Not every day begins at 8:00 a.m. with a perfect pairing of Champagne and breakfast in a beautiful and luxurious space to watch a live presentation of the Oscar Nominations. Yesterday was that kind of morning for me and I happily basked in every moment of it, along with the company of like-minded food and wine lovers. The breakfast was scrumptious, and, ooohhhh, that Champagne!

Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house with a long history (237 years!) of making clean, crisp, and elegant, food-friendly, award-winning wines. It also has a strong history of supporting the arts, particularly the cinema, starting back in 1933 when a bottle of its champagne made an on-screen debut in "Sons of The Desert", the first film of Laurel and Hardy. Since then, Piper-Heidsieck has continued to support the film industry and for the past three years it has been the exclusive Champagne served at the official celebrations of the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, New York and London. A beautiful, limited-edition, red and gold magnum-sized bottle of the Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut was created exclusively for this year's special, red-carpeted occasion. This classic, non-vintage brut delivers a fine mousse on the palate with mouthwatering acidity and ripe, white fruits. Predominantly Pinot Noir, with some Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, it is a lean (but not austere), elegant, vibrant champagne with a hint of brioche and lots of flinty minerality.

The exceptional, limited-edition Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut Magnum designed for this year's Oscars.

How appropriate that, on the morning of the Nominations Announcement, a group of wine journalists were invited to a lovely Champagne breakfast at the iPic Theater in downtown Manhattan which bills itself as the "ultimate theater experience". After having breakfast in The Tuck Room, a stunning-looking restaurant, we were escorted to our plush leather seats in one of the theaters. This extraordinary, new space in the re-developed Fulton Market is a great addition to the South Street Seaport area of lower Manhattan. Here, inside the theater or at the restaurant upstairs, you can indulge in gourmet small bites before, during ("ninjas" dressed in black quietly deliver your meal to your table), after or without even going to see a film.

Now it's back-to-reality for me, without Champagne or gourmet bites for breakfast but I am looking forward to toasting the 2017 Oscar winners on February 26th with a glass of refreshing Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut in hand! #PiperRed!