The Champagne War
Page 39
I learned from Sophie’s network of contacts but especially from her daughter, Diane, who works for Chateau Vieux Landat, the estate inherited from her father close to Bordeaux. She spent a full day with me in the cellars. Also Benjamin Dagot was tirelessly helpful with translation and hunting down historical information for me. Thank you, Nicolas Signolle, Chloé Delaporte at House Gonet, and Sophie’s Aunty Marie-Claire for her lovely food. As I write this, Marie-Claire is arriving at the house featured in the novel because it’s cherry jam–making time. I have tasted no finer jam than hers, when I was a guest in this home.
I must acknowledge Isabelle Rousseaux, who runs private guided trips around Reims and Épernay, for her time and for introducing me to Michel Jolyet, a photographer, who through his library could take me directly back to images of WWI and the region. It was invaluable. Michel also organised for me to take a wholly private walk through the Veuve Clicquot crayères in Reims, and without the usual crowds of tourists I was able to build my mental pictures of the subterranean life of the people of Reims during the war. Thank you to the team at Veuve Clicquot for its generous help too.
Without the help of Bloomsbury Press and the academic work of historian Susan Barton in her brilliant book Internment in Switzerland during the First World War, I would never have found out as much as I did about this aspect of WWI. In fact, I didn’t know that Swiss internment existed, and it offered a marvellous solution to a vexing corner I’d written myself into.
There is of course the usual cavalry that circles my books. When it comes to WWI and the French battlefields, I’d be hard pressed to find anyone as knowledgeable or determined for me to stay authentic when it comes to military matters as historian Simon Godly. He guides me over former bogs and trenches, walks me over No Man’s Land and does his absolute best to make sense for me of the landscape of those four terrible years that today looks so different. Simon kept me on the straight and narrow throughout this novel with his copious notes and with all things army, from the right uniforms to how people should be addressed, to the language they’d use, and tsk-tsking at any liberties I took for the sake of story. That does happen and I apologise for those occasions – any errors are all mine – including taking licence such as putting Sophie’s vineyard so close to the frontline in Reims. Anyone who needs private guiding around the battlefields of France, look no further than Simon. A former British policeman, he’s brilliant . . . and fun.
And Alex Hutchinson, archivist and history buff, busy with her own writing projects and on her third novel, still takes time to accompany me on my jaunts around England. There was to be a section about England in this book and we did the research together, but when it came to writing it I realised the story had to remain in France with a brief detour into Germany and Switzerland. So our efforts never made it to the final cut but that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate her sterling help that never loses energy, enthusiasm or inspiration. And she’ll be back stomping around Yorkshire with me in the next novel. Look out for her Quality Street series.
Heartfelt thanks to Ali Watts, my publisher and friend, who sat through four hard drafts before we finally hit on the one that made us all sigh with pleasure. This book was hard won because it was written through a time of grieving for me – no doubt why it took so many drafts to get it right. I applaud Ali’s determination to keep pushing me, keep searching for the right recipe, and it came because of a casual comment made by my lovely editor Amanda Martin, who frowned and said something that lit fireworks in my mind and was responsible for that fifth draft we all were thrilled to see delivered safely to copyedit. And thanks to Penelope Goodes for her efforts during that edit and Saskia Adams for the tight proofread.
Louisa Maggio . . . another sensational cover and perhaps our best yet. Excited to take this book to market looking so lush and inviting. Thank you for your fine work.
Love all round to my family, especially Ian, Will and Jack, who provide so much support and good times, and even in the tough times making me laugh. Laughter really is healing and while this book is not a lighthearted one, I do hope you’ll find a smile at the end and know Sophie made the right decision.
Fx
RECIPES
Sabayon
In The Champagne War, Sophie Delancré is taken to the famous Hôtel de Crillon in Paris by her brother in law, Louis Méa, for lunch. As Louis explains, tradition goes back a long way in this hotel and after a meal of fish, he orders a sabayon, memorable from the childhood of the two Méa brothers.
