Anne Krebiehl MW joins chef de cave Vincent Chaperon in Venice for the typically flamboyant launch of Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009.
There are two attributes that habitually characterize the launch of a new Dom Pérignon vintage; or rather, a curious combination of the two—namely, lavishness and vagueness. And so it was with the launch of the 2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé. The event was themed around the motto “From Matter to Light” and took place in Venice. Such excursions are not new—I remember marveling back in 2013 when I read about an East/West-inspired extravaganza that took place in Istanbul for the launch of the wine’s 2002 vintage.
So, off to Venice, and off to the island of Murano and the glass workshop of Effetre, only producer of so-called murrine or millefiori, tiny pieces of colored glass later used as colorful elements in glassmaking. The murrine are made by aligning different colors of glass in a single rod, the pattern thus created is only revealed when that rod is cut in diameter, not unlike a piece of candy cane or rock, just far more precise and beautiful. They will be used like mosaic pieces to make drinking glasses, vases, and other artifacts. Work at the factory was in full swing. As if the heat of the day was not enough, or the blaze of colored glass shards in the backyard, the temperature radiating from the furnaces was sweltering. Imperturbable artisans pulled lumps of molten glass into long strands that looked much
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
