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:

For 30 years Mr Chow (above) on East 57th Street in New York has been one of the city's most enduring hotspots, frequented over the decades by the likes of Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat, Calvin Klein, Madonna, Robert DeNiro, Tom Cruise, Uma Thurman and many others. To celebrate the anniversary and show their appreciation to its devoted clientele, the restaurant will present a complimentary bottle of Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne to each table from November 4th - December 15th. The 30th anniversary comes on the heels of the opening of Mr Chow's fifth location in Miami at the W South Beach. The New York branch opened in 1979 following the success of Michael Chow's restaurants in London and Beverly Hills.

[via JustLuxe]

At the Pavilion Visconti in Milan, French champagne house G.H. Mumm just unveiled a special edition gift box designed for the recent Italian Grand Prix Formula One championship, won by Brawn-Mercedes driver Rubens Barrichello. Made from carbon fiber with gold plate details and a black velvet interior, the limited edition G.H. Mumm F1 Box will be available to order in Italy only for €5,000, or about $7,300. It's the cornerstone of a collection of champagne accessories commemorating the famed race designed exclusively for Mumm, founded in 1827 and now owned by Pernod Ricard.

[via BornRich]

Back in April of this year we saw one major champagne producer advocate lower production rates to compact the drop in sales. Now with harvest fast approaching, the battle is heating up over a reduction in yield. The London Times says that they may be ordered to leave up to half of the grapes on the vine in order to prevent flooding the market with champagne there is no market for. Last year the harvest level was 14,000 kg for every hectare farmed, this year Champagne houses are advocating 7,500 kg a hectare. Growers realize they have to harvest less but are pushing for 10,000 kg a hectare. The champagne houses are finding that they already have over a billion bottles in stock in their wine caves, far more than they usually keep on hand. Champagne grapes harvested will turn into wine which is ready for sale in 2011. The problem is that no body seems to know just how fast the economy will rebound and if, when it does, it will take champagne consumption with it. Champagne drinking is associated with a certain type of extravagance and it may be that even if the economy recovers quickly people may still not be ready to raise their glasses with the French bubbly.

Grape growers are coming off years when they received high prices for their grapes and champagne production was kept high to keep up with increasing demand. They are angry and according to an article in the Economist some say that the big champagne houses knew a crisis was coming, a charge the champagne houses deny. Merchants and vineyards are meeting Wednesday to set the maximum yield. If they can't reach a figure together then the regional prefect, who represents the French Government, makes the decision.

Famed French champagne house Moët & Chandon has come out with a cool new traveling set called Buckets of Bubbles (above). The set includes four mini champagne flutes accompanied by four mini bottles of refreshing Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial bubbly in a chic carrying case that doubles as an ice bucket. Unlike some special champagne sets which charge a premium for the privilege, Buckets of Bubbles is actually something of a bargain. It retails for approximately $34.99 but offers the equivalent amount of champagne as a 750 ml bottle of Nectar Imperial, which retails for $49.99 and doesn't include the trimmings. Moët & Chandon, founded in 1743, is one of the cornerstones of LVMH's luxury empire.

First we heard Ferran Adria, the famous Spanish chef from the world's greatest restaurant, El Bulli, was interested in pizza and it turns out he's already got the beer. Adria, his partner Juli Soler and two of his sommeliers have worked on a beer for the 100-year-old brewery Estrella Damm of Barcelona. This is no ordinary pint, The NY Times quotes Adria who says that, "The idea was to make a beer to drink with food, from a wineglass."

Inedit is actually a combination of two beers, a lager and a German-style weissbier with flavors of coriander, orange peel and licorice. The two beers are fermented separately and then combined in a 750ml wine bottle where they undergo a secondary fermentation. It is recommended that the beer be chilled in a wine cooler and served in white wine glasses which are supposed to be filled only half full so that the nuances of the brew can be appreciated. It sells for $9.99 and is available at Whole Foods.

We first heard about it in April but now we can take a look at the new system for opening Champagne. The Maestro opening system, developed by Alcan Packaging Capsules, looks similar to a regular champagne top but there is one big difference, a large lever on the side. Champagne house Duval-Leroy is the first to use the new closure, putting it on their cuvee Clos des Bouveries Vintage 2004. To open the bottle you simply lift up the lever (a video is after the jump). The closure does make a soft popping noise and is, if less elegant, certainly faster. The process is more like opening a can of soda than opening a wine bottle.

The new closure has similar benefits to the screwcap on still wine, the main selling point being that it eliminates cork taint. Prevention of the dreaded TCA has made the screwcap a favorite of wine producers and the public has caught on to the fact that a screwtop doesn't mean that the wine is cheap or of poor quality. I haven't seen it in person yet but there is something appealing about the lever that I believe lends itself to graceful pouring. I think this closure may catch on.

On May 30 Britain's Prince Harry will play in the second annual Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic during his first official visit to the U.S. Last year we told you about the launch of the Manhattan Classic, the first polo match to be played in NYC in 70 years. For this year's event the famed St. Regis hotel is offering an Aficionado package, including a stay at the ultra-luxe hotel, VIP seating at the match for two guests, and brunch the next day with Nacho Figueras, captain of Ralph Lauren's Black Watch polo team (and a Ralph Lauren model).

The St. Regis will feature its renowned Afternoon Tea at the polo match, and Sandro Micheli of Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis New York has created a special menu for the occasion. At the match taking place on Governor's Island, the Prince will play opposite Black Watch on a team captained by Nick Roldan. Veuve Clicquot is donating proceeds from the event to American Friends of Sentebale, a charity supporting at-risk children in Lesotho, Africa, founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso.