Sabayon itself is the simplest of sweet dishes and the building block of many desserts like custard or ice cream. At its most refined it requires three ingredients, which are egg yolks, sugar and your choice of flavour: anything from orange zest or vanilla, through to coffee or alcohol. For the latter, think amaretto, coffee liqueur, Moscato . . . whatever pleases you.
Many of you may recognise this as the Italian zabaglione, claimed to date back to the court of the Medici in medieval Florence and made with sweet marsala wine. The French have their own version using champagne, which I felt was most necessary to go with this book.
This beautiful, elegant custard is the perfect accompaniment to poached fruits, warmed cake or thin, crunchy biscuits like the popular French Langues de Chat – or Cat’s Tongues as we know them.
I have not offered a stabilising factor, so this requires your speed, determination and patience – it will work! However, you can stabilise if you wish with whipped cream, turned gently through the silken foam and then chilled in the fridge to spoon over whatever takes your fancy (or straight into your mouth when no one else is looking!).
All you need, apart from those three ingredients mentioned, are heat, a stainless-steel bowl, a saucepan of water on a low simmer and a big balloon whisk, plenty of stamina and your promise that you’ll keep beating until it rewards you with ribbony traces through a pillowy custard.
This recipe will easily provide four small glass dishes of sabayon, more than enough to serve over berries or stewed autumn fruits, or simply to dip into with biscuits with a bowl or flute of champagne nearby. If you do stabilise with cream then the threat of separation is removed and you can make it ahead.
Choose a lovely dry sparkling wine, such as Taylor’s from the Clare Valley, or your favourite bubbles.
Ingredients
3 extra-large egg yolks
115 g caster sugar
180 ml sparkling wine
Method
Get a saucepan of water on to simmer. You don’t want ferocious heat or you’re going to end up with scrambled egg. And you don’t want any steam getting into your mix.
In your stainless-steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale.
Add the sparkling wine and mix it all in.
Now, it’s off to the stove. Put the bowl over the simmering water and start whisking. A figure of eight motion works best. You are not trying to achieve bubbles, but a fluffy cloud of pale microfoam.
Have some back-up handy – your arm might not be up to it! I kept swapping hands and nearly asked the dogs to help out. Grit your teeth and keep going. The mixture will thicken, stabilise and start to lose its frothy appearance and look plump, like a big cumulus cloud.
When you can see a ribbony pathway through the custard as you make your figure eight, then you are probably there.
The wonderful part of this small but elegant sweet finish to any meal is that you can serve it chilled, warm from the bowl, cooled to room temperature, or throw in some cream and freeze it. The alcohol will never let it freeze fully, of course, but it would be lovely as a firmer semifreddo-style topping on a hot tart.
We have so many apples falling off our tree as I sign off this book at the start of winter 2020 that I served mine with stewed apples and lightly toasted almonds. Heavenly!
Fiona’s champagne truffles
Sometimes you don’t want dessert after a meal . . . you may feel like cheese and its accompaniments or a cleansing flute of c
hampagne but, honestly, doesn’t everyone want some little sweetish treat? I have to admit I feel roundly cheated when asked to someone’s house for dinner and you get the main meal and then a piece of camembert to gnaw on – I want to say, ‘Blimey, what about pudding?’ So, how about a treat that is every bit as elegant and simple as the sabayon featured in The Champagne War – and made with champagne, of course? I defy anyone to say no to a small cocoa-dusted, dark chocolate champagne truffle.
With only three main ingredients, you will be rewarded if you work with only the highest quality chocolate and cream.
If you don’t like rolling truffles and all that mess – I don’t either – then it’s quite elegant to serve them as cubes, or square pastilles as I prefer to call them. Either way, I like to dust them with bitter cocoa or you may want to decorate in your own way. I faffed around with edible gold leaf – more trouble than it’s worth, but the shiny glimmer does make it all look expensive and celebratory! If you are using gold leaf, you’ll need a small, clean, dry paintbrush and to make sure the area on the truffle where you’re going to add it is free of cocoa, or it won’t cling.
