Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/430172
16 / the tasting panel / december 2014 THE MESSAGE Pascal Doquet, Champagne Grower and Producer P ascal Doquet, Champagne grower and producer for the eponymous label, recently completed his inaugural visit to New York with his wife Laure in late October. Participating in the exclusive La Fête du Champagne, he hoped to squeeze in time between events and importer tastings not to sightsee, but to hunt for a local luthier. "I like to return from my travels with an instrument," he says, and his collection reads like a cartograph of global music styles: a Turkish saz, a Moroccan oud and a Nigerian mbira. As an admirer of Jimi Hendrix, Doquet wanted an American guitar. "I am searching for one like I search for wine. I need a connection with the artisan to be reminded of their story every time I play it. A good luthier is like a good wine grower." A third-generation Champagne producer in Vertus near the southern tip of the Côte des Blancs, Doquet owns vineyard parcels in the prestigious grand cru Le Mesnil sur Oger. In 2001, he made an unprecedented decision to begin eliminating chemicals, receiving his organic certification in 2010. Why? "Because he is crazy," his wife said, adding, "It's not possible to have a long civilization without recy- cling. That includes our land." Compared to the neighbors' rock hard soil, Doquet says his "swells with life and crumbles like couscous." —Lauren Mowery Taking It to the Bank W hen a comparison between the grand crus of the Bordeaux region's Left Bank and Right Bank goes down, the winner is the lucky soul that gets to imbibe in their goodness. A lot of people claimed victory on October 11, when a few dozen patrons gathered around at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Newport Beach, CA to indulge in sampling a dozen labels produced by esteemed Bordeaux grand cru properties like the Left Bank's Château Léoville Poyferré and the Right Bank's Château La Mondotte. The gather- ing's composi- tion is symbolic of the successes that Bordeaux wines are having among the younger market. "More wine drinkers in the new generation have discov- ered that Bordeaux are actually easy to approach," explains Bruno Laclotte of distributor Hillside Wines & Spirits, an organizer of the event. "Having a tasting like this, where the winemaker is pouring the wine, enhances that approachability even more." —Rich Manning Stoli in Pink "B reast cancer is a terrible disease; everyone knows someone who has been affected by it," Rich Paulsen notes as General Manager On-Premise, SWS Arizona. This sentiment led Paulsen to come up with a plan to raise awareness in the accounts he visited, since he did not see anyone else doing so. In October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, he partnered with Stoli and rolled out pink Stoli-branded POS materials in 70 accounts across Arizona, including Downside Risk, Michael Dominic Steakhouse and Hifi Bar & Grill in Scottsdale, and Steak 44 in Phoenix. Although donations were not a part of the plan for this year's campaign (Paulsen hopes to include this compo- nent in future years), they did secure a contribution to the Wig Out program in Phoenix, which offers a voucher for a wig of their choice to a breast cancer patient. "This whole idea wasn't a sales job, and we weren't trying to reap any rewards—we just wanted to do something good and can't wait to make it even bigger next year," Paulsen concluded. Cheers to that! —Emily Coleman Mesnil sur Oger. In 2001, he made an unprecedented decision to begin eliminating Champagne producer Pascal Doquet and his wife Laure in New York City's West Village. PHOTO: LAUREN MOWERY Winemaker Stephan von Neipperg. Michael Koziel of Steak 44 in Phoenix, with the Stoli in Pink POS materials.