Cremant Verveine: Start now for the weekend

Cremant D'Alsace is the white sparkling wine of the Alsace region of France in methode champenois (the traditional champagne method). As you probably know, unless a sparkler is made within Champagne, it cannot be called a champagne, even though it is, more or less, precisely the same thing. In the region of Alsace, that same animal goes by the name Cremant.

To get your mitts on a bottle, let's just say that in areas with out savvy, interested wine dealers and consumers, this bottle might be hard won, but worth the struggle. Exotic and under-appreciated but generally not expensive.

So, you have to beg, borrow, steal, perhaps cast aspersion on a mother or two, challenge the wine guy to a duel, and absolutely threaten to Yelp him if he does not capitulate and give you the goods by this very Friday. And then you need to pop home, throw the door open, and like a mad cocktail-making Alsatian, order up some Lemon Verbena tea. To do this, you could go here. Or here. Which is not unlike a local specialty market, if one happens to be handy to over charge you on organic stuff with attractive labels.

Now then.

You'll make that lemon verbena tea and be sure it is well steeped. You will want it to have the heady scent of a verbena leaf just plucked from the stem, so do extend your perky little nose over the steeping vat and determine whether it is up to snuff. When your verbena tea is completely cool, refrigerate it for a good long while until it is cold.

Fill half a champagne flute with the iced lemon verbena tea and top with Cremant D'Alsace. Now you've a Cremant Verveine. Garnish the platter with verbena leaves if you grow it, or lemon leaves. I don't mind the tiniest tip of lemon balm as a garnish as well.