Whether Champagne Or Sparkling Wine, It's Time To Toast A New Year
Wine Wisdomâ
Whether Champagne Or Sparkling Wine,
Itâs Time To Toast A New Year
As New Yearâs Eve rapidly approaches, the traditional Champagne toast looms large. We all love to ring in the new year with a glass of the bubbly. Unless you are a rapper, however, for whom Cristal is a must, the question of what to serve can be somewhat daunting.
In the United States, we use the terms Champagne and sparkling wine interchangeably. For those of us in the wine community, Champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France. The cost of true French Champagne starts at around $35 a bottle for a non-vintage Brut Champagne. If you are seeking vintage Champagne (from a particular year), Rose Champagne (also more commonly known as pink), or the finest Champagnes such as Dom Perignon or the aforementioned Cristal, be prepared to spend even more.
The Champagne region consists of about 86,000 acres and will never get any bigger. Many of the larger French Champagne houses also lend their names to sparkling wines that are made from grapes grown in California. These sparkling wines are also quite good and about half the price of their French counterparts. Schramsberg is another prestigious California sparkling wine that holds its own when tasted with the best that France has to offer.
If you want to have European bubbles on a domestic budget, there are still many choices available. Both Spanish Cava and Italian Prosecco are tasty sparkling alternatives that will not significantly add to oneâs holiday debt. These sparklers are also perfect for mimosas. If you are adding orange juice to your sparkling wine, the complexity and finesse of something pricier is only necessary if you are trying to impress your guests.
There are literally hundreds of sparkling wines available from almost every winemaking region in the world. Whether you are experimenting with something new, spending a lot or a little, I hope that your upcoming new year sparkles!
(Newtown resident and wine enthusiast Steve Small is the general manager at Yankee Wine & Spirits on Queen Street.)