That's interesting that you prefer the blanc de blancs. After our Champagne-tasting sprees in Champagne and at Lavinia and the Salon des Vignerons Independants last year, we came to the conclusion that we like champagnes that include some Pinot Meunier in the blend and find the blanc de blancs a little dull (although we did like Bardy-Chauffert's). To each his own.

We just got back from a quick trip to the Loire this past weekend, where we tried the vin petillant produced in Vouvray. Not as sweet as champagne (at least not the wines we tried from Huet and Champalou). We imagine, therefore, that they could be quite nice on a hot summer's day - or good for blending with a champagne cocktail we discovered at l'Hotel in Paris last year: champagne or sparkling wine, a half shot of liqueur des violettes and a half shot of lime juice.

We bought half a case, so I'll report back tomorrow on the success of our experiment. Time to celebrate: a) end of the work week; b) my dad's last evening in Paris with us; and, most importantly, the last day of my awful job. (Not to mention the fact that we need to finish up the opened bottle of liqueur des violettes because we can't ship open liquor when we move ...