Nola,
Thank you for your message
David,
Generally in the dinners that I make, there is no soup. The reason for the soup was that Bipin Desai wanted Yquem at the beginning of the dinner. To clear the mouth after Yquem, the best way is chicken soup plus champagne.
The soup shortens the champagne. But Salon 1961 is so strong that it did not suffer.
I am not a big fan of soup during a dinner, as soup never advantages a wine, as I am not a fan of sorbet at the end as sorbet is an enemy for wine.
Scott,
Every day I thank my wife for the fact that she does not drink. Because if she would like wine, I would be already dead as the occasions to drink wine would be multiplied by the temptation to open something rare. At home, by ourselves, we drink water.