We've Got Our Hands on Something Very Rare....

A dessert wine from Champagne! By Champagne I'm referring to the region in France famous for its sparkling wines, not any sparkling wine, as the term is often incorrectly used. As it turns out Champagne doesn't just produce sparklers, they make a very interesting aperitif/dessert wine called Ratafia de Champagne. To make it, the winemakers make a sort of brandy from champagne grapes (mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). They then blend it with unfermented chardonnay and pinot noir juice and then age it in oak casks for two years. The result is a semi-sweet, almost sherry-like wine. It comes with a champagne cork, but isn't carbonated at all.

The wine itself is not necessarily rare - many champagne producers make one. What is rare is seeing any in the United States. To find this you usually have to travel to Champagne or perhaps a boutique wine shop in Paris. If your father is a wine lover this would make a great gift - he's probably never had one before. I wish I had a picture to show you, but if you want to see it come into either kybecca store and ask to see the Fourny Ratafia de Champagne (or if you can't remember that, just ask to see the Champagne dessert wine).