With the headache of Thanksgiving wine pairing officially behind us, it’s time to focus on the real holiday wine season. It is, after all, the most wonderful time of the year. You can practically smell Christmas, Hannukah, and the New Year in the air. That can only mean one thing for wine lovers… it’s Champagne season.
Save the Cava and Prosecco, well regarded sparklers from Spain and Italy, respectively, for other times of the year. The holiday season is Champagne season, a time to treat yourself and loved ones to the very best. And there’s no denying that Champagne is the very best when it comes to the art of sparkling wine making.
From the very moment you hear the celebratory “pop” of the cork, to that first fabled nose-tickling sip from a flute, there’s something distinctly festive about Champagne. It’s the wine that all the rest model themselves after. Some even carry the term “Méthode Champenoise” on their label, meaning the wine was produced in the same method that genuine Champagne is. Yet only one type of wine had earned the right to carry the name “Champagne” on its label, and that’s the real thing. Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France. That’s why we’re proud supporters of the movement to protect wine place and origin names. Sign the petition and join us in the effort to protect names like Chianti, Tokaj, Port, and of course, Champagne.
With the holidays in full swing, the question isn’t, “what type of wine should I buy”?
It’s, “what type of Champagne should I buy? We’ve got two tips for navigating the Champagne aisle of your wine shop in the final month of 2010.
2002 Vintage Champagne: Champagne houses only bottle Vintage Champagnes, those made with grapes from a single vintage, in the best of years. Lucky for you, many of the current release Champagnes on the market right now are from 2002, one of the best years in Champagne in recent memory. They won’t be cheap but you can almost be sure that you’re getting memorable wine from a great vintage.
Grower Champagne: You sometimes shop at the local Farmers Market instead of Wal-Mart. Why not support the small farmers of Champagne this holiday season, and stray from the reliable, big names? Grower Champagnes come from single, independently owned estates, made by the same people who the grapes, making them the ultimate expression of terroir.
This email is brought to you in collaboration with the Champagne Bureau, a client of Cork’d
