With New Years coming up next week, I Thought it would be fun, and hopefully informative, to have a special SDMB Champagne feature.
Please feel free to share your recommendations and tips to assist others with enjoyment of the bubbly. What do your prefer, and why? Brut, Extra Dry, Demi Sec, Prosecco? What to look for on the label - what does all that terminology mean?
Hooray! I love fizzy wine.
I’ll take a stab at it.
The first thing you should look for is the sugar content, which is what those labels Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, etc. are referring to.
The final step in the production of Champagne is the dosage, the addition of sugar and wine that will decide the style of the Champagne.
The styles are:
Extra Brut or Brut Nature - (0-6 grams of sugar/liter of wine) - It’s typically bone dry
Brut (5-15 grams/liter) - This is dry, the most popular style
Extra Dry (12-20 grams/liter) - Off dry, or semi-sweet (It’s sweeter, or less dry than Brut, which is often confusing to consumers.)
Dry or Sec - (17-35 grams/liter) - Sweet
Demi-sec (33-50 grams/liter) - Sweeter still and can be hard to find
Doux - (more than 50 grams/liter) - Rarely seen nowadays and very sweet. More of a dessert wine.
I often enjoy Brut, Extra Dry, and Sec styles, depending on what I’m eating (or not eating) with the wine. I also enjoy Demi-Sec, but it tends to be harder to find.
Other label terminology:
For Champagne to be labeled Champagne (in France) it can be produced from 3 types of grapes only, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
Blanc de Blanc - Made from 100% Chardonnay
Blanc de Noir - Made only from either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier or a mix of the two.
This does not apply to sparkling wines made elsewhere, although many new world wineries do tend to follow the traditional grape varieties used, they are not obligated to as in France.
As of right now the only sparkling wines I know my husband and I will be enjoying on NYE are Iron Horse’s Wedding Cuvee 2000 and a bottle of Moet & Chandon’s White Star NV. I will probably seek out a couple more though.
mmm - I haven’t tried the Iron Horse but I like the comments posted on wine.com
The Moet & Chandon White Star NV. also sounds like a winner
Both of these selections sound great. What time should I come over 
Some additional terminology that can be found on the label:
Every bottle of Champagne has to carry an indication of the status of the producer and the brand owner. The various types are as follows.
NM Négociant Manipulant: A firm or person that buys grapes, juice or wine and completes its production on the premises.
RM Récoltant Manipulant: A firm or person that produces wine on his own premises exclusively from grapes he has grown.
RC Récoltant Coopérateur: A grower who gives her grapes to a co-operative and takes back the wine at any stage of the production and sells it.
CM Coopérative de Manipulation: A co-operative which vinifies and sells wine from grapes supplied by its members.
SR Société de Récoltants: A family business which produces wines from grapes harvested exclusively by members of the family.
ND Négociant Distributeur: A merchant who buys finished wines and labels them in its own premises.
MA Marque d’Acheteur: Buyer’s Own Brand (BOB) The wine is made and labelled in Champagne, the name of the producer appears on the bottle but the brand name belongs to a client (wholesale buyer, supermarket, restaurant, VIP, etc.)
Wanted to add a reference to Prosecco, the Italian Sparkling Wine
I’ve found myself choosing Prosecco more so than Champagne over the past year. Not sure that I have a favorite as of yet but have a bottle of Nino Franco Rustico chilled and ready (which may end up needing to be replaced prior to NYE)
More info on bubbly -
Champagne -
The main growing regions (from North to South):
Montagne de Reims - Planted mostly to Pinot Noir.
Vallée de la Marne - Mostly Pinot Meunier, but there is some Pinot Noir as well as a small amount of Chard.
Côte des Blancs - Almost entirely Chard.
Côte de Sézanne - Another planted almost entirely to Chard.
the Aube - The farthest south, growing mainly Pinot Noir.
Status:
Grand Cru - “Great Growth” - Refers to specific villages and vineyards rated (80-100% is the scale used) by the quality of the grapes. Grand Crus must rate 100%.
Premier Cru - “First Growth” - Next level down in Champagne. Villages and vineyards must rate between 90-99%.
