Severine Frerson, cellar grasp of Perrier-Jouet, believes the various textures and spices of Korean delicacies make a wonderful match for champagne, inviting gourmets in Korea and past to find the concord between the champagne home’s legacy and globally celebrated Korean delicacies.
“Korea is an rising gourmand nation the place we will think about many inventive pairings between Korean dishes and champagne,” Frerson stated throughout an interview with The Korea Occasions in Seoul.
“I used to be impressed by the tenderness of hanwoo and the number of facet dishes that accompany it. The smooth texture of the meat and the layers of taste from the sauces and marinades create a stupendous distinction, and I believed this may pair splendidly with rose champagne.” Hanwoo refers to Korean beef.
A cellar grasp is the chief winemaker of a champagne home, overseeing mixing, getting old and the creation of its signature type. Frerson is the primary lady to carry the place since Perrier-Jouet’s basis in 1811.
Frerson visited Seoul on the event of the Perrier-Jouet Society occasion on Oct. 27, a world gastronomy program that selects star cooks from all over the world as its ambassadors to showcase their signature programs paired with the home’s champagnes.
Within the Seoul version, seven Michelin-starred Korean cooks offered dishes impressed by Korean delicacies — corresponding to chilly appetizers, snow crab rillettes, seafood dongchimi, or water radish kimchi, and tteokgalbi, or grilled quick rib patties — paired with numerous vintages of Perrier-Jouet’s signature manufacturers corresponding to Blanc de Blancs, Grand Brut and Belle Epoque. The cooks are from 5 eating places: Moulin, L’Amitie, Soul, Soseoul Hannam and Yun Seoul.
Severine Frerson, cellar grasp of Perrier-Jouet, fourth from left, poses with cooks who participated within the Perrier-Jouet Society occasion at Museum Myungwon in Seoul, Oct. 27. Courtesy of Pernod Ricard Korea
“When pairing meals and champagne, it’s a must to take into consideration texture and the way spice and freshness come collectively,” she stated. “The tender texture of meats like beef, hen and fish pairs fantastically with champagne, as do citrus-based flavors corresponding to yuzu and crisp components like sesame or onion.”
She notably praised the pairing between champagne and Korea’s smooth rice, which tends to soften softly within the mouth in comparison with the firmer texture of risotto. She stated hanwoo additionally makes an excellent match, not like European beef which regularly has a denser texture.
Frerson stated she sees nice potential in Korea’s culinary tradition, noting that cooks listed below are more and more exploring numerous textures, substances and cooking strategies, which has additionally led to a broader and extra subtle ingesting tradition.
“At Perrier-Jouet, we’re feeling sturdy development within the Korean market,” she stated. “Customers have gotten extra curious and desperate to experiment with totally different pairings, which exhibits how the methods of having fun with champagne are increasing.” Korea is one among Perrier-Jouet’s prime 5 markets.
Regardless of its greater than 200-year historical past, Frerson is barely the eighth cellar grasp of the home, because the position is historically handed down from a cellar grasp to an apprentice. Her predecessor, Herve Deschamps, served for 27 years earlier than handing over the place to Frerson in 2020.
“It’s not about being a person or a girl,” she stated. “What issues is constant Perrier-Jouet’s floral and delicate type, and handing over that DNA to the following era… I’ll add my very own contact as cellar grasp, however my mission is to complement the home’s enduring legacy and go it on to her successor, like a guardian of a sacred temple.”
To uphold that legacy, Perrier-Jouet launched regenerative viticulture in 2020, adopting practices corresponding to biomass cowl crops and inexperienced corridors to revive soil fertility. The effectiveness is measured by the variety of earthworms discovered within the vineyards — a key indicator of wholesome soil — which she stated has doubled over the previous 4 years.
