Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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32 | DECEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com CO N TAC T Champy To order Champy, visit bechampy.com the traditional méthode champenoise, in which a secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. The process is more expensive than just carbonat- ing a still wine, but its adds subtlety and nuance. To create the perfect blend, Johnson worked with Penny Gadd- Coster, executive director of wine- making at Rack & Riddle in Sonoma County, California—a connection M. S. Walker helped coordinate. Johnson was immediately drawn to Gadd-Coster, because of both her palate and her resumé. With nearly three decades in the wine industry, more than 100 medals and awards to her credit, and a special focus on sparkling wine, Gadd-Coster brought the science and wine- making chops to Johnson's vision. "Female winemakers at her level are rare—that was immediately a big draw," Johnson says. "I applaud and appreciate powerful women." Johnson worked with Gadd- Coster for six months, perfecting the blend and process. "We think of sparkling wine from a romantic standpoint, but it actually involves very specific science," Johnson says, adding that combining Gadd-Coster's scientific expertise with her own marketing and promotion prowess has been a heady experience. "It's been quite a rush," she says. The name Champy evokes the lighthearted approach to celebrat- ing every day that Johnson wants to share—and is also the term that she and her friends use when suggesting a get-together. "I knew the name [would be] Champy because it's a word I've used with my friends for years," Johnson says. "It doesn't necessarily mean 'let's go get a glass of sparkling wine'—it just means 'let's meet up for drinks.'" Now it will take on a new mean- ing, especially while celebrating with family over the Jewish holidays. This year, "Champy will be ever-present," Johnson says with a laugh. When she gets together with her large extended family in Marblehead to play a Jeopardy-style trivia game the family has dubbed "Jewpardy," covering everything from the history of Judaism to who can stuff the most marshmallows in their mouth, every- one will drink her new sparkler. "Our family does an amazing job of celebrating one another," John- son says. "It's hard for me to put into words how much it means. So I know [all of them] will be out there championing Champy." Johnson sips Champy in her Marblehead home.