These ratings aren’t quite as important in Champagne as in other French growing regions, as it’s usually the house or producer that matters more.
Some commonly used (mostly) French terms:
Assemblage: A preliminary combining and blending of wines from different vineyards after the first racking.
Bead: A bubble forming in or on a beverage; used to mean CO2 bubbles in general or sometimes to the ring of bubbles around the edge of the liquid.
Crémant: When used to describe a wine it means a very lightly sparkling, creamy, and frothy wine. Not fully sparkling. A similar Italian term is frizzante. However, it also appears in the name of several fully sparkling French AOC wines such as Crémant D’Alsace, Crémant de Loire, etc.
Charmat Method or Metodo Italiano: Secndary fermentation takes place in tanks rather than the bottle. Prosecco and Asti are most often made this way.
Cuvée: Literally tubful or vatful, this refers to a particular blend to be used for sparkling wine. Because most sparkling wines, and Champagnes in particular, are blends of multiple vintages, most will be labeled NV (Non Vintage) or MV (Multi Vintage) Vintage = the year the grapes are harvested. Grapes used to make sparkling wines are almost always the very first to be harvested each year, since they need to have a higher acid level/lower sugar level.
Dégorgement: The disgorging or removal of the plug of sediment which collected on the cork during riddling.
Liqueur de expedition: The shipping liqueur - the mixture added in the dosage process; sometimes consists of a small amount of sugar, some vin de reserve, and touch of brandy (approx. amounts may be 60 grams per 100 ml base wine; brandy may be up to 10% of this).
Liqueur de tirage: The mixture of sugar added to the cuvée for the second fermentation.
Méthode Champenoise or Méthode Traditionnelle: Traditional champagne production method that promotes a second fermentation in the bottle.
Mousse: Froth, foam.
Petillant: Means sparkling and refers to the fizz or bubbling of a wine; used as a synonym with crémant.
Remuage: Refers to the riddling or turning of the bottles to dislodge yeast sediment and allow it to collect on the cork.
Remueur: Refers to the person who riddles the bottles.
And other sparkling wines out there:
France:
Crémant d’Alsace
Crémant de Bourgogne
Crémant de Limoux
Crémant de Loire
Italy:
Asti
Moscato d’Asti
Spain:
Cava
Germany:
Sekt
South Africa:
Cap Classique
Australia:
There are other sparkling wines, but it’s becoming known for its Sparkling Shiraz.
From the US:
In CA - the Carneros AVA, Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley. Generally cooler areas are producing great wines.
NY - The Finger Lakes area is popular. Sparkling Catawba is a hot one with a rich history on the East Coast.
Wow. That was way more than I intended to post.
I usually find the Domaine Chandon Brut Classic to be a great sparkling wine to serve at large gatherings when you don’t want to or can’t spend a whole lot of money on several bottles. I can usually get it for $15 somewhere around here (sometimes even less), even though it supposedly lists for over $20.
If it’s a one-off, give me Dom Perignon any day. I haven’t had it too many times, but boy is it good!
Here is the SJ Merc’s wine reviewer’s column from today, conveniently written about Champagne/Sparkling Wine.
That sounds quite interesting. I’m going to look for that one and give it a try.
