Champagne for New Year's Eve | Which one is right for me?

Just one more day left in 2011 and this is certainly the time to buy and drink good bubbles. 
I mean, NYE and Champagne go together like salt and pepper, right?  I personally don't leave a chance behind to drink a sparkling wine, prosecco, cava, sekt or champagne period.  But if that is not you and you only drink it for the special occasion such as your wedding anniversary or new year’s eve, that is ok as well.
But which bubbles are right for you?  Does it have to be Champagne?  If so, which price range should you shop in?  There are sooooo many offers out there these days, from the "giftwrapped" champagne with "free" champagne flutes, which you pay for anyways, to who knows what. 
If you have people coming over for New Year’s Eve or you are going to somebodies house and want to impress them, buy real champagne!  However, if they are wine lovers and ”in the know”, you may want to explore your options and try to find a unique alternative just to have something to talk about.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Champagne, but one of my personal favorite is actually a Sekt called Schlumberger and is from Austria.  The produce different styles, but the Brut is absolutely great stuff and can easily win a standoff against a Veuve Clicquot yellow label or a Moet Chandon Imperial (used be called white star)! 
If on the other hand, it is just you and your significant other, I would properly go for a nice cava or prosecco.  With the extra savings you may want to buy an extra bottles instead or simply match a view small Spanish or Italian "nipples aka tapas" with that and have a great romantic evening for two. 
Rather want to stick to the traditional or you are afraid that you get in trouble if it isn’t real champagne, you might as well go big and set yourself apart from the rest.  Not trying to badmouth Veuve Clicqout nor Moet Chandon Imperial (I actually like the Veuve Clicqout yellow label), but if you want to impress, go for Bollinger (used in James Bond movie) or Pol Roger. Really impressing for a deeper reach into your wallet, you can get Dom Perignon or Louis Roederer Cristal.  For the ultimate Champagne experience, go to a specialty wine shop and buy a bottle of Clos du Mesnil from the Champagne house Krug! 
In my humble opinion, it doesn't get any better than that!

Cheers and Happy New Year!

No comments:

Post a Comment