Part 20

Distinguished gourmets are scarcely agreed as to the proper moment when champagne should be introduced at the dinner-table. Dyspeptic Mr. Walker, of "The Original," laid it down that champagne ought to be introduced very early at the banquet, without any regard whatever to the viands it may chance to accompany. "Give champagne," he says, "at the beginning of dinner, as its exhilarating qualities serve to start the guests, after which they will seldom flag. No other wine produces an equal effect in increasing the success of a party—it invariably turns the balance to the favourable side. When champagne goes rightly nothing can well go wrong." These precepts are sound enough, still all dinner-parties are not necessarily glacial, and the guests are not invariably mutes. Before champagne can be properly introduced at a formal dinner the conventional glass of sherry or madeira should supplement the soup, a white French or a Rhine wine accompany the fish, and a single glass of bordeaux prepare the way with the first entrée for the sparkling wine, which, for the first round or two, should be served, briskly and liberally. A wine introduced thus early at the repast should of course be dry, or, at any rate, moderately so.

We certainly do not approve of Mr. Charles Dickens's dictum that champagne's proper place is not at the dinner-table, but solely at a ball. "A cavalier," he said, "may appropriately offer at propitious intervals a glass now and then to his danceress. There it takes its fitting rank and position amongst feathers, gauzes, lace, embroidery, ribbons, white satin, shoes, and eau-de-Cologne, for champagne is simply one of the elegant extras of life." This is all very well, still the advantageous effect of sparkling wine at an ordinary British dinner-party, composed as it frequently is of people pitchforked together in accordance with the exigencies of the hostess's visiting-list, cannot be gainsayed. After the preliminary glowering at each other, more Britannico, in the drawing-room, everybody regards it as a relief to be summoned to the repast, which, however, commences as chillily as the soup and as stolidly as the salmon. The soul of the hostess is heavy with the anxiety of prospective dishes, the brow of the host is clouded with the reflection that our rulers are bent upon dragging us into war. Placed between a young lady just out and a dowager of grimly Gorgonesque aspect, you hesitate how to open a conversation. Your first attempts, like those of the Russian batteries on the Danube, are singularly ineffectual, only eliciting a dropping fire of monosyllables. You envy the placidly languid young gentleman opposite, limp as his fast-fading camellia, and seated next to Belle Breloques, who is certain, in racing parlance, to make the running for him. But even that damsel seems preoccupied with her fan, and, despite her aplomb, hesitates to break the icy silence. The two City friends of the host are lost in mute speculation as to the future price of indigo or Ionian Bank shares, while their wives seem to be mentally summarising the exact cost of each other's toilettes. Their daughters, or somebody else's daughters, are desperately jerking out monosyllabic responses to feeble remarks concerning the weather, lawn tennis, operatic débutantes, the gravel in the Row, the ill-health of the Princess, and kindred topics from a couple of F.O. men. Little Snapshot, the wit, on the other side of the Gorgon, has tried to lead up to a story, but has found himself, as it were, frozen in the bud. When lo! the butler softly sibillates in your ear the magic word "champagne," and as it flows, creaming and frothing, into your glass, a change comes over the spirit of your vision.

The hostess brightens, the host coruscates. The young lady on your right suddenly develops into a charming girl, with becoming appreciation of your pet topics and an astounding aptness for repartee. The Gorgon thaws, and implores Mr. Snapshot, whose jests are popping as briskly as the corks, not to be so dreadfully funny, or he will positively kill her. Belle Breloques can always talk, and now her tongue rattles faster than ever, till the languid one arouses himself like a giant refreshed, and gives her as good as he gets. The City men expatiate in cabalistic language on the merits of some mysterious speculation, the prospective returns from which increase with each fresh bottle. One of their wives is discussing the E.C.U. and the S.S.C. with a hitherto silent curate, and the other is jabbering botany to a red-faced warrior. The juniors are in full swing, and ripples of silvery laughter rise in accompaniment to the beaded bubbles all round the table. And all this is due to champagne, that great unloosener not merely of tongues but of purse-strings, as is well known to the secretaries of those charitable institutions which set the wine flowing earliest at their anniversary dinners.