Thanks, flickster, for not letting the Wine Club die out over the holidays. I was starting to think that I would be reduced to drinking the water from the Christmas tree stand. Not gonna do that again…
After a misspent youth when a friend and I would spend Saturday nights drinking a cheap sparkling wine (Freixenet Cordon Negro) mixed with Crème de Cassis, and then enduring the double torture of a Sunday morning hangover mixed with my wife’s sarcastic comments, I have tended to stay away from Champagne and its like for many years. I have only recently returned to the fold, so I can’t offer much from personal experience. Here is a link to a site that lists “90 Plus Wines Under $20”, collated from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate. The only catch is that some of their picks are pricey, so they cheat by picking the 375ml or 187ml bottles to come in under the target range. You may find it worthwhile to check it out. A note here - the website seems to display new selections when refreshed, so you may see some that aren’t here, and not see some that I list. Anyway, here are some from the list:
Laurent-Perrier NV Brut L-P
Taittinger NV Brut La Francais
Duval-Leroy NV Brut
Piper-Heidsieck NV Brut
Gloria Ferrer NV Brut Sonoma County
Argyle 2002 Brut Willamette Valley
Heidsieck Monopole NV Brut Blue Top
Roederer Estate NV Brut Anderson Valley (Louis Roederer)
Nicolas Feuillatte NV Brut Rose
Nicolas Feuillatte NV Brut
Scharffenberger NV Brut Anderson Valley
Greg Norman NV Sparkling Wine South East Australia
Korbel NV Brut Rose California Champagne
Contadi Castaldi NV Brut Franciacorta
From this website alone, the Laurent-Perrier may a good choice; it made all three lists. I brought the Piper-Heidseck to a retirement party and had it there; while I am not really qualified to comment on its qualities, I liked it and I can say that my friends thought it quite good.
I’m going to try a bottle of Heidsieck & Co. Monopole blue top that I found at my local shop. Hopefully it’s not crap. 
Psycat90, do you have any recos on sparkling wines?
I can recommend a few, sure. I really like the list Plynck put together. It prompted me to go out and pick up a bottle of the Laurent-Perrier NV Brut. I also picked up a bottle of Franciacorta from Italy - the BellaVista NV Brut that came highly recommended from my local Italian wine specialist, and a Moscato d’Asti, the 2006 Ceretto Moscato d’Asti Santo Stefano that I’ve had many times; it is delicious. More of a dessert wine though, low in alc., sweet, lightly sparkling (frizzante, in Italian.)
I’m a big fan of the local sparkling wine producers. All of them. But if I had to do, say, a top five, here’s my list. In order of favorite first:
Domaine Chandon - It’s priced perfectly and they have several styles to choose from. I second John Mace’s rec of the Brut Classic. Very similar to French Champagne. Domaine Chandon is owned by the same group that owns Moët & Chandon - the LVMH group (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton)
Iron Horse - the Wedding Cuvee. It’s slightly more expensive, but it’s worth it.
Korbel - It’s cheap, it’s always easy to find, and it really ain’t too bad. I always, always have a bottle or two of the Brut or the Sec on the wine rack. Sometimes it’s used to make cocktails or mimosas, sometimes it’s drunk with dinner, sometimes just for the hell of it while watching a movie. The price is really what puts it on my list. It’s hard to beat. (I can usually find it around here for 8 bucks a bottle, or drive out to the winery and pay about 6 or 7 bucks a bottle. I occasionally do drive out to the winery to purchase a case or two to have on hand.) Korbel is celebrating 125 years of making wine in the Russian River Valley.
Gloria Ferrer - Great producer. My personal favorites are the Blanc de Noirs and the Brut Rosé. Owned by the same family that puts out one of Spain’s most popular Cava’s, Freixenet. (My personal favorite Cava is Segura Viudas Brut Reserva. Fancy bottle! Delicious wine!)
Roederer Estate - Probably the closest you can get to French Champagne made in CA at a fraction of the cost. The Brut and the Brut Rosé are delicious and affordable at usually less than $20 a bottle. Owned by the Louis Roederer Champagne House of France.
And I like all the other locals, J Vineyards, Schramsberg, Mumm Napa, Domaine Carneros, Piper-Sonoma, etc., they are all good.
Oh hell, OK one more - Gruet Winery. Out of New Mexico. I bought a bottle of their Rose last year for like 5 bucks. I was very pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. It didn’t knock me off my feet, but it was 5 bucks! And yummy. We’ll make that number 6.
Just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions - if you have more please keep 'em coming.
Perhaps we have provided information to assist someone to make an informed decision rather than just grabbing a bottle of whatever is stacked in the isle. I’d also like to extend an open invitation for anyone to provide feedback on their bubbly experiences, whatever they end up choosing.
You’re not sick of me yet? 
How about what to pair with Champagne/Sparkling Wines then?
Well, some classic pairings anyway. I love experimenting with pairings, but I also love trying out the tried and true ones, as they generally do go together like peanut butter and jelly.
