The Society’s Fall kickoff was a ‘Brunch with the New Champagnes’ at the Club of Odd Volumes.  It was a tasting of unique Champagne cuvées served with a meal prepared by the Club’s Chef Katie La Lievre.

Leading us in our tasting was Len Rothenberg, proprietor of Federal Wine and Spirits in Boston and a great Champagne enthusiast. Len is arguably the most knowledgeable person in New England on the subject, traveling to Champagne with some regularity to keep up with the changes. All Champagnes served were from the cellars of these relatively newly minted vignerons. These are from producers with no name recognition but with a serious approach to the creation of unique wines collectively known as Grower Champagne. These producers are remaking the image of Champagne.

 The Club of Odd Volumes, founded in early 1887 and residing at 77 Mount Vernon Street, on Beacon Hill for the past eighty years, boasts several thousand books in its collection. Notable Bostonians and nationally known figures have been members of this bibliophile group, such as George Parker Winship, bibliophile and editor of the Boston Globe and FDR, President of the United States. In other words, the club is an historic building with numerous printing, binding, art, political and literary connections.