A few recipes for sparkling wine cups gathered from various sources will conclude our work. Not having personally tested these we leave the responsibility of them to their respective authors—Soyer, Tovey, Terrington ("Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks"), &c.—premising that it is the merest folly to use a high-class champagne or a fine sparkling hock for a beverage of this description. Sparkling saumur, or the newly-introduced sparkling sauternes, and the cheaper hocks and moselles, will do equally well at a greatly reduced cost. In all cases, too, the kind of liqueur, the amount of sugar, and the flavouring with borage, verbena, pine-apple, or cucumber, may be varied to suit individual tastes. For soda or seltzer water we have invariably substituted Apollinaris, which is far better adapted for effervescent drinks of this description by reason of its purity and softness, its freedom from any distinct flavour, and above all its powerful natural effervescence.

Soyer's elaborate recipe for champagne cup for a large party is as follows:—

Prepare three ounces of oleo-saccharine by rubbing some lumps of sugar against the outside of a lemon or Seville orange and scraping away the sugar as it absorbs the essential oil contained in the rind of the fruit. Put the oleo-saccharine with the juice of four lemons in a vessel, add a quart bottle of Apollinaris water (Soyer says soda-water, but Apollinaris is certainly preferable), and stir well together until the sugar is dissolved. Then pour in one quart of syrup of orgeat and whip the mixture up well with an egg whisk in order to whiten it. Next add a pint of cognac brandy, a quarter of a pint of Jamaica rum and half a pint of maraschino; strain the whole into a bowl, adding plenty of pounded ice if the weather is warm, and pour in three bottles of champagne, stirring the mixture well with the ladle while doing so in order to render the cup creamy and mellow.

A less potent and pretentious beverage, and better suited for a summer drink, is the subjoined:—

Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar in a quart of Apollinaris water. Add a wineglass of curaçoa, a sprig of green borage or a couple of slices of cucumber with the juice and fine shavings of the outside peel of a lemon, and a pound of bruised ice. After the whole has been well stirred pour in the champagne and serve.

Other recipes are as follows:—

Prepare an ounce of oleo-saccharine, add to it a large wineglass of maraschino, a liqueur glass of cognac, and the juice of half a lemon. Mix well together, and add several slices of pine-apple, and a large lump or two of ice. On to this pour first a large bottle of Apollinaris water, and next a bottle of sparkling wine.

Mix with the contents of a bottle of chablis or sauternes a liqueur glass of chartreuse and a tablespoonful or two of powdered loaf sugar. When the latter is dissolved throw in a pound and a half of pounded ice and a sprig of borage. Pour over these a quart of Apollinaris water and a bottle of sparkling saumur. For the chablis or sauternes half a bottle of light claret may be substituted.

To a gill of good pale sherry add a liqueur glass of maraschino and a few lumps of sugar which have been well rubbed over the rind of a Seville orange, the juice of which is also to be added to the mixture. After the sugar is dissolved throw in a sprig of borage or a slice or two of cucumber and some pounded ice. Then add a quart bottle of Apollinaris water and a bottle of champagne or some other sparkling wine.

The following cup for a party of twenty is said to be of Russian inspiration:—

Pour on to some sprigs of borage or a few slices of cucumber a pint of sherry and half a pint of brandy, then rub off the fine outside peel of a lemon with a few lumps of sugar, and add these with the strained juice of the lemon and of three oranges. Pour into the mixture half a pint of curaçoa, a wineglass of noyau, a couple of bottles of German seltzer-water, three bottles of soda-water, and three bottles of champagne. Sweeten and ice to taste.

Here is a recipe for a cup made with chablis and sparkling red burgundy:—

With a bottle of chablis mix a liqueur-glass of chartreuse and then dissolve in it some powdered sugar. Add two pounds of ice in largish lumps, a slice or two of cucumber, and a sprig of lemon-scented verbena, or substitute for these a few slices of pine-apple. Pour in a quart bottle of Apollinaris water, mix well together, and add a bottle of sparkling burgundy just before serving.

The following refer to sparkling hock and moselle cups:—

To a bottle of sparkling hock add a quarter of a pint of lemon water ice and a liqueur glass of pine-apple syrup. After mixing them add a slice of cucumber, a lump or two of ice, and a bottle of Apollinaris water.

Add to the strained juice of a couple of lemons an ounce and a half or more of powdered loaf sugar and a wineglass of maraschino. Mix well, and pour in a couple of bottles of iced sparkling hock and a large bottle of iced Apollinaris water.

Dissolve a couple of ounces of sugar in a gill of dry sherry, add the thin peel of half an orange, a few slices of pine-apple, peaches, or apricots, with some pounded ice, and then pour in a bottle of sparkling moselle and a bottle of Apollinaris water.

With half a pint of lemon water ice mix a bottle of iced sparkling moselle, add a few drops of elder-flower water and a bottle of iced Apollinaris water. Instead of the lemon ice half the quantity of pine-apple ice may be used with the juice of half a lemon, and the elder-flower water may be dispensed with.

