Méthode Champenoise

(My favorite bivalve via Niamheen's photostream)

If you're reading this blog, I think it's safe to say you drink wine. If you drink wine, then I also think it's safe to say at one point or another, you haven't quite been too sure whether or not to trust the person who's pouring the wine for you. Be it a server at a restaurant, a merchant in a wine store, or even a friend. Unless you're truly versed, if the label is in Spanish, Italian, or French, most of us just have no clue what's in the bottle. Well, that's what's so special about BIN 36. I don't think I'm going out on any limb when I say that people not only trust our take on wine, but seek us out when they've come across someone they don't trust.

And, no doubt, credit for this goes to how we've been able to educate both new faces and friends alike over the past ten years. Whether you've sat with me in a BIN School wine class or you've chatted table-side with a server about which wine to pair with the fish John's prepared for the evening, it's difficult not to come to BIN 36 and not only learn something new, but in a way that's absent of any pretension and intimidation.

That's why I'm so excited to share with you a series of videos I shot for Wine Taste TV.

Granted, winemaker Laurent D'Hardcourt has a thick French dialect, which might be tough for us Mid-westerners to pick up on, but his short breakdown on how his winery makes Champagne is the kind of stuff you'd usually get from a trip to the winery itself - you're learning from the source! He's a brilliant winemaker, and his Pol Roger is some of the most celebrated Champagne in the world.

Champagne is a wine we often keep stashed away, something to be popped open for an anniversary or engagement or maybe that spontaneous, much needed night away from the city... I challenge you to think of it differently. At BIN, it's not a Sancerre we pair with our oysters, but a glass of bubbly. Think oysters are slimy and gross? Then that's the challenge.

How else might you step past the boundaries of indulgence and just simply sit back with friends and relax, all while those little pearls of effervessence rise to the top of your glass...?

And, of course, enjoy the video!