Dom Pérignon's Head Winemaker Looks To The Future

The future at Dom Pérignon is, dare we say, as bright and bubbly as a glass of its signature wine.

This year marks a turning point for one of the best-known names in Champagne. In 2018, longtime chef de cave Richard Geoffroy announced he would step down after a storied 28 years as the head of the storied wine house. Vincent Chaperon took over as Dom Pérignon's chef de cave at the start of 2019.

A scant six months into his new tenure, Chaperon is at an inflection point for Dom Pérignon, releasing vintages that have been waiting in the wings for their moment, while also looking ahead to the future.

Chaperon has been at Dom Pérignon for years, working closing with Geoffroy, so he's well-versed in the house philosophy. "I'm really at the front line," Chaperon says, of getting used to his new role. "It's really intense. This year has been very exciting. Still, I need a little bit of time to find my own path."

One issue on the horizon, for Chaperon as well as anyone working in agricultural products, whether it's wine or coffee production: Variance in temperatures due to climate changes.

In terms of wine, the harvest time (historically in mid- to late September) is now sometimes earlier, and it means grapes don't always develop the way they have in the past.

"Globally, we can see that the harvest is advancing," Chaperon says. "For 20 years, it has been earlier and earlier. It is simply explained by the fact that the climate is warming. As it gets warmer, the vine cycle is shorter."

The harvest will vary by year to year; in 2019, for example, harvest is projected to take place after September 15, based on recent cool temperatures.

"Weather is changing. It's moving, but on the other hand, it's always been part of our job," he adds, noting that Reims, in the north part of France is used to harsh climates. "Champagne is used to building its model on an aggressive climate. It's a persistent adaptation."

Global changes in weather over the next century will determine if Champagne in general, and Dom Pérignon in particular, will ever have to change grape varietals, to say, grapes that can withstand harsher winters and earlier harvests. Still, if and when that happens, it won't be for several more decades in the future.

Right now, Dom Pérignon is only made with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and they only produce vintages, as they have always done since the 1700's; Chaperon doesn't see that changing during his tenure. "One day, perhaps in 20, 30 years, we [may] have to change [grape varietals], you never know," Chaperon says. "Everything is moving around us. If it happens, you need to be really clear on who you are and what you are."

In the meantime, the house is celebrating the release of a special new vintage, the Vintage 2002 Plénitude 2, which was released last month. It is the secondary expression of the previously released 2002 Vintage. To create the Plénitude 2, however, part of the same 2002 stock was kept in the cellars longer, and therefore in longer contact with the lees, or yeast.

"All of our wines are going through a moment in their lives that we call 'plénitude,' " Chaperon explains. "The wines are not transforming themselves in a linear way. They grown in stages, let's say, windows of expression, which we call 'plenitude.' "

Giving the wines, in this case the 2002 vintage, more time in the cellar means granting wines extra time to develop complexity and flavors. "The Plenitude 2 is a stage of more intensity and more maturity," Chaperon says. "The wine is unfurling its personality. We feel it's really alive. It's showing a lot of energy of life."

As Chaperon looks ahead to what is likely to be the start of several decades in Champagne, he knows there will be challenges, whether from consumer tastes, economics and changing weather patterns. "We need to drive Champagne to stay at the peak of the pyramid of sparkling wine," he says. "We have to go on improving."

"Plénitude 2 is an answer to that," he adds. "We're still Dom Perignon but we offer something with more intensity, a better aging potential."

Projects like the Plénitude 2 require planning and patience. The plans for this wine began in the 1990's, under the direction of now-former chef de cave Richard Geoffroy.

"It's a long-term project," Chaperon says. "We started 30 years ago thinking about it."

"Sometimes time is constraint but it can be an advantage," he adds. "Few people today have time."

Celebrity Takes Delivery of the Flora

Celebrity Cruises has taken delivery of its 100-guest Celebrity Flora, which is now preparing for her Atlantic crossing to the Galapagos, where she will be based year-round.

Marking the occasion, Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain hosted a ceremony aboard Celebrity Flora, while docked in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Company and shipyard executives were also in attendance, plus more than 70 crew members, many of whom are Ecuadorian natives.

"The delivery of Celebrity Flora is a momentous occasion," said Fain. "Designing a new ship specifically for the Galapagos Islands was an exciting challenge and we think Celebrity Flora succeeded beautifully. It is of course luxurious – but it's also the most energy-efficient ship of its kind in the region, which further demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and protecting the vital ecosystem of this unique place."

"More than two years of planning, collaboration and construction have led to this very exciting moment," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. "Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of architects, artisans, engineers and more, we're one step closer to the first-ever sailing of the beautiful Celebrity Flora, which will forever change the way guests experience the Galapagos. Travelers will soon be able to step on board our stunning 100-guest mega yacht with the largest and most luxurious all-suite accommodations in the Galapagos Islands."

The ship was built by De Hoop in the Netherlands.

The new ship will feature Celebrity's signature outward-facing design concept, giving guests 360-degree views of the islands, and all-suite accommodations – including a 50 percent Sky Suites with Infinite Veranda – with service provided by personal attendants, the company said.

Unique to Celebrity Flora are the first-ever glamping experience at sea, new dining venues, an open-air stargazing platform, expert-led ecological seminars, and custom-designed Novurania yacht tenders, which create a seamless sea-to-shore experience.

