Jiles's Blog

Who Am I?

17 years spent living and working in Champagne has allowed Jiles to build up a vast amount of knowledge about all things bubbly as well as a very extensive network of contacts, especially amongst the smaller and less well-known champagne makers whose champagnes will probably amaze you with their quality and diversity.

A job as area manager for Asia and Australia with Moët et Chandon was what first drew Jiles to Champagne after completing an MBA in Luxury Brand Management at ESSEC, a prestigious business school just outside Paris.

After nearly 9 years at Moët Jiles moved back to the UK where he started one of the first online businesses promoting and selling grower champagnes,

However the draw of ‘The King of Wines and the Wine of Kings’ once again proved irresistible and another 8 year stay in Champagne was the result. During this second stay in Champagne Jiles worked with the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne as an accedited consultant for small, independent champagne makers before setting up his own consultancy.

Jiles now spends his time between England and Champagne.and puts his knowledge and contacts to work helping wine lovers everywhere learn more about champagne and helping businesses and individuals to create their own private champagne brand.

He is the author of two books on champagne, several concise guides to champagne  and is the creator of an online champagne study course called My Champagne Expert

 


 

How to match food and champagne

 

Food Matching coverFor most people champagne is a wine that you serve as an aperitif, before a meal, not during a meal but that’s an odd thing when you stop to think about it because, after all, champagne is just a white wine that has bubbles in it and because of the many different types and styles available there’s a champagne to go with just about every type of dish or cuisine  you care to mention, except perhaps for a steak or a joint of beef.

When I was living and working in Champagne I discovered that serving champagne throughout a meal is not only, the thing to do, but that it makes for a fabulous occasion.

Did you know, for example, that white wine ( and that includes champagne) goes better than red wine with most cheeses, particularly soft cheeses?

Or that a hundred years go or more, champagne used to be served at the end of a meal, not before?

That’s because, back then, champagne was sweeter than it is now, but sweeter champagne is still available these days and it goes wonderfully with a whole host of desserts.

What about rosé champagne with duck, pigeon or even lamb?

Champagne and roast turkeyThe acidity in champagne is a perfect balance to the fattiness of the meat and if you’ve never tried champagne with lighter meats such as chicken and turkey then you’ve missed out on a real treat. You’d be amazed at what a good combination it is.

You’d probably not think twice about serving a white wine with fish, so why not consider champagne as an exciting alternative.

If all this is new to you, you may be intrigued, but you may not know where to begin - that’s why I’ve created The World of Food and Champagne  - a concise and easy to follow guide that gives you the golden rules for matching champagne with food including many tips and ideas that you’ve probably never thought of.

Trianon It’s all based on what I saw and tasted when I worked for the biggest champagne brand of them all where they have not one fully staffed gourmet kitchen, but two, in order to prepare sumptuous lunches and dinners for private guests.

So if you’d like to discover the secrets of these top class chefs and gain the confidence and knowledge to create your own amazing meals that your guests will be talking about long after the last glass is empty and the last plate cleared away then you’ll find it all in The World of Food and Champagne

and don’t worry you don’t need an army of kitchen staff and you don’t need to be a trained chef. Everything you need to get started is in The World of Food and Champagne

As well as explaining the broad principles of matching food and champagne the guide includes very practical tips in the form of a grid that will show you what sauces, vegetables, meat, herbs and cheeses go with which type of champagne.

The guide is yours for just $7.99 and you can get your downloadable copy now by clicking on the link below,

https://my-man-in-champagne.lpages.co/the-insiders-guide-to-food-pairing-with-champagne

Your taste buds and your guests will thank you for it.

,

I thought I'd seen everything, but I was wrong...

Camel

Living in the vineyards you get used to seeing row upon row of vines stretching into the distance almost as far as one can see. This is wine making country, after all, and you don’t expect to see cows and sheep grazing (well, perhaps some sheep, but that’s a story for another day and another blog).

In fact, you don’t expect to see many animals at all, so imagine my surprise when I saw a camel calmly munching grass by the side of the road in Aÿ. I just had to stop the car and take a picture.

It was weeks before I found out that the circus had been in town and that is where the camel came from, although I never did find out what the camel and one solitary horse were doing on their own near a roundabout.

That was one of the more unusual sights of Champagne but by no means the only one. Take for example this collection of old cars in a barn at the side of the D443 leading to Bar-sur-Seine.Old car collection 2

Someone has obviously spent a lot of time and probably quite a bit of money on this although there is no evidence that this is a commericla enterprise – it was just done for the pleasure of it, it would seem.

That’s not the case for M. Fontaine, the distiller.

He operates one of the last remaining mobile distilleries that makes its way from village to village helping vignerons turn some of their surplus grape juice into alcohol or eau-de-vie – at reduced rates of tax as well!

 

Mobile Distillery640

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see these sights and learn all the secrets of champagne you have to get off the beaten track, down alleys and across fields that I discovered during the 17 years I lived and worked there.

If you’re a lover of champagne and want to really get to the heart of the people and the places and, of course, of the wine, then I have two wonderful ways for you to do just that

The Insider’s Guide to Champagne is a 147 e-book written in an easy-to read and entertaining style that will keep you turning the pages. It’s full of facts, anecdotes, quotations and everything else you need to feel that you really understand champagne, can speak about it with confidence and get even more enjoyment out of very bottle.

At just $14.99 it’s a wonderful first step on your journey to discover champagne.

Click here to get access to your copy immediately

If you’re already something of a champagne aficionado and want to delve even deeper, then you'll love My Champagne Expert, an online course designed just for you.

In 10 modules, each lasting about 1 hour, you’ll discover the sights and sounds, the places and the people that even most visitors to Champagne never get to experience but which make champagne so special.

By the end of the course you’ll have watched over 50 videos, taken 10 quizzes and viewed hundreds of images, maps and charts – you’ll truly be a champagne expert.

Find out the full course curriculm and get started by clicking on this link

I hope you welcome you soon and take you on your very own journey of discovery through Champagne.

 

All the best

Music in the vineyards - Striking the right note

Michel Loriot cartoonWhen you are a small independent champagne maker you have to find some way to stand out from the crowd.

If this becomes just a marketing ploy or gimmick the consumer will see right through it and the tactic is unlikely to have any real long-term success, but if the point of differentiation comes from the vigneron’s genuine passion or  belief then  it becomes something far more credible that the consumer can understand and relate to.

That’s what Michel Loriot has found and it will be interesting to watch how he fares.

How long can I keep champagne?

More bottles ageing at Krug 19th Feb 2010There is a common misconception about champagne which is that it doesn’t age well and that you can’t keep it for very long but this is in fact totally false.

To understand more let’s look first at the reasons why the idea has come to be so widespread  and then we’ll tackle the question of how long you can keep champagnes

---

 

How many bottles of champagne do I need for a party?

How many bottles of champagne do I need for a party?

This is a question that comes up time and again.

Champagne FlutesI’ll do my best to answer by giving you a few tips to guide  you, but please bear in mind that there are lots of variables that will affect the answer so there is no absolute rule you can stick to in all circumstances.

First let’s consider the amount you pour in each glass.