Florist Nicky Goodyer wins Vin de Champagne award
A NSW florist with a nose for bubbly has received a prestigious award by Vin de Champagne.
Florist Nicky Goodyer is officially Australia’s biggest champagne brain.
The florist was last night awarded the Vin de Champagne award, which for 42 years has transformed amateurs into champagne ambassadors to further Australians’ enjoyment of the sparkling wine.
Goodyer, who won the amateur award, was joined on stage by sommelier Cameron O’Keefe, who took out the professional award for people in the food and wine industry. They had answer questions from a panel of judges and attempt to identify three different wines in a blind tasting.
In receiving her award last night, Goodyear acknowledged the support of her husband and told the audience gathered at Sydney’s Four Seasons hotel. she might not always be the best housewife.
“There might not be milk in my fridge but there’s always champagne,” Goodyear said.
Goodyer, who works in the wedding industry as a florist in the NSW Illawarra region, vowed to campaign for strict observance of champagne appellation, the recognition that champagne can only come from the designated wine growing region in northern France.
“There’s nothing more annoying than going into a venue and asking “what champagne are we having today?’ and they say “Banrock Station”.
O’Keefe, a sommelier at Geelong’s Centra Hotel won the award at this fourth attempt and noted how much the industry had grown over that time. “We are now drinking three times more champagne than we were then,” he told the audience.
Judges paid tribute to the growth in knowledge among contestants over the four decades the biennial awards had run. “I won this award in the 1990s and I am astonished about how much they know and how little I did then,” judge Peter Bourne said.
The black tie dinner was attended by Thibaut Le Mailloux from France’s Comité Champagne, who had flown out from France especially for the event.
O’Keefe and Goodyer will soon travel to France for a two-week educational tour of the world-heritage listed Champagne region, with special behind the scenes access to the Champagne Houses and their famous cellars.
They will receive their medal from Le Comité Champagne. If previous winners are anything to go by, it will be the start of a new career direction. Past winners have used the trip to jump start a new career as Champagne ambassadors, writing books and hosting tastings across the country.
To accompany the awards at the Four Seasons, Pei Modern Chef Mark Best created a five-course menu, which included tomato marshmallows and doughnuts and chicken liver parfait. The champagnes matched to Best’s menu were: Taittinger Cuvée Prestige, Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Canard Duchêne VII Blanc de Noirs, Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV, Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2007, Alfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs 2007, Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2007, Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007, Charles Heidsieck 2005, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2004, William Deutz 2006, Gosset Brut 15 Ans, Pommery Brut Rosé, Bollinger Rosé and Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d’Or Brut 2006.
“All the finalists displayed remarkable knowledge and sophisticated palates, and we’re certain the winners will continue to pursue their aspirations to learn even more about the nuances and history of Champagne by travelling to the region itself,” said Elisabeth Drysdale, Director of the Champagne Bureau.
Australia’s love of champagne means it has become the sixth largest import market in the world. Last year we imported 8,110,106 bottles of champagne, up 24.3 per cent on the previous year. It’s undeniable that Australia’s love affair with Champagne is only growing stronger, year by year.