparkling white wines such as Italy's Spumante is not a champagne. There are good champagnes such as Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and Cordon Rouge but there are very good champagnes such as Bollinger, Taittinger, Pommery, and last but not least, Dom Pérignon which is the prestigious champagne of the House of Moët & Chandon which also is co-owner of Louis Vuitton MHLV (Moët-Hennessy - Louis Vuitton).


Bollinger Champagne Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google

Every one of these champagnes is capable of standing up to a good Kir Royal. In two words a Kir Royal is Crème de Cassis topped with Champagne. It is an apéritif, or apéro in colloquial  French, is a before dinner drink. The better the champagne the better the Kir Royal.  The reason I am calling it Kir Royal is because there is the simple Kir which is made with a good white Burgundy wine, a Meursault for example which is also a before dinner drink. 
To cut a long story short when there are ladies in company, offer a Kir Royal made as follows: There should be a good balance between the Brut of the champagne and the sweetness of the Crème de Cassis because the latter is a liqueur and is sweet.
Directions:
- Prepare the "flute" champagne glass or whatever champagne glass you are using.
- Pour ½ measure of Crème de Cassis (quantity of Crème de Cassis depends on individual taste).
- Open a fresh bottle of Brut champagne and top.
-  Have the special champagne stopper ready to keep the champagne from going flat (losing its bubbles).
-  Refrigerate for future use. Best not to keep an opened bottle of champagne for more than two days.



Special Stopper

Crème De Cassis Photo Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google
Enjoy Ladies!!
Stelio


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