If you do find or prefer the sweeter styles of bubbly, it generally goes well with sweet-but-not-too-sweet foods. Rich buttery sauces, berries, angel food cake, a lemon tart, almond cookies, things like that.
For most sparkling wines, some classics:
Caviar
Oysters
Lobster
Sushi
Frites
Spicy foods like Asian or Mexican (Think of things that go good with a beer.)
Cheeses like cheddar or gouda
Almonds
Eggs, especially scrambled, Eggs Benedict or a quiche
Potato Chips
And of course, whatever you want!
I am a champagne newbie, so I really can’t add anything of official substance. What I can do is tell you about a little tradition of ours.
On New Year’s Eve we open a bottle of champagne called Piper-Heidsieck brut and sip it out of beautiful flutes. As there are only the two of us, we usually have some left over. We note the good things that have happened in the past year and give our thanks, then we toast the new year in.
The next morning we make a wonderful hot breakfast and use the remaining champagne in our orange juice to make mimosas. It is just the perfect way to start the day.
I have learned a lot on this thread, so I hope my post was ok, even though it was only sharing a little tradition of ours.
Cheers, everyone!
Champagne and oysters are the perfect way to start off a dinner. Raw oysters, of course. Man, is that a good combo!
Traditions are good, but I’ve never had that “some left over” issue to deal with 
The morning after mimosas sound great though
I don’t know about other states, but I just bought some at Safeway yesterday here in CA for about $12. How good is that?
Your addition is a great one Deborah! I love love love mimosas.
For anyone that ends up with leftover sparkling often, it’s a good idea to buy a Champagne stopper. They run anywhere from $5 - $15
I have one of these
and one of these.
Both work very well.
Some other tasty cocktails:
Bellini
6oz Champagne
1 peach, pureed
**
Black Velvet**
half a flute of Champagne
half a flute of Guinness
Champagne Cocktail
6oz Champagne
1 sugar cube
dash bitters
Kir Royale
1/2 shot Creme de Cassis
Champagne
And a whole mess of others here.
I think I have a lot of experimenting to do!
Or you can just slice up a strawberry and drop it in. Maybe a few blueberries, too.
That’s a great deal. I usually see it around $15-$18 or so. And their Etoile Brut is usually between $25-$30, which is right where it’s hovering on BevMo right now.
It’s pretty cool that they are selling this one under a crown cap instead of a traditional cork, too.
One good, inexpensive bottle that I haven’t seen mentioned here yet is Domaine Ste. Michelle. Around here it’s $10-$12/bottle and it’s incredibly good for that price range. I like it waaaaay better than Korbel, which to me has a distinctive off-putting “Korbelly” taste.
Also in the <$20 price range and good and widely available are Chandon and Piper Sonoma. And Gruet, if you live in that area. I’ve drunk plenty of Gruet in my time and have always enjoyed it.
If you’re in the Michigan area, you can try some L. Mawby or Lawrence (both made by the same Traverse City area winery). Yup, they make really good sparkling wine in Michigan. The Mawby is better than the Lawrence, but the Lawrence can be fun (and less expensive).
If your budget is in the $30-$50+ range, you can’t go wrong with French Champagne. Seriously - there’s some that I prefer a bit more than others, but once you get to that price range and French, they’ve got it down to perfection. Champagne isn’t like other wines; they’re generally non vintage and the producers have their “taste” down to an art. Tattinger, Bollinger, Mumm, Perriet-Jouet, Veuve, all good and widely available.
I’m not sure what we’re drinking for NY Eve yet, though it will definitely be sparkling. We’ve got a ton “saved up” and Mr. Athena was a very bad boy and put a bottle of 1996 La Grande Dame under the Christmas tree. (We had a Christmas budget, and that one item blew it completely) I’m leaning towards NOT having that for NY Eve, though, and saving it for some other occasion. I have time, the drinking window is something like 20 years.
Other than that, we have a few bottles of a nice Prosecco, some Tattinger, and a few others in the fridge. I’m sure we’ll figure something out!