Picking What You Are Popping: New Years Bubbly
There is seemingly an ocean of sparkling wine for you to choose from for your New Year’s celebration (or any other time you want to drink fabulously). In this short piece I am going to outline some choices that are going to keep you trendy while presenting great value and top quality.
First, let’s talk about sparkling wine in general. This includes wine from the Champagne region in France. Champagne and all sparkling wine worth drinking is generally produced using Méthode Champenoise. This is a labor intensive 5 step process that results in the carbon dioxide (bubbles) being trapped in the bottle making that juice sparkle. I will focus on wines made only with this process for this article.
Now to the fun, deciding what to buy.
Champagne
The head of the class in the bubbly category is, of course, Champagne. Champagne just screams luxury and it should because it is the most expensive of the wines that pop. Us wine people talk about two types of champagne; firm Champagne and grower Champagne. There is a simple way to explain this without using too much jargon.
Think of Grower champagne as the fresh ingredients that you buy “farm to table” or “artisan”, and firm champagne as not. Quality can be argued for either type but in general you are going to get more uniqueness and “texture” in the sense of a wider array of flavors from grower champagne because they are going to be an expression of the land of that grower and the family style.
With Firm champagne they are going to be an expression of the Firm’s brand style or the house style. I personally recommend and drink Grower Champagne whenever I can. Most bottles will not say “grower” on them but you can just walk into your regular wine place and ask the person, who should know, to show you some grower Champagne options. If they look at you with confusion or do not know what you are talking about then leave and go somewhere that does. You are not doing yourself any favors shopping there anyway. Would you go to a butcher that did not know the difference between Choice and Prime?
Below are a couple of Champagnes that I suggest hunting for.
H. Billiot Fils Grand Cru Brut Reserve NV This is Killer Juice and it is from Grand Cru vineyards. To put this into quality perspective “CRISTAL” is not a grand cru champagne. These vineyards are rare…and this can be had for about $55.00
Charles Ellner Rose Brut NV Rose Champagne Rose bubbly is how you say “I am doing this all the way.” Charles Ellner makes a delicious rose I wish I could consume constantly.
Cremant (Go Ahead, take a bath in IT!)
The second category I am going to highlight is called “Cremant.” Put simply Cremants are sparkling wines made in France using Méthode Champenoise but can be made from grapes other than the classic champagne grapes. This category of sparkling wines offers such value you can drink them OR bathe in them. No, seriously! A top flight wine here can be had for just 25.00. In fact, my favorite one in the whole wide world is 25.00. Cremant is made in all of the classic wine growing regions in France. The most known Cremants are from Burgundy because of the fact that this region also grows the two major champagne grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but the quick rising star region is the Jura…I just love Jura Cremant.
Domaine de Montbourgeau Cremant du Jura NV Good luck finding this particular one but I had to put it on my list because it is what I have enjoyed for the last 4 years on NYE but really… any Jura Cremant will satisfy.
Sieur d Arques Toques et Clochers Cremant NV This little gem is from Limoux, the region where French sparklers were invented and is the best value of the list.
Franciacorta (or Hipster Champagne)
Lastly you can be the most Brooklyn/ Austin of all your friends if you show up with a Franciacorta. What did he say Frangia…what? Well the way you say it is Fran-cha-cor-tah. This is the Italian wine region that is said to have the potential to rival the quality and expense of champagne. This area exploded on the US wine scene about 5 years ago and is still not on most consumers’ minds. The two below are sure to elate.
Ca’ Del Bosco Prestige Brut NV This looks like a million bucks and drinks like it as well. Soft and elegant, it is just a pretty wine with good mouth presence.
Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rose NV This is a nod to my girl Ms. Brown who introduced me to this rose after I thought I knew it all. This is a pale rose that will become one of your favorite things to drink.
To conclude have fun with this and have fun with all wine experiences you have. Do not be afraid to ask, the more you learn the more you know. Even if you cannot find any of the wines I have listed use the categories to guide you.
Damon P. O’Gara is the first person we turn to when we need wine advice. He has been in the wine business for over 15 years, wearing numerous hats including Sommelier, Wine Importer Purchaser and Wholesaler. There are few wine experiences that he can not speak to!
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