[via JustLuxe]

It looks as though world famous French champagne house Cristal, a symbol of wealth and excess, will either have to cease sales in Russia or change its name if it wants to continue supplying oligarchs with party potion.

State-owned Christall Vodka, a sister brand of Stolichnaya, has taken Cristal to court on the grounds that customers will be confused by the similarity. Russia's copyright watchdog has ruled in favor of Christall, Russia Today reports; Cristal has said it plans to appeal.

The ruling is ironic given the fact that Cristal, which is produced by Louis Roederer, was first created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia while Christall Vodka is not even sold there. While Cristal only obtained its Russian license in 2006, however, Christall secured its copyright 30 years earlier.

In France, Christall Vodka lost a similar battle to Cristal, so some see the latest development as revenge. However, Christall's parent company denies this and says it would be open to allowing Cristal to keep selling if they agree to pay (a lot) for the privilege.

Famed French champagne house Veuve Clicquot is known for many innovative products designed to enhance the experience of enjoying their world-class wine. The latest addition is a nifty new version of their thermodynamic Ice Jacket. The high-tech isotherm sleeve is tailored to the shape of the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label bottle and designed to keep it at the perfect temperature. The high-tech fabric with leather detailing highlights the vibrant Clicquot Yellow color. The Ice Jacket can maintain the champagne at an optimal tasting temperature for up to two hours, and it comes with a customizable leather-trimmed label as well as a leather tab at the bottle neck ensure a snug fit.

[via JustLuxe]

News of a potential sale of the liquor division of LVMH has the luxury business world buzzing. A report in the Telegraph says that spirits giant Diageo has tendered a 12 billion euro offer for LVMH's two-thirds stake in Moet Hennessy and that Diageo has set about raising capital with bankers working behind the scenes for several weeks.

The Financial Times asserts that Diageo has not made an unsolicited offer for Moët Hennessy but might be willing to buy if both parties could agree on a price. So far the talks appear to be more theoretical than actual because LVMH hasn't decided that they are ready to sell. The potential deal brings up an interesting question, in a softening luxury market which is better to hold onto, fashion brands like Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Louis Vuitton or liquor brands like Glenmorangie whisky, Belevedere and Chopin vodka, and Veuve Clicquot?

Over the past few years the wine world has gotten accustomed to the idea that screwtop doesn't mean poor quality. Now could the champagne cork be replaced by a metal cap too? Duval-Leroy is planning to start selling bottles with aluminium tops later this year. The company will start off using the new metal cap on a few bottles of
Duval-Leroy's clos des Bouveries to see if the world is ready for champagne without popping a cork. The new cap was designed to deal with the intense pressure that builds up inside a champagne bottle. Canadian company Alcan Packaging won't reveal the new top until it is officially launched next month.

The move alarms traditionalists and indeed anyone for whom that distinctive sound, the hard pop followed by the soft fizz of bubbles, evokes a Pavlovian response. In the Telegraph, Chrystele Ivins, a spokesperson for Alcan in Paris, promises that the new top will still make a pop sound and that it will be easy to open. That at least is welcome news for anyone who has ever wrestled with a cork or had a dangerous misfire. The success of the new closure however will rely less on the utility of it and more on public reaction.

Champagne sales overall are down but one brand has found that a little celebrity endorsement can go a long way. Armand de Brignac, the brand adopted by Jay-Z, has found great success thanks to the rapper's promotion. Jay-Z was a fan of Cristal until 2006 when Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal was quoted in The Economist calling the namechecking of the Cristal brand in hip-hop songs "unwelcome attention." Jay-Z found the remark racist. He called for a Cristal boycott and switched his allegiance to the new brand Armand de Brignac, part of Cattier Champagne. He featured the distinctive gold bottle with the Ace of Spades logo in his video to his single" Show Me What You Got" in 2006.

Since then the brand has taken off, showing up in celebrity gift bags and becoming a new symbol of extravagant taste. The Independent reports that demand is so high that the winery could sell their 60,000-bottle production run several times over. The brand will reach its maximum production of 82,000 within three years. The Armand de Brignac Cuvees are priced from $300 per bottle and come in three varieties, Champagne Rose, Champagne Blanc de Blanc, and the Brut Gold. Luxist blogger Annie Scott sampled the Brut Gold earlier this year.

The situation facing Champagne production is another symbol of how different the global economy has become. Two years ago, concerns over a Champagne shortage put plans in motion to expand the growing region. But as Champagne sales began to fall, the situation changed. Now as Decanter reports, Paul-François Vranken, head of Vranken-Pommery Monopole, one of the three biggest Champagne houses has called for yields to cut in half for the 2009 harvest. In the case of Champagne, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne determines the maximum yield just before harvest starts after talking with growers and the major chateaux.

It's the old case of supply and demand. With bottles still sitting in their cellars many producers may want to scale back production. This is bad news for the growers who are paid for the grapes they sell. It may also be shortsighted depending on which way the economic winds of change blow. Is it better to have too much product sitting in your cellars waiting for the buyers whose pockets are now empty or is it smarter to cut production and bet that the next year won't bring a rapid increase in fortunes (and by association, Champagne drinking).

For years, Champagne sales were high as more and more of the world's drinkers quaffed the bubbly. But by last October Champagne sales were down for the first time in a decade and it's only gotten worse since then. Domestic sales were down by a third in the first eight weeks of 2009 and exports are down over 40 percent to both other European countries and the U.S. and Japan. Champagne always gets associated with the exuberance of fortunes, with extravagance and freespending and suffers in downturns as a result.