MoetAndChandon

Nothing compares to the perfect pairing of champagne and a cigar. Too often, cigars wind up with dark liquors, their natural partners. Rum, port, scotch and cognac are the norm for an after-dinner smoke -- not champagne. With the holiday season coming, of course, the preferred beverage will likely bubble, so finding the right cigars for the top libation will be crucial.

Fortunately, Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, has agreed to help us out. As you prepare for the new year, take a look at the cigar and champagne pairings that he recommends, with both ubiquitous and rare products on the list. Lee says, "In this day and age, not everyone can afford a $50 cigar and a $300 bottle of champagne," said Lee. "Complementing a wonderful glass of champagne with a great cigar for the holidays is something everyone should be able to enjoy."

BHCC's 2010 Top 10 Champagne and Cigar Pairings are:

There are not a lot of corks popping around the world right now. One of the most popular brands of champagne is feeling a big hit. Decanter reports that Moët Hennessy Champagne sales were down 35 percent in the first three months of this year. The company owns many of the biggest brands in the category such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Mercier and Krug. Revenues from its Champagne and still wine business fell 22 percent in the first quarter.

Consumers are ordering less champagne and so retailers and restaurants are trimming their orders to meet demand. Official shipment figures from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne show a 34 percent drop in volumes in the first two months of 2009 with shipments to other countries in the EU down 47 percent and exports to other countries outside the EU down 42 percent. Rumors continue to circulate about the possibility that LVMH may sell Moët Hennessy to Diageo.

These latest results are part of an overall champagne slowdown that has brought bad news for a variety of brands. France's wine industry has struggled over the past few years but champagne has remained high. Some are calling for a cut in production of the 2009 vintage in order to accommodate a market that has not reached its bottom yet and may not for some time to come.

Last week I mentioned that Scarlett Johansson is the new face of Moet & Chandon. Now the Daily Mail has a look at the sexy photos to be used in the ad campaign. In the pictures, a blonde Johanasson pops a cork, cozies up to an ice bucket, and in my favorite shot, holds a champagne glass between her toes. Check out the rest of the ad images here.

On Oscar weekend, the stars did more than just sign autographs, some of them signed a wooden case containing Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Magnum from 1929, the year of the very first Academy Awards ceremony. The bottle was displayed at the Governor's Ball immediately following the Oscars ceremony. It will be auctioned off at Christie's on June 6 as apart of a wine auction in the Hamptons. Proceeds from the special bottle will benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides "relief" for those in the film industry who had fallen on hard times including health care, childcare, retirement living, and social/charitable services.

Moet & Chandon has been doing a big push with the awards ceremonies lately. They had a red carpet presence at the Golden Globes and now they been designated the exclusive champagne of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. This is the first time that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has had a champagne designation for Oscar and pre-Oscar events (I'm guessing LVMH had to pay a hefty fee for the privilege). Moet & Chandon will be the only champagne or sparkling wine served at the 2009 Oscars.

For those of us not attending the show, there is an Oscars "party kit" on the Oscars website that includes recipes from Wolfgang Puck and a champagne cocktail, the Red Carpet Fizz, which features pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, fresh raspberries and Moet & Chandon White Star.

This time last year I wrote about Moet & Chandon's pop-up boutique offering personalized Champagne bottles in New York City. Now they have come up with MyMoet.com which will offer Champagne bottles personalized with Swarovski crystals in your choice of message to everyone across the country. The service is available in Moet & Chandon Imperial or Nectar Imperial and in 750 ml or magnum size bedazzled with gold or silver Swarovski crystals. Pricing starts at $90 [excluding tax and shipping] for a 750mL bottle of Moet Imperial with up to seven characters.

Care for a little 70 year old champagne from Adolf Hitler's own stash that may or may not be poisoned? Sign me up!

Not really, I'm kidding.

But in all seriousness going up for auction this month on the 17th is a bottle of 1937 Moet et Chandon that was apparently taken by a soldier from the Reich Chancellery in Berlin in 1945 after the Nazis were defeated. And the poisoned part? There was a rumor going around that some of the champagne bottles had been poisoned via injections through the cork.

I might not be interested, but I can still understand why other people would be -- it is a piece of history. Just make sure you store it so there's no chance you're going to pop it open and drink it accidentally this New Years!