Another Lexus makes it as a movie star

Quite recently it was the company's flagship LC500 coupe that starred in the blockbuster sci-fi fantasy film Black Panther.

Now it seems the movie bug has had a firm bite on Lexus as the RC F junior coupe is set for its silver screen debut in Men In Black: International. In this new adventure of the successful franchise, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organisation.

The film is directed by F Gary Gray and stars Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson. The executive producer is the legendary Steven Spielberg.

The Lexus RC F has a prominent role in the film as the official company cars of Men in Black agents. The Lexus RX Hybrid and Lexus LX SUVs are also featured in scenes with alien encounters.

"We've added some advanced capabilities to the RC F to assist the agents, creating a truly one-of-a-kind alien-fighting machine," said Lisa Materazzo, vice- president of Lexus marketing. "We can't wait for moviegoers to see the RC F as they've never seen it before."

How a stray puppy rescued from a dump became a movie star

We've all heard the cliched stories of an actor's struggles before a career breakthrough: living hand to mouth, waiting tables, temping, couch-surfing and generally scraping by before landing that major role.

The star of A Dog's Way Home has a hard-luck tale to top them all. Before her big break, she was living in a landfill, rummaging through garbage for her next meal.

Meet Shelby, the tan-and-black mutt who portrays Bella, occupying the screen, often solo, for much of the film's 97 minutes – and whose trash-to-riches saga could itself be a gripping cinematic yarn.

Shelby's big break came in April 2017, when animal control officer Megan Buhler was driving in Cheatham County, Tennessee, a rural area about 25 miles from Nashville. Out on an unrelated call, Buhler spotted and approached what she recalled was a noticeably skittish dog emerging from the dump.

As messy as your life can be, there has to be a window you can escape through

young man walks into a bar and meets Sam Shepard, Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. The man is Tim Roth. The year is 1990, and the actor is in New York to film Jumpin' at the Boneyard, a bleak movie about drug abuse. Roth, who planned to nurse a quiet beer while watching American football, found himself in conversation with Walken and Shepard. "I thought: ‘What the fuck have I walked into?'" he says. "It was purely by chance." By the time he left, Shepard had promised to write him a part in his next play. It was not the first time Roth had been in the right place at the right time, and it wouldn't be the last.

This unlikely encounter took place at a propitious time, just as Roth was starring as Van Gogh in Robert Altman's Vincent & Theo, and shortly before his comic double act with Gary Oldman in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead hit the festival circuit. Writing in the New Yorker, Pauline Kael described Roth's acting as "a form of kinetic discharge". After a decade in which the film industry had largely curdled into a hit machine of bland studio blockbusters, independent film was stirring into life and craft was back in vogue.

Due back in London after filming, Roth instead chose to go prospecting in LA, expecting "to get swiftly kicked out the door". Like his encounter in a Manhattan bar, serendipity intervened. Its name was Quentin Tarantino, the movie was Reservoir Dogs, and it changed everything.

"He came back to my flat after a night in a bar, and we read every scene with all the characters, had a great time – and he gave me the job," says Roth. "I was very fucking lucky. I got given a window, and I jumped." When Shepard, good as his word, called back with a part in his next Broadway play, it was too late. "I couldn't do it," Roth says. "I always regret I lost that opportunity."

Dubs dominate again at ladies football All Stars

All-Ireland senior champions Dublin have been honoured with seven representatives on the 2018 TG4 All Star team.

Dublin's haul is an all-time best on an All Star team selection – as the 2010 and 2016 selections each contained six Sky Blues.

The selection was revealed on Saturday night at the annual TG4 All Star awards banquet, in association with Lidl, at the Citywest Hotel.

Captain Sinéad Aherne received a seventh All Star award, and her third in a row, and there was a sixth in seven years for right-half-back Sinéad Goldrick, who will line out for Foxrock-Cabinteely in next Saturday's All-Ireland Senior Club Final against Mourneabbey.


It's the second year in a row that a set of sisters was named on the All Star selection, as the Hegartys from Donegal, Ciara and Niamh, were listed on the 2017 team.

Aherne and Goldrick are joined on the 2018 list by Dublin team-mates Ciara Trant, Siobhán McGrath, Lauren Magee, Noelle Healy and Lyndsey Davey.

Trant wins an All Star for a second successive year, while McGrath picks up her first gong since 2010.

Midfielder Magee is one of five first-time recipients, 2017 Senior Players' Player of the Year Healy wins her fourth All Star award, and a third in a row, while Davey is also honoured for the fourth time.

Trant, Healy, Aherne and Cork's Emma Spillane are the only survivors from the 2017 selection, as TG4 All-Ireland Finalists Cork picked up four awards in total.

Ciara, now a four-time winner, and Doireann O'Sullivan, who collected her first, are joined on the team by Spillane and another first-time recipient, Róisín Phelan, who's named at full-back.

Spillane received an award at right corner back in 2017 but this time she earns the left-half-back slot.

The remainder of the team is made up of players from Donegal, Galway, Kerry and Tyrone.

Donegal's Treasa Doherty earns her first All Star at right corner back, while Sinéad Burke from Galway is also named for the first time on an All Star team at left corner back.