Champagne is wine.

(Seems obvious. Or does it?)

It is also special. And fun. 

(Just like you.)

It is undeniable: champagne is perfect for important events and special moments, and just hearing the POP and seeing the bubbles can lift your spirits in an instant.

But, when we save it for special occasions, or just drink it for the bubbles without considering the wine they are animating, we miss a great opportunity.

The best winemakers in Champagne will tell you “Wine first, Bubbles after.” While that’s a factual statement, it is also part of the philosophy that underlies a veritable Golden Age for the appellation. The region is full of a new generation of vignerons who are thoughtful, dedicated, and tirelessly finding the way forward in a time of climate change, evolving tastes, and demand for wines that clearly show their terroir or sense of place.

Bubblyothèque is here to make sure you drink well, have fun, and begin to think of how the wines of Champagne demonstrate an intriguing range of style and complexity. Not only that, there are many that cost far less than mass-produced bottles on the shelves of the Piggly Wiggly and which are approximately a million times more delicious. You just have to understand them as wines first, realize that big name is not equal to best wine, and taste, taste, taste. Oh, and have knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides to show you the way.

And that’s where Bubblyothèque comes in.

Le Bubblyothèque - not only nights like our pop-ups at Jeannette, but paired tastings and dinners as we’ve done in the space before, my ongoing classes at Swirl, and “just because” (no other reason necessary for champagne). Want to do a custom event? Let's talk.

I’ll be here, there, and everywhere - the Bubblyothèque is - for now, anyway - a moveable fète, if you will.

I moved to New Orleans in 2011 following many years in Chicago, where I was fortunate to first learn about Champagne as a wine (and not simply a marker of a festive occasion) at Pops for Champagne, a longtime Chicago treasure.  As part of a tasting group of wine professionals and other Champagne devotées, I gained a deep understanding of the wines and grew to love them even more through the years. I have made annual visits to Champagne in order to gain even more knowledge of where these wines originate and who is making them and how. In order to maintain this pursuit of greater Champagne knowledge and appreciation, I formed a similar tasting group here in New Orleans, composed of a variety of wine/food professionals.  The next step is to share this knowledge with the broader public to help more people come to understand and enjoy Champagne - not just for parties, but as a wine in its own right, one of great complexity coming out of a region undergoing rapid and exciting changes. -Michael Knisley