Gamet Champagne

We recently got together with our friends who love oysters and champagne. She really likes Pinot Meunier based champagnes so my husband procured this Gamet champagne with them in mind.
The Gamet is made with 85% Pinot Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir. Right off the bat all of us loved this champagne. The Pinot Meunier brought a full-bodied richness to the champagne and it paired so well with the oysters. The champagne is made with indigenous yeast and fermented for 24 monthas in stainless steel. The finished champagne was disgorged in June 2024 and 4 g/L dosage was added at that time.
This champagne was imported by Skurnik and on their website, I found more information about the family. Their story is about two families farming on different banks of the Marne and their descendants.
Shortly after World War I, two women, Victoire Garnier on the left bank of the Marne and Berthe Heucq on the right bank of the Marne began farming the land that they owned and making recoltant manipulant (grower owned) champagnes.
In the 1950s Victoire Garnier's original holdings on the left bank of the Marne, were expanded into the Mardeuil by her grandson, François Gamet. Meanwhile on the right bank of the Marne, Berthe Heucq’s grandson Robert was growing his family’s holdings in Fleury-la-Rivière, tending vines and bottling his own wines.
In 1993, Fabienne Heucq, Robert’s daughter, and Philippe, the son of François Gamet met and fell in love. They had a daughter, Marianne. Since 2018, Marianne is the fourth generation champagne maker, taking over the running of the estate and continuing the tradition of being a recoltant manipulant since it's inception.
Marianne’s brother, Jean-François is a trained enologist currently working in Bordeaux. He travels back home to assist his sister and parents with harvest, blending, and bottling.
Champagne Gamet remains a grower-producer, with vineyards totaling eight hectares in three villages – Mardeuil on the left bank and Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery on the right bank.
References:
1. Skurnik Wines and Spirits, Gamet
2. Terroir, Gamet.

Vintage 2026: March Madness

The weather is still top of mind for us. Last week on Tuesday, March 10, we had temperatures that reached the 70's. This helped to melt some of the snow that had remained on the ground since late January. However, after the one day of unseasonably warm weather, we have had cold, windy days that has kept us from returning to vineyard work.
I gauge the coming of spring by the crocuses that bloom in March, but so far those first signs of spring are no where to be seen in our neck of the woods. Today we are under gale force wind warnings and I can hear the gusts as I write this blog.
I am crossing my fingers for warm weather in our future, we need to get to the vineyard to begin our pruning duties!

2020 Passionfruit Estate Chardonnay

We are wondering when all of this snow will melt! In the meantime, my husband and I have been tasting our new release which is a 2020 Chardonnay.
In 2020, we had one of the best ripening years and the Chardonnay came in with 23.5 Brix, pH 3.0 and titratable acids at 10.0 We fermented our Chardonnay with a selected yeast and in 2020, we used CX9. For this vintage, we had the help of Jonathan Edwards and his crew and did the fermentation at his facility.
On the evening that we tasted our Chardonnay, my husband made a Coconut Fish and Tomato Bake with fresh local caught striped bass that he purchased from Mason's Island.

We had our friends over for dinner. It was a decidedly Asian leaning dinner and we began with an appetizer of spring rolls. The coconut fish paired with our Chardonnay went very nicely! The fish was flavored with unsweetened coconut milk, fresh ginger, turmeric, red pepper flakes, honey, tomaoes, cilantro and a fresh squeeze of lime.
Our Chardonnay was best when the temperature reached around 52 degrees, then the aromas and the flavors were more apparent. The acidity of the wine worked well with the fish and the Asian flavors brought by the coconut milk, the punch from the red pepper flakes and the freshness of the cilantro, ginger and lime. Our friends brought over a strawberry shortcake which was the perfect ending!

Noguchi Naohiko - God of Sake

Recently, we were watching NHK World and saw this special episode on Noguchi Naohiko, a 93 year old sake brewer. Any time we hear of people who are older than we are and still working, we are inspired! Even at 93, Noguchi is still involved in sake making. I found this photo of him on the online publication, Imbibe, where the title of the article was "75 Person to Watch".¹

Noguchi has been making sake since 1949. He became a Master Toji (sake brewmaster) at the age of 28 and is credited with reviving the Yamahai style of sake brewing. Yamahai along with Kimoto describe historical methods of brewing sake using natural lactic acid bacteria in order to begin the sake making process. The difference between the Kimoto and the Yamahai historical sake brewing process is that the Kimoto has a step called yama-oroshi which entails the grinding of steamed rice and koji rice with a paddle called a kai before insertion into a tank to develop into yeast starter. It’s hard work that requires stirring the rice every two to three hours for an entire day. The Yamahai process omits the yama-oroshi step yet still produces a deep, rich flavor.
Noguchi is known as the "god of sake". The Noguchi Naohiki Sake Institute was founded in 2017 with the goal of training a new generation of sake masters.
The episode about Noguchi inspired us to look into purchasing some of the sake he made. My husband was able to purchase this 2023 Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute. The back label explained that this sake is a Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu meaning that it is unfiltered, unpasteurised, and undiluted. The rice, water and yeast are all local. We paired the sake with a salmon dish. I tasted a lot of umami in this sake which made it a little different from the typical light, fruity sakes that we have with sushi. Indeed, the recommendation is to have this sake with oily fish and big, rich dishes. The alcohol content of this sake was a surprising 17%. As the sake warmed it became mellower, releasing more of the floral aromatics. I felt privileged to have tasted a sake made by Noguchi Naohiko, God of Sake!
References:
1. Imbibe, Imbibe 75 Person to Watch: Noguchi Naohiko, January 2, 2026.
2. SakeTimes, SAKE 101: Kimoto and Yamahai, May 27, 2021.
3. Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute.