If you remember the TV show of this name from the 1990s…no, all this has nothing to do with Robin Leach!
Merry Robin (see the end of this story for a choice, never-before-told Robin Leach anecdote!!)
No, this is about…luxurious caviar and glorious Champagne themselves!
After decades of dreaming this…and years of laying the business groundwork…I am now ready to begin offering you the exclusive David Rosengarten Gastronomic Selection caviar, provided by the world’s greatest caviar company, Petrossian, based in Paris.
I have chosen the caviar for its unbeatable quality, sure…but I have also chosen it to go with Champagne! And…here’s the kicker…I have also chosen Champagnes from one of the greatest Champagne houses in France…precisely because they go brilliantly with my caviar! This caviar and this Champagne…are made for each other!!!
To know the joy of which I speak…all you have to do is go to shopdrosengarten.com, and order your desired quantity of A David Rosengarten Selection caviar for your holiday delectation. The caviar will be shipped to your house in plenty of time for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Once it arrives, the jars of this unsurpassable stuff will keep perfectly, unopened, in your refrigerator for 4 weeks. Your call when to pop the lids!
If you wish to know the joy as well of my precisely-chosen Champagne accompaniment…same drill! Here’s what you’d do…
On shopdrosengarten.com, once again, you’ll find links to order all three Michel Gonet Champagnes (or order them all, for a merry tasting!) They will arrive at your house in a separate-from-caviar shipment from Winecellarage. The caviar and champagne are two different orders so you can order the caviar alone, or the Champagne alone. But I’d say the smart money seeks BOTH caviar and Champagne in two orders!
Now let’s look at some of the details surrounding this first-ever offer of Rosengarten caviar.
To begin…the legendary Petrossian family convenes every few months or so to taste a great quantity of caviar in 20 or 30 two-kilo containers. Their purpose is to grade the caviar, and make decisions about labeling and price. Am I the luckiest person in the caviar world? The Petrossians are now allowing me to join them at this family-only tasting…and to choose my favorite caviar! Which also means my favorite caviar for Champagne!
I tell them that I want container #17, let’s say…and they pack the caviar from that two-kilo container for me into glass jars of various sizes, which remain refrigerated until they reach peak condition. Caviar, when properly refrigerated, takes months, even years, to age. We keep the cold jars in waiting, until I sell them to you, in perfect condition, just at the time they’re peaking!
Right here, right now…you will be ordering what I selected a few months ago at my Petrossian-family tasting. It is glorious stuff indeed. You may know that Caspian Sea caviar is almost completely fished out and banned around the world. The Petrossians saw this coming years ago, and developed other mind-blowing sources. At our tasting, we were sampling caviars from the white sturgeon, or transmontanus, raised in California, and universally considered to be the greatest post-Caspian sturgeon, with a great similarity to Osetra. In a blind tasting…you would find this amazing caviar to be as good or better than most Caspian-sea caviars!
If you do choose to buy caviar in this new way…there is one thing concerning caviar that will NEVER change (at least in my mind, and my kitchen): if you have great caviar, DO NOT muck it up with other things! DO NOT serve eggs, onion, toast, sour cream…all those distractions intended to cover the taste of bad and cheap caviar! The only thing that goes with great caviar…is MORE great caviar! Caviar should be a sticky, sexy mass…this act of masticatory dedication brings caviar to its sexy best!
Product Details for “David Rosengarten Caviar:”
THE TEASE (50 gr)
Tease two people with ample caviar as your evening lifts off
$140
THE DINNER PARTY (125 gr)
A copious serving for four as a sit-down first course
$300
THE SPLURGE (250 gr)
A celebration for eight people….over half a pound of caviar!
$580
Shipping is not included in above prices. Flat rate of $35 applies to orders.
Simply order online at shopdrosengarten.com.
The implications of this Rosengarten Selection process are enormous: I will be your taster! The caviar world is a confusing maze…I will be as close as you ever get to going into a caviar tasting and selecting EXACTLY what you like. To my knowledge, no one else is doing this, tin-by-tin…not even the big-name chefs who offer you “their” caviar! If you like my taste in caviar….you’re in! Trust ME…and the trust issue in buying caviar will finally be resolved!
You can also trust me on Champagne…
I made a deal with a very old Champagne house, Michel Gonet, founded in 1802…that has not been well-represented in the U.S. since the 1970s! This is a new start for them in America. I picked them, because they make exactly the kind of light, elegant, dry Champagne I love. Their vintage Champagnes (the only ones I sell) are made from Chardonnay grapes they grow, in 100% Grand Cru vineyards, in the town of Avize (where the winery is located), and in the next-door town of Mesnil (so famous for Krug Champagnes, and other top bottles).
All three Champagnes–because they’re aged, light, toasty, with great acid and dryness–go beautifully with caviar (especially THIS caviar!)
Of course, you can never know which one is your favorite until you’ve tried them all!
2002 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru ($68)
This aged Champagne has flavors of yeast and grilled bread, of course…but also aged Cognac, licorice and vanilla. Fine, distinct bubbles. It pairs perfectly with light-to-medium bodied foods with earthy undertones…..such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto, and grilled mushrooms. Many find this to be the best of the three Champagnes for caviar.
2004 Nude Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru ($68)
This Champagne is made from 50-60 year-old 100% Grand Cru vineyards in Mesnil. The name refers to the relatively low dosage; this is a clean, sleek, bursting-with-life Champagne, with aged nuances, that is a palate-igniter at the start of a meal. If you like your caviar-bound Champagne to be just a whisper…this is the one for you!
2004 Prestige Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru ($84)
Richer than the other Gonets, with more power and a sumptuous mousse, this wine is sheer luxury and elegance. The nose develops towards aromas of honey, white blossoms, and quince. It is a little more assertive with caviar, which some tasters prefer. Also, if you’re looking to impress (at an absurdly reasonable price for quality of this kind), this is a magnificent dinner-party-opener. It is Gonet’s answer to other top-of-line Champagnes, like Dom Perignon. Just selected by Wine & Spirits magazine as a “Best Buy.”
If you wish to order Champagne to go with your caviar, you can also find information on shopdrosengarten.com.
Dear reader…I wish you the happiest of holidays…and the joy of knowing the upper-stratosphere insanity of great caviar with greatly appropriate, top-level Champagne!!!
P.S. Both caviar and Champagne make fabulous gifts, as well! Just tell us where you want your gustatory gems shipped!
SPECIAL ROBIN LEACH STORY!
Robin and I were part of a Food Network event in Hawaii in 1996. We had just flown from Newark on a non-stop flight, arriving in Honolulu in early afternoon. I immediately went to my hotel room to prepare for a jog, and was downstairs within a few minutes to get my feet moving. Robin was still there in a huge limo, just pulling away from the curb. I couldn’t see him behind the tinted glass, of course…but he rolled down his window to say hi. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I’m going for a jog,” said I. Robin thought for a moment, then said “Good idea!” As he rolled up his window, he shouted to his miles-away driver at the front of the car: “Driver! Take ME for a jog!” And they sped off, not towards the track.
