Moët & Chandon: Champagne pairs best with French fries

Adding to a growing list of ‘low-brow’ food such as popcorn and fish and chips, French fries are yet another pairing perfect for Champagne according to Moët & Chandon, in line with the principle that Champagne’s zesty acidity cuts through the saltiness and fat of junk food.

Marie-Christine Osselin raising a glass of Champagne at a Moët & Chandon wine dinner at one Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Man Wah inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central, Hong Kong

French fries, the universal and quintessential junk food, could be the best food option to pair with a glass of Champagne, Marie-Christine Osselin, Moët & Chandon’s wine quality and communication manager, has suggested. 

Speaking to dbHK at a Moët & Chandon wine dinner hosted at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong this week, Osselin said that Champagne drinkers don’t have to frown on the junk food, insisting that the saltiness and crunchiness of the fries can best compliment Champagne’s zesty acidity and its fine bubbles.

Invariably, a low dosage good quality Champagne works well with salty dishes, she added.

The key to Champagne and food pairing in general, according to Osselin, is to follow the rule of choosing simple ingredients. “Champagne is a wine that asks for simple ingredients, no more than three,” she said, while referring to a dish in front of her, the wok-friend lobster with morel mushroom and asparagus, a Cantonese dish served at the one Michelin-starred Man Wah restaurant.  

Expanding on the dish, she explained the mushroom answers the notes from Champagne’s different stages of maturation, and asparagus nicely highlights the bubble’s freshness and acidity. 

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule if you go upscale, “but [it] can be easier with oysters and French fries. You can always explore your sensations with Champagne,” she concluded.

At the dinner, Osselin showcased a few Moët vintage Champagnes including Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1988, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1998, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Rosé 2008, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2009, a magnum of Moët & Chandon Impérial NV, in addition to its ultra premium ‘MC III’ cuvée, a rare multi-vintage blend of both sparkling and still wines. 

Made using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines from the 2003 vintage, ‘MC III’ is blended with reserve wines from the 2002, 2000 and 1998 vinified in tanks and aged in oak casks, then completed with 1999, 1998 and 1993 vintages of Moët Grand Vintage Collection aged in bottles.

Roughly 15,000 bottles were released in 2015 at €450 a bottle, as previously reported by db. 

Asked if the next release will stick to the current blend or add more vintage blend, the winemaker did not reveal details or its release date.