November 27, 2009

You may have heard about the northern Virginia couple that crashed President Obama's State Dinner Tuesday night. However, you might have missed that the wine they enjoyed came from a local vineyard.

Claude Thibaut, a fifth generation French champagne-maker, is working to bring the art of sparkling wine back to Virginia. The President's people broke the good news to Thibaut with a simple phone call.

Some of the most powerful and controversial people toasted with Claude Thibaut's sparkling wine at President Obama's State Dinner Tuesday. Guests and dignitaries washed down their pumpkin pie tart dessert with the winemaker's sparkling chardonnay, Thibaut-Janisson Brut.

"It feels great to know that some very important people have tasted it, and saw my name on the label," said Claude Thibaut.

Born into a champagne-making family in France, sparkling wine is in Thibaut's blood. Thibaut is also an instructor at Piedmont Virginia Community College. The winemaker imparts his champagne knowledge to local students every Saturday, teaching them how to appreciate his lifelong passion.

"I have some friends who told me I was born with a champagne glass in my hand. So, it's part of your blood," said Thibaut.

The wine is made with white grapes from an Ivy, Virginia vineyard and fermented at the Veritas Vineyard in Afton, Virginia.

Thibaut says sparkling wine is the most difficult wine to make because it takes years to ferment, and removing the yeast is a delicate process. However, Thibaut says the grapes in the Charlottesville area yield sparkling wines that give Thibaut's hometown of Champagne, France a run for its money.

If you are interested in trying Thibaut's sparkling chardonnay, it is only $28 per bottle. The wine can be bought right here in Charlottesville at places like Foods of All Nations on Ivy Road and The Virginia Shop in the Barracks Road Shopping Center.