I’m going over a friend’s house for NYE and I’d like to take a bottle of champange over. The only time I drink champagne is at the occasional wedding or on New Year’s Eve and in those instances I’m not the one buying so I don’t know what’s good.
Can anyone suggest a decent champagne that won’t break the bank? We’ll be drinking all night, so there’s no sense spending a ton of dough on something we won’t appreciate in our tipsy state, but I don’t want to pour everyone a glass of nasty either.
I had a rather nice Chandon from Bevmo. It was about 20 bucks but I got it at the 5 cent sale so got two bottles for basically that same price. It’s a 92 point champagne, not shabby for the price.
Thank you, Antinor01. $20 is just the right price range. I’ll ask for that brand at the store.
It’s cheap, and sweet, but Martini & Rossi Asti is my go-to sparkling wine for everyday celebrations (I use it for Champagne Thursdays!) - it runs $10-$12, depending on store. Definitely not high-brow, but enjoyable enough, and you won’t feel bad about mixing it with something, like if you make mimosas or whatever later. If you don’t like sweet, though, it might not be to your taste.
Otherwise, I like Piper-Heidsieck and I really like Veuve Cliquot, but these are more spendy. If you can find them for $35, you’ve done really well. They’re the drier, more yeasty traditional champagne, and really really tasty. I tend to save these for special occasions.
For a drier taste, you could try Korbel. It’s about $10-12 in my area, and has a good dry taste. To me, it’s more “champage-y” than the super sweet brands.
The best inexpensive Champagne I’ve found is Domaine Ste. Michelle, at around $12-$15/bottle.
I also like the Chandon that Antinor01 recommends, but it’s a little higher priced.
Korbel has a distinctive “Korbel” taste that I don’t like.