THE PRINCIPAL SPARKLING WINE BRANDS.

In this list whenever a manufacturer has various qualities the higher qualities are always placed first.

Qualities. On side of Corks. For this e-text, the table has been changed to a list format, with the columns represented by levels of indentation. The "Brands" are indicated by the bracketed word [Cork]; the "Side of Cork" text—if any—is given in the same line as its associated Quality.

The book included an errata sheet for the tables. It is shown here immediately after the tables themselves. The changes and corrections listed have not been made in the text.]

+CHAMPAGNES.+

Firms and Wholesale Agents. Brands. Qualities. / On side of Corks.

AYALA & CO., Ay Ayala, 7, Little Tower Street, London Rinck & Unger, 50, Park Place, New York [Cork] Carte Blanche / Extra. Carte Noire / Première. [Cork] Second

BINET FILS & CO., Reims Rutherford & Browne, Old Trinity House, 5, Water Lane, London. [Cork] Extra First Second / Binet fils & Cie. [all varieties]

BOLLINGER, J., Ay L. Mentzendorf, 6, Idol Lane, London. E. and J. Burke, 40, Beaver Street, New York. [Cork] Very Dry Extra / Very Dry Extra quality. Dry Extra / Dry Extra quality.

BRUCH-FOUCHER & CO., Mareuil L. Ehrmann, 34, Gt. Tower Street, London. [Cork] Carte D'Or First Second

CLICQUOT-PONSARDIN, Veuve, Reims (WERLE & CO.) Fenwick, Parrot, & Co., 124, Fenchurch Street, London. Schmidt Bros., New York. [Cork] Dry Rich / England. [both varieties]

DE CAZANOVE, C., Avize J. R. Hunter, 46, Fenchurch Street, London [Cork] Extra / Extra qualité. First Second Third Fourth [Cork] Fifth

DEUTZ & GELDERMANN, Ay J. R. Parkington & Co., 21, Crutched Friars, London. [Cork] Gold Lack (Extra Dry and Dry) / Gold Lack. Cabinet (Extra Dry and Dry) / Cabinet.

DUCHATEL-OHAUS, Reims Woellworth & Co., 70, Mark Lane, London [Cork] Carte Blanche (Dry and Rich) Verzenay (Dry and Rich) Sillery (Dry and Rich)

DUMINY & CO., Ay Mogford, Courtenay, & Co., 16, Mark Lane, London Anthony Oechs, New Street, New York [Cork] Extra / Maison fondée en 1814. [both brands] [Cork] First / Maison fondée en 1814. [both brands]

FARRE, CHARLES, Reims Hornblower & Co., 50, Mark Lane, London Gilmore & Gibson, Baltimore Mel & Sons, San Francisco [Cork] Cabinet (Grand Vin) / Cabinet Grand Vin. [Cork] Carte Blanche / Carte Blanche. Carte Noire / Carte Noire. [Cork] Sillery Sec / Sillery Sec. [Cork] Sillery / Sillery. [Cork] Ay Mousseux / Ay.

FISSE, THIRION, & Co., Reims Stallard and Smith, 25, Philpot Lane, London [Cork] Cachet d'Or (Extra Dry and Medium Dry) / Cachet d'Or. Carte Blanche (Dry, Medium Dry, and Rich) / Carte Blanche. [Cork] Carte Noire (Dry and Medium Dry). / Carte Noire.

GIBERT, GUSTAVE, Reims Cock, Russell, & Co., 63, Great Tower Street, London Hays & Co., 40, Day Street, New York [Cork] Vin du Roi [Cork] Extra [Cork] First [Cork] Second [Cork] Third All these wines are prepared Extra Dry, Dry, or Rich.

GIESLER & CO., Avize F. Giesler & Co., 32, Fenchurch Street, London. Purdy & Nicholas, 43, Beaver Street, New York [Cork] Extra Superior India / India. First [Cork] Second [Cork] Third

HEIDSIECK & CO., Reims. Theodor Satow & Co., 141, Fenchurch Street, London Schmidt & Peters, 20, Beaver Street, New York [Cork] Dry Monopole. Monopole (Rich) Dry Vin Royal Grand Vin Royal (Rich)

IRROY, ERNEST, Reims. Cuddeford & Smith, 66, Mark Lane, London O. de Saye, 18, South William Street, New York W. E. Hepp, 101, Gravier Street, New Orleans [Cork] Carte d'Or, Dry / Carte d'Or, Sec. Carte d'Or / Carte d'Or.

