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This is actually a very complex topic.Well @Forg I will jump into the lions den by saying that some Tasmanian and Victorian wines are the equal of some French champagne. And that is not just my opinion. First the Chandon winery in Victoria who say that their product is at least the equal of some French champagne
Exceptional Australian Sparkling Wine | CHANDON Australia
Discover CHANDON Australia: exceptional méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine crafted in the Yarra Valley since 1986. Shop, visit and join Club CHANDON.www.chandon.com
Then there are Tasmanian wineries that specialise in sparkling wine. Jansz in the north which started in 1986 in collaboration with Louis Roderer.
Lake Barrington wines produce great sparkling wines both red and white.
Even Moorilla who also got some input from Chandon.
If I ever flew QF F again I would be happy with those sparkling wines and proud that Qantas showcased them
All my F flying on QF F was on awards or upgrades. Not once did I feel entitled or be rude to staff.
We flew 12 F sectors on AA NRT- USA. 2 were awards one of which was a J award upgraded to F. 10 were uprades on DONE5 sing AAs SWU. They were good for 4 sectors so after 2 domestic sector upgrades then another international upgrade to Europe in F.. On 8 of those sectors we hade the same crew and we got on very well. On one trip the purser Dano from Hawaii was absent. The rest of the crw warned us about his replacement -"she's a cough." Within a couple of hours she was sitting down with Mrsdrron learning knitting. The crew were gobsmacked.
So I respectfully submit that we award and upgraders in F did not act entitled..
The terroir - the regional characteristics of a wine growing region - include the soil.
The soil in Champagne is largely chalk, limestone and marl.
Arguably, this imbues the wines with a quality called minerality.
I say "arguably" because the existence of "minerality" as a quality of wine is very controversial.
Many wine critics claim it does not exist, I am convinced it does.
What is not controversial is that the soil in Champagne is different to the soil in California or Margaret River or Tasmania.
So while other elements of the terroir might be similar - latitude, climate, growing on sun-facing slopes - the soil is not.
This means the wines taste different.
Whether you call it minerality or not, there is a subtle taste to champagne which is missing from other sparkling wines.
To compensate, other sparkling wines are often very acidic.
This is definitely the case with Australian sparkling wine.
I don't care which you prefer, but please, don't try to tell me that any other sparkling wine can taste like champagne.
