Every holiday season, I like to travel to unlikely locations to probe the place and its people for colorful stories about yuletide time. This year, this reporter stopped off at Binny’s, a huge liquor store on North Avenue just west of Harlem that services many folks in the western suburbs and Chicago. On this day, there was a holiday champagne testing.
Bill Kirchmeyer, the general manager, explained the significance of this event. “More than 75 people are here to make informational decisions about what sparkling wines?#34;those made outside of the champagne region of France?#34;and what champagnes they’d like to purchase to help celebrate the season. We offer more than 75 different choices this year,” he said, pointing to seven elegantly dressed tables, each filled with colorful-looking bottles of bubbly. They all had cool names like: Dom Perignon, Cordon Negro, Grande Dame, Pol Roger, Fluteau Blanc de Blanc and Sugura Viudas. The names often matched their personalities and places of origin.
“I like the way the Dom Perignon slides down my throat,” said Christa of Evanston. Barbara of Cal City preferred the Tattingers and the Mumms. Cindy liked a Veuve Rose, which she said “goes with any meat.”
The prices ranged from $150 Krug Champagne, superb French champagne to $7 Cordon Negro Extra Dry Sparkling Wine, an excellent buy for those who love Spanish sparklers. The people here were equally colorful, especially as the day went on and the bubbles flowed. Without a doubt, the most colorful person here was a regular-folks guy dubbed “Champagne Larry,” the self-professed, 50-something professor of sparkling wines and champagne.
Dressed in all black and leading an increasing number of fans and followers, he’d sip, swirl it in his mouth, spit it out in a bucket, rinse his glass, and respond to each bottle. People hung on his every word. There should have been classical music in the background as a backdrop for Champagne Larry’s lectures. “I have exquisite taste and intimate knowledge,” he professed. “I bring my own Reidel Crystal stemware because, frankly, it tastes better that way. Some say I’m an aficionado. I’m also a regular, though I have missed occasional champagne tastings at this Binny’s to make it to one of the larger Chicago ones. This one I prefer though because it’s slightly smaller, more intimate, and, quite frankly, more fun.” He liked the Grande Dame Veuve Cliquot and the Krug, both high-end champagnes. Darrell from Maywood also liked the Grande Dame. It was the only champagne I tried three times. I also liked the Gloria Ferrer Blanc Noir, an inflation-fighter at $14 and the Fluteau Blanc de Blanc, which costs $33. I tried this one twice and directed others toward the table.
This was a crowd favorite. It’s rich history, pleasant bouquet and process was described by Ron Spears, a distributor of Grape News Importing, a company with Oak Park origins. “Jennifer Grayson on Augusta Avenue once owned this company of fourth-generation Fluteaus,” he said. Spears gave a scientific explanation of how soil helps dictates the taste of sparklers from the middle of France to the champagnes of the north, both of which he markets.
A Bellwood lady named Jackie told me she preferred Beur Cremant D’Alsace because “it goes down easy,” and Marguet because “it has a gentle apple flavor.” A chef named Susan agreed. “The Cremant goes well with any dish. It comforts the palate. Wine is food.” A lady named Pam said she liked the Banfi Rosa Rogale and the Mionette “because it goes well with desserts.” Just about everyone seemed to like the Moet Chandon Nectar. Cathy of Des Plaines, also liked Joseph Perrier. Me, too.
Traveling from table to table with Champagne Larry was Lord Craig of Barrington, a French-speaking expert, also dressed in black, who also carries his own stemware. Craig and Larry seemed to have the most fun of all the dozens of people at his season’s champagne tasting at Binny’s. Smiling at every sip, mumbling in French and English, they savored the flavor of the best of the best. Sips were poems to them.
They said since I seemed to appreciate the same selections they liked, at next year’s tasting they would bring a crystal glass for me. I’ll toast to that!
Happy New Year.