KRUG & Co., Reims Inglis and Cunningham, 60, Mark Lane, London A. Rocherau & Co., New York Hillman Bros. & Co., San Francisco [Cork] Carte Blanche / Carte Blanche, England. Private Cuvée / Private Cuvée, England. [Cork] First / England. [Cork] Second

MOËT & CHANDON, Epernay Simon & Dale, Old Trinity House, 5, Water Lane, London, Agents for Great Britain and the Colonies Renauld, François, & Co., 23, Beaver Street, New York J. Hope & Co., Montreal [Cork] Brut / Imperial, England. Creaming / Creaming, England. Extra Superior / Extra Superior, England. Extra Dry Sillery White Dry Sillery / White Dry, England. [Cork] First Quality / England. Second Quality

MONTEBELLO, DUC DE, Mareuil-sur-Ay John Hopkins & Co., 26, Crutched Friars, London Cazade, Crooks, & Reynaud, 25, South William St., N.Y. [Cork] Cuvée Extra / Cuvée Extra. Carte Blanche / Reserve. Carte Bleue / Cte. Bleue. Carte Noire / Cte. Noire.

MUMM, G. H., & CO., Reims W. J. and T. Welch, 10, Corn Exchange Chambers, Seething Lane, London F. de Bary & Co., 41 and 43, Warren Street, New York [Cork] Carte Blanche / Cuvée Extra. Extra Dry / Extra Dry. Extra / Extra. First / First. For America only. Cordon Rouge / Cordon Rouge. Extra Dry / Extra Dry. Dry Verzenay / Dry Verzenay.

MUMM, JULES, & CO., Reims Jules Mumm & Co., 3 & 4, Mark Lane, London [Cork] Extra Dry Dry

PÉRINET & FILS, Reims John Barnett & Son, 36, Mark Lane, London Wood, Pollard, & Co., Boston, U.S. Hooper and Donaldson, San Francisco [Cork] Cuvée Réservée (Extra Dry) / Cuvée Reservée. White Dry Sillery / White Dry Sillery.

PERRIER-JOUËT & CO., Epernay A. Boursot & Co., 9, Hart Street, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Cuvée de Réserve / Extra Pale Dry Creaming First [Cork] Second [Cork] Third

PIPER, H., & CO., Reims (KUNKELMANN & CO.) W. Foster Newton & Son, 3, Maiden Lane, E.C., London John Osborn, Son, & Co., New York and Montreal [Cork] Très-Sec (Extra Dry) / Kunkelmann & Co. [all varieties] Sec (Very Dry) Carte Blanche (Rich)

PFUNGST FRÈRES & CIE., Ay, Epernay J. L. Pfungst & Co., 23, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Carte d'Or (Dry, Extra Dry, and Brut) / Carte d'Or. Sillery Crêmant (Extra Dry and Brut) / Sillery Crêmant. Carte Noire (Dry, Extra Dry, and Brut) / Carte Noire. Cordon Blanc (Full, Dry, and Extra Dry) / Cordon Blanc.

POL ROGER & CO., Epernay Reuss, Lauteren, & Co., 39, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Vin Réservé.

POMMERY, VEUVE, Reims (POMMERY & GRENO) A. Hubinet, 24, Mark Lane, London Charles Graef, 65, Broad Street, New York [Cork] Extra Sec (Vin Brut) / Veuve Pommery. [Cork] Sec

ROEDERER, LOUIS, Reims Grainger & Son, 108, Fenchurch Street, London [Cork] Carte Blanche / Reims, Carte Blanche, Gt.-Britain.

ROEDERER, THÉOPHILE, & CO., MAISON FONDÉE EN 1861, Reims Théophile Roederer & Co., 150, Fenchurch Street, London [Cork] Crystal Champagne, Special Cuvée / Special Cuvée. Extra Reserve / Cuvée / Reserve Cuvée. Extra Superior Carte Blanche Dorée / Carte Blanche Dorée Extra Quality Carte Blanche / Carte Blanche. First Quality Carte Noire / Carte Noire. Verzenay / Verzenay.

ROUSSILLON, J., & CO., Epernay J. Roussillon & Co., 15, New Broad Street, London D. St. Amant & Son, 13, South William Street, New York [Cork] First Cuvée Second Cuvée Dry Verzenay Sillery Sec / 1874 Extra Sec.

