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Dale Cruse explains; Champagne isn’t just for breakfast anymore

If one wanted to get technical about Champagne it would be easy to do, not particularly poetic or sexy but easy nevertheless.  At its production level essence it is just a sparkling wine produced by inducing an in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation.  The main grapes brought to the production of Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier.   Boredom now setting in.  Now let’s talk about what makes Champagne special, why it points us immediately to the good times and special moments of our lives.  There’s probably only a few people we could turn to for the kind of dedicated, passionate insight necessary to understand why Champagne is so amazing, why it documents our rites of passage.

Dale Cruse,  Boston wine legend,  is a self described website developer, wine enthusiast,  jazz bassist, Yankee fan (daring to live openly about it in Boston) and blogger.  He’s been around the wine scene enough to make an impression.  He knows a lot of the players and above all,  he knows his juice.  With opinion,  he is as candid as it comes and recently he has chosen  to begin expressing  himself through the drink his curiosity seems to know no bounds for:  Champagne.

He’s now on a year long quest to taste out a different Champagne every day.  Like Julie Powell in her diary/book turned film chronicling her obsession with Chef Julia Child, Cruse is epically intertwined with the bubbly to help raise our awareness of the grape’s potential to do more than celebrate New Years Eve and weddings.  For Dale Cruse,  Champagne can belong just as appropriately to tacos as it does wedding cakes.

A Glass Of Champagne A Day For A Year is his mission and at first glance it would seem like a pretty major commitment for anyone to make.  I’m not sure I even know of 365 different champagne’s so the research alone to plan it out seems tedious.  Where does one even get all of these?  The drinking part would be the obvious reward for the whole year long gig.  That much is certain.   And we’re pretty sure that anyone following Dale Cruse for the year is going to come away with quite the musical/Champagne education.  It’s a way cool and epic journey.  One that made us even more excited when he agreed to talk about it and share some of his motives.

There are many among us who seldom think about Champagne outside of special occasions such as holidays and weddings but your year long journey to view it in the broader light as a sparkling wine has opened up the drink for consideration inside many different scenarios.

That’s exactly the point. Often, we save Champagne for special occasions & forget that it’s actually *wine* – wine that can be enjoyed with any meal, any time, any day. I’m trying to change the perception.  That said, we often associate Champagne with celebrations. I’m pretty sure I have undiagnosed depression so this is a way for me to celebrate every single day. And who couldn’t use more celebrations in their lives? So I consider this project therapy.

Some have said this endeavor is nothing more than a good excuse to chronicle your insane, irresistible love affair with Champagne. You’re not going to mount much of an argument against that sentiment are you?

No one’s said my love affair with Champagne is insane. In fact, most people ask if they can join me!  You know what IS insane? The prices of some high-end Champagnes! One of my goals is to taste through all the major Champagne houses & many of those bottles costs hundreds of dollars! What’s crazier? Those prices – or the fact that I need to way to pay them?

Very few people are passionate enough to champion Champagne to this level and extent. Has the bubbly truly inspired you this much?

Look, Champagne doesn’t need me to champion it. Many of the major Champagne houses are owned by luxury brands like Louis Vuitton so I’m not going to be the guy who gets people to start drinking Champagne. But I might be the guy who gets people to start drinking Champagne *more often.*

Champagne & sushi is my all-time favorite wine & food pairing. I’m going to write about that soon but wait until I talk about Champagne & fresh fried chicken – that’ll blow some people’s minds! That’s inspiration!

Is there a book deal motive here? Are we looking at the next Julie Powell?

I have a wine book idea but this isn’t it. If a publisher wants to talk with me, I’m glad to have the conversation. But that’s not my motivation.

You’re one to document aspects of your personal life through social media with readers and the quest to lose weight has been interesting to watch. Has any of that journey made you reevaluate your penchant for drink?

I’ve had to pay attention to how many calories & carbs wine contains. Turns out it’s quite a few! We most often drink wine with our evening meal – the one closest to our bed time. For our metabolism, that’s usually the worst time of day to put excess carbs in our bodies. At one point I decided I could give up some extra carbs – no dinner rolls at a restaurant for me – to allow myself to have an extra drink. Or six.

One of your most endearing qualities is how apparent it is that you love drinking. What is it about drinking that you enjoy most?

If you look closely at what I write, you’ll find I don’t love drinking just for the sake of drinking. I rarely – if ever – write about wine as an “object.” Reading other people’s tasting notes make me want to put a gun in my mouth. Instead, I write about my interactions with people – winemakers, cork dorks, & people who’ve barely given it a second thought. Wine is interesting, but people are much more interesting.

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