And speaking of champagne.

Nice long article in Wednesday's NY Times on champagne, especially the small grower-producers, whose wine rarely makes it to the U.S. The article talks about these champagnes as being very food-friendly, unlike those made by the big producers, and gives some food matches, from scallops to rabbit to fried chicken. It also talks about the art of blending the constituent wines from different vintages, to enhance the final product, not to cover up for weaknesses. And the article even has a more in-depth sidebar on a tasting of 25 small-producer champagnes.