RUINART, PÈRE ET FILS, Reims Ruinart, Père et Fils, 22, St. Swithin's Lane, London [Cork] Carte Anglaise Dry Pale Crêmant Extra Dry Sparkling Carte Blanche First

DE SAINT-MARCEAUX & CO., Reims Groves &, Co., 5, Mark Lane, London Hermann Batjer & Bro., New York [Cork] Vin Brut Carte d'Or (Extra Dry) / Very dry. Bouzy Nonpareil (Dry) / Vin Sec. Carte Blanche (Medium) [Cork] Second (Medium) [Cork] Third (id.) For America only. Dry Royal

+SAUMUR AND SAUTERNES.+

Firms and Wholesale Agents. Brands. Qualities. / On side of Corks.

ACKERMAN-LAURANCE, St. Florent, Saumur J. N. Bishop, 41, Crutched Friars, London Timothy Stevens, 29, Beaver Street, New York Chapin and Gore, 70, Monroe Street, Chicago [Cork] Carte d'Or / Carte d'Or. Carte Rose / Carte Rose. Carte Bleue / Carte Bleue. Carte Noire / Carte Noire.

DUVAU, LOUIS, Aîné, Château de Varrains, Saumur Jolivet and Canney, 3, Idol Lane, London [Cork] Carte d'Or, Extra Superior Carte d'Argent, Extra Carte Blanche, Superior Carte Rose, Ordinary

LORRAIN, JULES, Château De la Côte, Varrains, near Saumur J. Lorrain, 73, Great Tower Street, London [Cork] Carte d'Or Carte Blanche Carte Rose Carte Bleue

ROUSTEAUX, A., St. Florent, Saumur Cock, Russell, & Co., 63, Great Tower Street, London I. H. Smith's Sons, Peck Slip, New York Law, Young, & Co., Montreal [Cork] Extra [Cork] First [Cork] Second [Cork] Third Sparkling Vouvray, Superior Sparkling Vouvray

NORMANDIN, E., & CO., Châteauneuf-sur-Charente P. A. Maignen, 22, Great Tower Street, London [Cork] Sparkling Sauternes (Extra Dry) Sparkling Sauternes (Dry)

+BURGUNDIES.+

Firms and Wholesale Agents. Brands. Qualities. / On side of Corks.

ANDRÉ & VOILLOT, Beaune Cock, Russell, & Co., 63, Great Tower Street, London P. W. Engs and Sons, 131, Front Street, New York [Cork] Romanée (White) Nuits (do.) Volnay (do.) Saint-Péray Pink and Red Wines

LATOUR, LOUIS, Beaune Reuss, Lauteren, & Co., 39, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Romanée (White) Nuits (do.) Volnay (do.) Saint-Péray (do.) Chambertin (Red) Nuits (do.) Volnay (do.)

LIGER-BELAIR, COMTE, Nuits and Vôsne Fenwick, Parrot, & Co., 124, Fenchurch Street, London [Cork] Carte d'Or (White) Carte Noire (do.) Carte Verte (do.) Carte Noire (Red) Carte Blanche (do.)

+HOCKS AND MOSELLES.+

Firms and Wholesale Agents. Brands. Qualities. / On side of Corks.

DEINHARD & CO., Coblenz Deinhard & Co., 6, Idol Lane, London H. G. Schmidt & Co., 38, Beaver Street, New York [Cork] First [Cork] Second [Cork] Third

EWALD & CO., Rudesheim-on-Rhine Simon and Dale, Old Trinity House, 5, Water Lane, London [Cork] Sparkling Hock Nonpareil (Extra Dry and Dry) Sparkling Moselle Muscatel Nonp. (Dry) Sparkling Moselle (Nonp.) Scharzberg (Dry)

HOCHHEIM ASSOCIATION, Hochheim-on-Maine F. Class & Co., 31, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Sparkling and Creaming Johannisberg Hochheim First (White or Red) Do. Second (do.) Do. Third (do.) Do. Fourth (do.) Hocks and Moselles Nonpareil First Second Third [Cork] Fourth

KESSLER, G. C., & CO., Esslingen George Saurmann, 7, Cross Lane, St. Mary-at-Hill, London [Cork] Kaiser Wein Sparkling Hock Do. Neckar

LAUTEREN, C. SOHN, Mayence Reuss, Lauteren, & Co., 39, Crutched Friars, London [Cork] Sparkling Johannisberg Hock No. 1 Do. No. 2 Do. No. 3 Moselle, Dry, No. 1 Do. No. 2 Do. No. 3 Moselle, Muscatel, No. 1 Do. No. 2 Do. No. 3