PINK PANTHER WINE

If you know me well...or even if you only know me from on the web, you know that the Pink Panther is my all time "favorite" cartoon. I could sit and watch his reruns for hours.
My cell phone rings to the tune of Henry Mancini's Pink Panther, when I had an ebay store my auctions were greeted by music and templates of the Pink Panther.Pink has always been my favorite color. The Panther visits my website from time to time Gabbriella's Closet
Now I welcome him to my blog. I have found this wine online and even though I do not like light reds I would love to try this, just for the sake of having the bottle for keeps.

The Pink Panther
Grand Vin de Bordeaux… Rosé!

The Pink Panther wine has the elegance of that of a GRAND VIN DE BORDEAUX ROSÉ, composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet

Merlot

Giving full bodied moderately tannic wines, this variety adds softness, richness and body when mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon. Ripening early, it gives smooth, deeply coloured, high alcoholic and low acidic wines

Cabernet Sauvignon

Giving tannins with blackcurrant aromas, this variety ripens late and is deeply coloured with a low alcohol percentage

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You can find the Pink Panther in different European countries: France, Spain, Netherlands, Danemark, Portugal ! In France in the month of August: Cora France.

New Years Champagne!

How many bubbles are in a champagne bottle? Researchers have found around 56 million. Don't ask me how they came up with that information but I am sure a few bottles of champagne were involved and the outcome was a scientific theory. The bubbles only appear once the bottle is opened. The bubble itself is a thin film of liquid filled with gas. Coke has large bubbles, champagne has tiny bubbles. Some believe the more bubbles...the better the champagne. I have never noticed this. Add a bit of orange juice and make a mimosa and you never will tell the cost of your champagne. Bubble size in champagne comes from the length of time is is aged in the cellar and he temperature. The cooler, the smaller.
The first important step in serving champagne is chilling it. The bottles used for champagne are thicker that other wine bottles so this will require longer chilling times. The fastest way to chill is in a bucket of ice and water for 20 to 40 minutes. It is not difficult to open a bottle of champagne, but it is different than a bottle of still wine. Many are afraid of this task. Each bottle is under 6 atmospheres of pressure. The same as a truck tire. If you open the bottle incorrectly you run the risk of damage or bodily harm. The cork will fly off at tremendous speed with a mind of its own. Fun, but it can hurt someone.
To safely and correctly open a bottle of champagne:

• break and remove the foil, not the wire cage
• place your thumb on top of the cork to keep it from flying
• with your free hand unscrew the wire and loosen the cage...do not take completely off
• twist the cork in one direction and the bottle in the opposite
• fill each glass with about 2 inches of champagne then go around and top off
• wait until your guest have only 1 sip left then top off again, this way they will enjoy a fresh glass and appreciate it more.
  

Champagne glasses bring out the etiquette in people. Have you ever watched a group socializing and all of a sudden a bottle of champagne and fancy glasses arrive and everyone stands up at their best posture and speak in a softer, sexier tone of voice. Pay attention next time and you may see what I mean. Champagne glasses came to be in the seventeenth century. The basic shape came from the cone shaped glasses resembling animal horns from the 1300 and 1500 in Venice. As serendipity would have it the art of glass making was reaching its peak just as champagne making was beginning.
In my opinion champagne was not meant to be drank the whole evening, but to be as a toast for a special occasion. I have found a drink which for the beer lover who loves to drink from a bottle....this drink is great to have on hand any time of year, especially for the lady who really does not drink but would love a refreshing carbonated drink......VERDI....the Italian "sparkly" check out their website. You can get a case of this at the beer distributor in the US. It is a spumante which is sure to please at all times of year. The great thing a beer drinker may love about this spumante is it comes in smaller bottles, approx 6 oz, and you can drink straight from the bottle and still have your bubbly for the New Year!
I will be opening a bottle of J. Roget Champagne which Gaynor gave me at my "book launch" party in June. If my friend who will be celebrating New Years with me and I do not drink it all on New Years Eve it then will be used in "mimosas" the next morning with breakfast!
Mimosa Recipe (EASY!)

• Champagne (1 bottle)
• Orange Juice (1 carton)

Preparation:

Fill half of a champagne flute with chilled champagne and top off with chilled orange juice, gently stir. For added flare, slice up a strawberry to decorate the rim of each flute. Enjoy!