What: Champagne Masterclass with Kyla Kirkpatrick the 'Champagne Dame'

When: Saturday 20th January 2018 - 2pm to 5.00pm

Where: The Pelican Room, Grand Pacific Breakfree Resort, Bulcock Street, Caloundra

Price: $129 per person - (includes five French champagnes, cheese & charcuterie platter, gift bag and double entry pass to the July 2018 French Festival)

Tickets are strictly limited, so make sure you grab yours now before the rest of the Sunshine Coast does.

Do you love French Champagne?... Then this is the master class for you. The third of our special VIP events leading up to the inaugural July 2018 Côte du Soleil Sunshine Coast French Festival brings you the  Champagne flavours of France with the gorgeous Kyla Kirkpatrick otherwise known as 'The Champagne Dame'.

As Kyla says 'Champagne is where elegance, sophistication and desire meet. It’s where refined luxury, style and indulgence collide'. 

An afternoon spent with Kyla Kirkpatrick is like no other.  She is incredibly well informed about all things champagne, sophisticated, passionate and highly engaging, a fairy tale story that most of us dream about.

Leaving a successful career in finance behind her after reading an article on Napoleon Bonaparte and falling in love with his story and his love affair with Champagne, Kyla subsequently read every book she could find on Champagne and when she ran out of books she took a chance and wrote a letter to the author of her favourite book. To her surprise he wrote back to her and invited her to France to study with him.

Kyla ended her life as she knew it, buying a one way ticket to Paris. She arrived in Champagne, fell in love with the region and decided to stay. She divided her time between Paris, Champagne and the French Riviera.  After eight months in Champagne, she had the knock on the door by the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy empire.  Interviewed and immediately recruited for Sydney as an ambassador for Krug, Dom Perignon, Moet, Clicquot and Ruinart.  

Kyla has presented for many famous Australians from Kerry Packer to Elle McPherson and will soon launch her new business 'Emperor' which will be the largest online Champagne portal and sales platform in Australia.

What are you waiting for!  How inspiring, if reading that amazing bio hasn't got you booking your tickets already then just look at her list of accomplishments... this is one woman you definitely need to spend an afternoon sipping champagne with:

• One of only a few selected people in the world who is honoured with officially representing the Champagne region in a tightly controlled appellation.
• Nominated for Telstra Business Woman of the Year for 2016 (by Emma Isaac, founder of Business Chicks).
• Only qualified female cognac master in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Recruited in Paris by the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and posted to Sydney where they created a unique role for her to be the Australian representative of Krug, Dom Perignon, Moët and Chandon, Ruinart and Veuve Clicquot.
• Presented to over 10,000 people in the last decade to most major corporations of Australia teaching them not only how to appreciate the history of nuances of Champagne but how to create a life you love by following your heart and intuition.
• Online TV show on Champagne, the largest database of Champagne lovers in Australia at 43,175 and the largest Champagne Club in the southern hemisphere.
• Degree in Mandarin and speaks fluent Chinese. 

So come and join us for what is no doubt going to be an afternoon never to forget and another SOLD OUT event leading up to the inaugural Côte du Soleil Sunshine Coast French Festival, where we will be taken through the flavours of French Champagne by Kyla as follows: 

Phillip Fourier Prestige Blanc de Blancs

Based on the Clay soils of Baroville, this is not your typical, mineral-driven Blanc de Blancs that you would find in say the Cotes de Blancs. Instead it has elegant nose showing white fleshy pear and some toasted almond. The mouthfeel is full and rich with a long lasting finish, leaving some warm brioche character coming through. 

Palmer & Co Brut NV

Part of the chardonnay in this champagne is coming from the Cote de Sezanne. This is different in profile to the chalky cousins from the Cote de Blancs. Expect some lemon curd, williams pear and biscuit with a very fine bead. The palate is sophisticated, elegant and has a clear chardonnay drive with the Pinot Noir providing lift of fruit, support and balanced palate weight. Fruit and acids are in harmony. this is not only affordable but for us is considered a sleeping giant in Australia. Introduce your friends to this excellent cuvée.

Philipponnat 2006 Vintage

"A toasty style that shows the coffee influence of oak barrel maturation, pulling into a finish at once creamy and tense with tangy malic acidity and simultaneously generous in the mood of the sun-drenched 2006 harvest. It’s spicy, peppery and long."

A.R. Lenoble Terroirs Rose

When White cherries are in season in champagne, they are quite simply as good as any cherry except, lighter and fresher which highlights this wine. Add to this fleshy white peach with pepper spice and the nose comes alive. The palate is creamy, savoury and filled mineral expression and light, smoky tones. Overall there is a charm to this wine that integrates the finesse of the fruit, subtle use of oak, low dosage with underlying complexity from reserve wines. This is understated, well-crafted Rosé champagne. 

Besserat de Bellefon Demi Sec

A champagne that hits the perfect balance of sweetness-acidity similar to that of apple compote, lemon curd or peach crumble. This style is on the rise with more winemakers producing a sweeter style of champagne that can be enjoyed purely as an aperitif or with lighter fruit pastries and desserts. 

Remember to 'Like' us on facebook.com/sunshinecoastfrenchfestival/ or instagram or obtain more information on the festival via the website sunshinecoastfrenchfestival.com.au 

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING SPONSORS & PARTNERS FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!!

Cloud9Events, Le Fromage Yard, Mantra Group, France Gourmet, Provincial Living Magazine, Josh&Sue Gourmet, Rumba Resort,  Best Western Plus Lake Kawana, 92.7 Mix FM, My Weekly Preview