Ah, Breakfast...Eye-Openers

Still thinking about Saveur's October all-breakfast issue. Of course, they talk about eye-openers, including Ernest Hemingway's favorite dubbed "Death in the Afternoon": part absinthe, part champagne. My favorite morning drink (besides coffee, of course): a mimosa, which (to my taste) is half orange juice, half champagne. Of course, now with the gardens bursting forth (see pic), perhaps we need a Bloody Mary, with some Charbay (of course) vodka. Ciao.

Now THAT's Champagne

Hey, I might not BE a big cat when it comes to fancy food and wine, but I sure know how to HANG OUT with some big cats. I've already told you about my fun times hanging out with Todd Anderson drinking his $500-per-bottle Ghost Horse Vineyards wines. Now do you want to hear about the $25,000 bottle of champagne (that's NOT a typo; yes, it's 25 thousand dollars) I held (carefully) in my hands the other day?

I thought so. Here's the story. In 1990, Sonoma Coast Villa owner/innkeeper Johannes Zachbauer purchased a special edition of a Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne release. Only 2,000 bottles of the special 2000 vintage -- created for the coming millennium -- were produced. Johannes purchased number 0916 (cool guy, this is his wedding anniversary date: September 16). Of the 2,000 bottles produced, this is the only remaining bottle currently in the United States. Because of this, and because so few bottles were produced to begin with, this bottle owned by Johannes now has an estimated value of $25,000! Talk about FUN!

Here are a few other facts about this bottle of champagne:

~ Johannes has an official "Certificate of Ownership" (see pic at right)

~ The bottle is HUGE; it's what's called a Mathusalem, which is six liters, or 8 bottle of champagne

~ Louis Roederer is one of the largest remaining independent champagne makers. Located just south of Reims, France, Louis Roederer was tapped by Tsar Nicholas II to provide champagne to the Imperial Court of Russia. It was through these efforts that Roederer developed the clear, or "crystal" bottle and gold label the company is known for today.

Anyway, just wanted to share. And oh, yes, one more thing: Johannes isn't particularly attached to this bottle. In other words, he could be persuaded to sell it. Wouldn't that make a fun wedding gift to someone.... Talk about a party! Or wait; maybe when I win the $10 million World Series of Poker, yours truly could throw a party! Yeah, yeah, now we're talking. Stay tuned....