Cooking With Champagne & Red Sparkling Wine

Cooking with Sparkling Wine is always a joy to do, in this article I’ll be cooking a Coq Au Wine Blanc with a Champagne and a Boeuf Bourguignon with a Sparkling Red Wine from Slovenia.

Both these dishes are both traditional French meals, so it’s only natural to have a glass of bubbly with them.

Coq Au Vin Blanc

Coq au vin is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, but in my version, I replaced the wine with a Champagne, to be more specific, a bottle of Roger Constant Lemaire Cuvée Trianon Brut Champagne N.V.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Beef bourguignon or bœuf bourguignon, also called beef Burgundy, is a beef stew braised in red wine and beef stock, with carrots, onions, instead of using red wine I’ve chosen a Sparkling Red Wine from Slovenia to be perfectly specific I chose Vina Kobal Kras Teranova Penina Tera Brut.

How to Make Coq Au Vin Blanc

• First, find yourself a casserole dish or a large pot.
• Put a little oil in.
• Brown the chicken.
• Season with some salt, pepper and herbs.
• Add onions and garlic.
• Add a teaspoon of mustard and chicken broth.
• Then add the Champagne.

• Bring to the boil.
• Cover and Simmer for 1 hour
• Stir every so often.
• Then finally serve, I chose to serve with some new potatoes.

How to Make Boeuf Bourguignon

• First, find yourself a casserole dish or a large pot.
• Put a little oil in.
• Brown the beef.
• Season with salt, pepper and herbs.
• Chop onions and place them into the pot.
• Sprinkle in a stock cube.
• Pour in the Sparkling Red Wine.

• Chop and add the carrots.
• Add water until the carrots are covered.
• Bring to the boil.
• Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours.
• Stir every so often.
• Then chop and add potatoes.
• Cook for another 30 minutes.
• Then serve and enjoy.

Tasting The Wines

While the dishes are both simmering away, now might be a good time to try the wines I have, first I’ll try the Champagne.

Roger Constant Lemaire Cuvée Trianon Brut Champagne N.V. – Tasting Notes – “Honey, citrus, yeast and green apples on the nose. A hint of honey, pastry, yellow stone fruits and bruised apples in the mouth. A Silver Medal Winner in the Gastronomic Category in The Worlds Finest Glass of Bubbly Awards 2019.”

Now the Slovenian Sparkling Red.

Vina Kobal Kras Teranova Penina Tera Brut – Tasting Notes – “A hint of spice with dark red berries on the nose. An explosion of dark red berry flavours in the mouth, smooth in texture, enjoyable to drink. A Trophy Winner in the Fireworks Category on The World’s Finest Glass of Bubbly Awards 2019.”

How Do The Dishes Taste?

Once our meals are done, it’s time to take a bite, I’m going to try the Coq Au Vin Blanc first, let’s see if I can taste the Champagne.

Coq Au Vin Blanc – Tasting Notes – “The Roger-Constant Lemaire is a very bold Champagne and it can certainly be tasted in the sauce by way of pleasing candied lemon flavours, the sauce, enriches the tenderly cooked chicken, the sauce also keeps a long finish at the back of the throat.”

Now the Boeuf Bourguignon, will the Sparkling Red shine through as much as the Champagne did.

Boeuf Bourguignon – Tasting Notes – “The Sparkling Red Wine sauce hits the palate first, tasting of soft red berries, the soft potatoes surround the tender beef giving a melt in your mouth texture, the carrot flavour is mild but still complements the dish.”

Pairing The Food With The Fizz

Now it’s time to see how much of a difference having a glass of what you put into the dish has.

Coq Au Vin Blanc With A Glass Of Roger Constant Lemaire Champagne – Tasting Notes – “The Champagne rides the wave through the chicken and its sauce bringing a more prominent citrus flavour to the palate.”

Boeuf Bourguignon With A Glass Of Vina Kobal – Tasting Notes – “The Sparkling Red comes in strong but then mellows out into the sauce adding a bit more of an alcoholic kick and highlights the tenderness of the beef.”

These dishes are both pretty demanding, requiring you to constantly keep checking on them, but after all the hard work the reward is always worth it.