Every Friday TheChampagneSommelier will ask 5 questions about 5 coeur de bouteilles to friends and Champagne lovers from near and far. This week we met up with Santa Rubena – a sommelière & an importer specializing in grower champagnes – based in Berlin.
BIO
SANTA RUBENA
I am growerchampagne importer and ambassador in Germany, as well certified sommelier and champagne expert. I started as a wine blogger and couple of years ago founded my own business lifeinbubble.de. Today I represent some of the best champagne winemakers and among my costumers are numerous Michelin starred restaurants, best bars, as well the fine wine merchants.
Which Champagne would You treat your parents or in-laws?
My parents live quite far from me – deep down in the Latvian woods, close to the Russian border. I would usually visit them in the summer months taking a box of various lovely growerchampagnes along. We would often have refreshing Huré Frères ‘Invitation’ or Trousset-Guillemart ‘Brut Nature’ as aperitif and would follow with Vilmart’s ‘Coeur de Cuvee’ 2011 paired with wild game dishes. My mother in-law always enjoys Pierre Péters champagnes.
Which Champagne would you treat your lover?
My husband’s favorite wine is Savart’s ‘Les Noues’. It’s a big style champagne with electric, sexy energy. But to surprise him we would share one of my favorites – La Closerie ‘LC11’ en Magnum while sitting on the Sylt beach watching the sunset.. As we all know: happy wife – happy life!
Which Champagne would You treat your boss?
I am my own boss and I like precision on the one hand and natural flow of things on the other. I highly appreciate young, passionate winemaker generation in Champagne. So, I would open a bottle of biodynamic Aurore Casanova ‘Divine Puisieulx Grand Cru’ from her latest collection to share with my beloved clients – best sommeliers in Germany.
Which Champagne would You treat yourself?
I am waiting for the moment when Alexandré Chartogne will release his brand-new cuvee ‘Grands Champs’. I tasted it recently at the Domaine (in Zero Dosage) and fell in love immediately. Meanwhile I’d be sipping beauties from mega vintage 2008!
Which Champagne would You treat a dream guest, and why?
My dream guest would be Princess Grace Kelly – one of my women icons and an example of elegance. I always wanted to be an actress myself but chose a different path. I’d love to hear her experience, thoughts about feminism and the world today. We would listen Simply Red “Stars” and open champagnes she never tasted – fabulous Pierre Gerbais ‘L’Originale’ or Etienne Calsac ‘Les Revenants’ from rare heritage grape varieties, and incredible wines from Adrien Dhondt and Guillaume Selosse. That would be a great day in my life!
Read more in the series ‘5 bottles & 5 questions’
