The Latest Single Ingredient Journey of Krug Blooms at Harbor House
The prestige champagne company celebrates their 10th single ingredient journey, Krug x Flowers, on a Northern California oceanfront bluff covered with edible blossoms
Along the winding curves of Highway One, the Harbor House sits nestled on the bluffs above a private cove in the tiny Mendocino County town of Elk. Inside a house built in 1916, this landmark inn features 10 guest rooms and a 20-seat, two-Michelin-star restaurant. It’s here, amidst sweeping ocean views, that Krug Champagne unveiled a taste of the 10th iteration of their consumer-facing single ingredient journey—a program that spotlights the immense power of one culinary component that aligns with their famed liquid. For 2024, Krug is celebrating the delicate flavors and vast potential of flowers in gastronomy.
To bring these forthcoming experiences to life, Krug partners with notable chefs from around the world to explore culinary possibilities and devise champagne pairings. Previous years highlighted everything from lemons to rice, while this year’s flower theme challenged chefs to explore florals beyond simply being garnishes for color. Further, more than 100 chefs contributed to this year’s ancillary recipe book, “Krug x Flowers: All For One and One Flor-All.”
At the Harbor House launch celebration, three of Krug’s Ambassade chefs—Matthew Kammerer of Harbor House, Cassidee Dabney of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and Nathan Rich of Twin Farms in Vermont—offered a preview of what guests will experience during the immersive four-day itineraries that comprise the “Insider Journeys: Discover Krug Single” event series, done in collaboration with membership-based luxury travel agency Indagare. The chef’s dishes were paired with the newest editions of Krug Grande Cuvée and Krug Rosé. Throughout our experience many more vintages were served, each with a story of the weather, harvest, triumphs and challenges of the winemakers and cellar master.
Chef Kammerer took time to explain why flowers are a favorite ingredient at Harbor House. “We harvest up to 30 different flowers here, and on our farm site even more,” he shares. The menu at Harbor House features hyper-local ingredients that these foraged flowers are served alongside, including seasonal components from their nearby ranch and farm, and salt harvests from the ocean below. Menus are set daily depending on the ability of local fisherman to navigate the whims of the weather and tides. Estelle Ngo, Head of Krug, also hosted tastings of current releases and favorite vintages.
For our experience, a beachside lunch of oysters, black cod and mussels was served with Krug Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition, Krug Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition and Krug Rosé 28ème Édition. As the sun set, an elegant dinner was served in the Harbor House dining room, filled with an installation of romantic wild-flower-inspired design. Chef Rich served golden Oscietra caviar with nasturtium petals (paired with Krug Clos De Mesnil 2006). Chef Dabney served her surprising and delicious Carolina gold rice with clams and lavender (paired with Krug Clos D’Ambonnay 2006). Chef Kammerer presented delicate scoops of marigold ice cream with blossoms from the Harbor House garden.
With all of the conversation about flowers, fine dining and local activities, the star of the experience was the champagne. Each meal and most of the adventures in the consumer-facing “Krug x Flowers” experience will feature a champagne toast with the maison’s newest offerings along with special pairings from their catalog and likely a jeroboam, too. For the newest Krug Rosé 28ème Édition, Krug’s cellar master, Julie Cavil, blended 32 wines crafted between 2010 to 2016. The pink hues and full bodied flavors are derived from 10% traditionally macerated Pinot Noir from vineyards in Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, with a final composition of 58% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 17% Meunier.
The new Krug Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition is comprised of a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier made from 146 wines from 11 different years with the youngest from 2016 and the oldest dating back to 1998. The flavors, distinctly floral in composition, pair beautifully with this year’s single ingredient.
The Krug Indagare Insider Journeys will debut at Harbor House in October, Twin Farms in November and Blackberry Farm in December. Experiences will be available exclusively through Indagare.
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