Nothing says "celebration" like the poof! of a bottle of champagne followed by its gently rising mist. Whether it's to ring in the New Year or simply to make an every day meal a bit more special, knowing of some go-to sparking wines is always helpful.
What's in a name when it comes to champagne? You can argue that a sparkling wine by other names might taste as sweet, especially when price is factored in, but true champagne comes only from the Champagne region of Northeastern France. In addition to carving up post-World War I Europe, the Treaty of Versailles reaffirmed Champagne's special status. Champagne is made with chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, either in combination or single varietal versions. A second, in-bottle fermentation gives champagne its distinctive bubbles. Here are two good champagnes I've tasted recently:
1998 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs ($120) It's a good thing--for my budget at least--that I'd been paying bills the morning before heading to a tasting at Gordon's at Waltham. Otherwise I might have been awfully tempted to leave with this bottle under my arms. But at this point the only $100+ wines you'll read about here will be ones I try at tastings! If you want to splurge on a special champagne, this would be one to try. As signified by the "blanc de blancs", this Taittinger is made from 100% chardonnay grapes, which show well with this one's bright, clean and refreshing taste.
Champagne Duval-LeRoy ($32) If you want real champagne without the usual price tag associated with it, this is the bottle for you! Light and fruity, with an elegance typically associated with higher priced versions of French bubbly. Chardonnay is the dominant grape here.
Champagne is a wonderful treat, but good bubbly can be had for much less from other regions. Two sparkling wines I enjoy are cava from Spain and prosecco from Italy. Cava is produced primarily in the Penedes region southwest of Barcelona, and is made with the methode champenoise, meaning the second fermentation occurs in the bottle. In contrast, the second fermentation for prosecco is done in large containers. Prosecco is actually the name of the grape varietal; whereas cava is made from Spanish grape varietals macabeo, parellada, xarello, and subirat as well as the more familiar chardonnay. Here are some good, affordable options to try:
Cava Brut 1 +1=3 ($12) This sports a dry, apply taste. A pleasant sipping wine, slightly bitter aftertaste. Not a bad bottle to pick up for the price.
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva ($9) Another Cava, this one
is the best deal in the bunch. It's fairly dry, well-balanced and has a pleasant finish. After being told the price at a tasting, my reaction was "Get out!!!" (Seinfeld fans, fortunately there was a table separating us preventing me from giving him an Elaine-style push).
Mionetto Brut Prosecco ($13) A nice festive wine, light and fruity with a clean finish. We enjoyed this with appetizers on Thanksgiving. It went well with the cheeses and spicy dip we were nibbling on before the turkey.
Val D'Oca Prosecco ($14) Light and fruity, and comes in a festive blue bottle that make it a good one to tote to a New Year's Eve party. I tasted it alongside the Segura and probably would have bought this instead of the cava if they were the same price.
There are certainly many good American options as well, though I didn't taste any recently for this article. One of my favorite producers of sparkling wine is right here in Massachusetts, Westport Rivers. Their wines compare favorably with the "real" champagnes in my book, and start at around $20. Domaine St. Michelle in Washington State also has some very reliable sparkling wine, including some modestly priced.
I'll end with a bit of a post-script. I'd mostly finished this article last night when I got a call from my sister telling me she was engaged. Great to have another reason to open one of these bottles! May you, your family and friends also find cause to celebrate this season. Cheers!
David Crowley, Gather Food Correspondent
David enjoys sharing good food and wine with family and friends. David writes about his wine explorations and discoveries in his column, "Wine Chat", a twice-monthly feature of Gather Essentials: Food. By day, David is the President and Founder of Social Capital Inc.
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Comments: 28
Thank you again and have a Merry Christmas!
I have a few events coming up where a decent champagne would be perfect.
(Frantically searching my files now!)
I enjoy Rosa Regale
For appetizers - thin slices of firm fleshed ripe pear wrapped in prosciutto, an assortment of smoked mild white cheeses sliced paper thin (mozzarella and gouda), and/or platters of fried calamari with a light dusting of fine grain salt.
I also think something simple like smoked, salted, roasted almonds sound like a fine snack with these champagnes as well.
Deciding on a meal item was harder than I thought. I chose either a light meal of gravlax with melba toasts served with boiled herbed potatoes as a main course OR a lobster risotto for a heavier meal. I also think a simple herb roasted salmon with a light dill cream sauce might make it but I'm not certain about that one.
I have an inkling that the saltiness of any of these dishes would be a pleasant balance for the chardonnay grape and fruit flavors.
My sister and I knew nothing about the bubbly. So, hubby arranged a testing two weeks before in my house. He had an arrangement of bottles ranging from cheap to expensive and we tasted our way down until we could taste a difference. Honestly, we couldn't tell much of a difference between the $9 bottle and the expensive stuff.
Amanda---good idea to have a tasting in advance! In the case of this article, the $9 & the $14 were barely distinguishable...but I wouldn't mix it up with the $120 one!
Cheers Robyn!
Donna, lovely! IMO, there is nothing like caviar--even red caviar--with a good, dry champagne. Had some Christmas Eve. Blini, red caviar from a Russian market, sour cream and the Monistrol cava. Sigh....
JoAnn--glad you liked it!