Your champagne can be fizzy or flat as you prefer. I used a freshly popped bottle but since you’re only using 50 ml, please don’t open it just for these unless you plan to enjoy a flute alongside these treats.
These are super rich but will melt in your mouth in a blink from their deliciously firm texture . . . and just beneath all that deep chocolatiness, you will definitely get the hit of acidic freshness from the champagne – it’s a lovely combination.
Ingredients
280g dark chocolate (at least 70% is ideal), chopped (or just broken, if you’re lazy like me!)
½ cup heavy, rich cream
Pinch of salt
50 ml champagne
High-quality cocoa powder, sifted
Method
Very lightly butter and then line a small square cake tin with baking paper (15 × 15 cm or smaller). Cut the paper so it’s taller than the sides, forming a hammock so you can lift out the set truffle mix.
Combine the chocolate with the cream and salt in a bowl. Now, sensible people will use a bowl over simmering water, but I’m a big fan of the slow microwave method – I have the patience to work with 30% power and go in 30 second increments until I have a beautifully smooth mix. But you go ahead and melt the chocolate in your preferred manner.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the champagne.
Scrape the silken melted chocolate into the prepared tin and chill this overnight.
It should lift out easily since you lined the tin with paper, but if it needs encouragement, a blunt knife dipped in hot water and dried will loosen the edges.
To form your truffles, warm a knife in boiling water, trim the edges and then cut the truffle mix into cubes. If you want to, then roll each cube into a ball.
Toss in the sifted cocoa (avoiding any areas where you may wish to decorate further with gold leaf). Apply gold leaf if using.
Store in the fridge until serving, but take them out for a few minutes before you want to enjoy. They’ll keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Serve with flutes of champagne . . . or just eat them all yourself, with a flute of champagne as you read this book again!
BOOK CLUB NOTES
‘Épernay must survive – the champagne must keep flowing.’ Sophie is determined to continue making her champagne throughout the war. Why is this so important to her?
Charlie joins the war effort as a soldier rather than using his skills as a chemist in chemical warfare. Do you understand his choice?
At one point, Charlie feels closer to Willi, his enemy, than to any other person alive. Why do you think that is?
Would the strong women of Champagne who had gone before Sophie – like Veuve Clicquot and Madame Pommery – have approved of her determination not to conform, and of her choice in a husband?
Sophie believes that ‘everything responds to kindness’. In what ways does she display her own kindness in the novel?
Who really holds the power in the relationship between Louis and Sophie? Would you be as forgiving of him as she is?
Jerome believes he is likely to die from the gas attacks, and yet he strives to get a message to France. What is his motivation?
What does Charlie mean when he says home is an emotion? Why is this an important revelation for him?
If you were Sophie, would you have chosen Charlie or Jerome?
Sophie tells Charlie: ‘It’s a great pity the world cannot behave like a good champagne. Harmony, peace, pleasure – every grape giving its utmost, its very best to the champagne experience.’ What parallels can we draw between life during the war and modern times?
What connections does the author make between champagne itself and the themes and issues explored in her novel?
The Champagne War features many real events in history. What new or surprising things about France or World War I did you learn while reading this book?
About the Author
Fiona McIntosh is an internationally bestselling author of novels for adults and children. She co-founded an award-winning travel magazine with her husband, which they ran for fifteen years while raising their twin sons before she became a full-time author. Fiona roams the world researching and drawing inspiration for her novels, and runs a series of highly respected fiction masterclasses. She calls South Australia home.
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MICHAEL JOSEPH
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Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Michael Joseph, 2020
Copyright ©
Fiona McIntosh, 2020
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
Cover design by Louisa Maggio © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Cover photographs: woman by Rekha Garton/Arcangel; vineyard by Martijn van der Nat/Getty Images
Internal images by Val_Iva/Shutterstock
ISBN 9780143795476
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