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Champagne should always be a story of excellence and a state of art. Andreas Caminada, a multi-starred chef from Graubünden and owner of the Schloss Schauenstein restaurant (3 Michelin stars and 19 Gault & Millau points), has joined Dom Pérignon as an official brand ambassador in Switzerland and a new member of the Dom Pérignon Society.

Andreas Caminada is a passionate supporter of creativity and innovation, as well as a pioneering spirit. He is always willing to push the boundaries to discover new gastronomic possibilities; his relentless pursuit of quality and perfection are qualities that bind him to Dom Pérignon and provide the ideal foundation for a long-term relationship.

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Photo: Gianmarco Castelberg Photography

The Dom Pérignon Society, A Global Community Of High Gastronomy

The Dom Pérignon Society brings together well-known chefs, prominent sommeliers, and well-known restaurateurs whose haute cuisine creations have been recognized around the world. Members of the Dom Pérignon Society will meet other chefs and sommeliers who share their passion for champagne and have unique experiences with inspiring people from other fields such as music, fashion, and architecture.

In Switzerland, here are the following members part of the Dom Pérignon Society: Andreas Caminada (its most recent member), Tobias Funke (2 Michelin stars and 17 Gault & Millau points, executive chef and general manager of the Gasthaus zur Fernsicht in Heiden) and Enrico Barbieri, owner of the Balthazar restaurant in St. Moritz.

For many years, Dom Pérignon developed professional relations and true friendships with the very best chefs around the world. It is like the one with Alain Ducasse, considered one of the most renowned chefs of his generation and runs two restaurants, each awarded three Michelin stars, in Monaco (Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse at the Hotel de Paris) and London (Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester). The famous chef is known for his taste for innovation, attention to detail, and dedication to quality and technique. He shares his desire to pass on this knowledge with Dom Pérignon and is at the heart of all common projects.

Andreas Caminada, A True Gastronomic Artist

Since 2003 Caminada has been working in Fürstenau, one of the smallest cities in the world. The native of Graubünden runs the multi-award-winning boutique hotel and restaurant Schloss Schauenstein there, and since 2018, the Casa Caminada hostel with ten rooms, a bakery, a boutique and a bar.

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Photo: Gianmarco Castelberg Photography

Andreas Caminada is renowned for gastronomic and creative recipes, which he likes to make from well-known local ingredients that he uses in unique ways, making each taste a new experience. His multi-faceted cuisine and ability to prepare a single ingredient in various ways is a feast for the eyes and the senses. Whether crunchy, soft, crunchy, sour, or bitter, each ingredient intriguingly blends into the dish and stimulates the senses—a homage to the palate, to the harmony of flavours and aromas.

In 2015, Caminada broadened its portfolio and launched “IGNIV by Andreas Caminada”, a restaurant chain with Bad Ragaz, St. Moritz, Zurich and Bangkok. All four establishments celebrate gastronomy as an experience of sharing. Caminada also completes its diversified commitment with the creation of the “Uccelin Foundation”. With this project, the restaurateur’s mission is to sustainably strengthen the restaurant industry by highlighting culinary talents and ensuring exceptional gastronomic quality over the long term. Caminada’s latest project is opening its first vegetarian restaurant, “Oz”, scheduled for summer 2021.

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Photo: Gianmarco Castelberg Photography

Dom Pérignon, A Unique Champagne House

Dom Pérignon can only be made from a single crop in a single year. This dedication to the vintage is unwavering. It takes at least eight years of patience to reach Dom Pérignon’s aesthetic ideal. Each vintage undergoes a slow transformation in contact with the yeasts in the darkness of the cellar, inside the bottles, to achieve the harmony that will forever mark Dom Pérignon.

A small number of bottles are set aside for each vintage, with the intention of ageing longer. The operation within the bottle continues to increase during this extra time: the yeasts pass their energy to the wine in a mysterious life transfer.

For nearly fifteen years, champagne increases its energy to reach a paroxysm of vitality. It unfolds in all dimensions to become fuller, longer, deeper, and more intense, more vital and radiant than ever before. It has a long, almost infinite lifespan. As a result, Dom Pérignon is patiently brought to a new level of vocabulary. This elevation is known as Plénitude 2: Dom Pérignon’s second life.

José Amorim
Information sourced by the author for luxuryactivist.com. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only. Featured photo by Gianmarco Castelberg Photography