French Sparkling Wine And Champagne for New Years

While New Year’s Eve is not the only time to pop a cork on some bubbly, it’s certainly the most popular night for it. If you were ever unsure of what to pour in your glass while you toast to the New Year, I’ve got you covered. I visited CBS 12 WPEC and brought three French sparkling wines that are affordable and delicious. Whether you prefer a true Champagne, or a more affordable Cremant d’Alsace or Cremant d’Bourgogne, these three options will delight you and your guests on New Year’s Eve or any time.

I have previously recommended Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne, as I feel it’s a French sparkling wine that offers great quality for the price. The Perle d’Aurore Brut Rose is a Burgundy wine made from 80% Pinot Noir & 20% Gamay, and is bottle fermented for at least 24 months, much longer than the legal requirement of 9 months. This enables the lees, or yeast used in fermentation, to add both aroma and complexity to the palate. I mention the flavor profile in the tv segment above, and for $15.99, I feel this is a bottle of bubbles to have on hand for any occasion that calls for a toast, such as making it through another Monday!

Louis Bouillot Perle d’Aurore Rosé Brut

The Albrecht family has been cultivating vineyards since as early as 1425, with major developments beginning in 1930 after the phylloxera crises. Lucien Albrecht lead the family estate and has been assisted by his son Jean Albrecht since 1980. Albrecht sparkling wines have been recommendations of mine previously, and I believe they continue to offer great quality for the price. At only $19.99, the Brut Reserve makes a great budget friendly alternative to Champagne.

Jean Albrecht Brut Reserve French Sparkling Wine

While Eric Roby and I discussed that the French sparkling wines will be close to the Champagne in the above TV segment, there is still indeed a difference. Champagne is not only about a name, or the premium soils in which the grapes are grown. It’s about hundreds of years of tradition making only Champagne, focusing talents and honing the skill to produce a premium product. There are some amazing Champagne houses producing excellent bubblies, and Mailly is indeed one. Their vineyards are Grand Cru, some of the top quality soil to produce Champagne grapes. Made from 75% pinot noir and 25% chardonnay, this non-vintage Champagne is a combination of wines of one single crop, with reserve wines more than 10 years old. The blend then ages in French oak barrels up to 15 years old. The result is a dry, elegant sparkling wine that has beautiful notes of yellow apple with green apples on the finish. Elegant sophistication for only $38, which I purchased at my local Total Wine store.

Mailly Grand Cru Brut Reserve Champagne

I hope your New Year’s Eve toasts all come true, and hope you toast with some of these French sparkling wine options. These and the other budget friendly sparkling wine options I recommended on CBS this week are available at Total Wine. You can follow Total Wine on twitter, and find their website on their profile.

Let me know what you serve this New Year’s eve!

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Sparkling Wine

Looking to toast to your family and friend’s good health and happiness this New Year’s Eve, but not spend a fortune? There are plenty of sparkling wine options available if you don’t want to splurge for Champagne. I visited CBS 12 and chatted with Eric Roby and Michele Wright to talk about three sparkling wines under $13 that are perfect for ringing in the New Year, or any time!

While the Gruet family started off making Champagne in France, in the 70s they migrated to New Mexico, and after meeting other European wine makers, started making sparkling wine. Over 4,000 feet above sea level, their vineyards are cool at night, prolonging the growing and ripening periods, offering great fruit for their various sparkling and non-sparkling wines. The Gruet NV Brut costs only $12.99 at Total Wine, and many other wine retailers, but doesn’t lack the flavors of more expensive bubblies. Made from 75% chardonnay and 25% pinot noir, this non-vintage sparkling wine offers great flavors of green and yellow apple, with slight toasty notes.

Gruet NV Brut Sparkling Wine For New Years

If you like more dry styles of sparkling wine, Cava is a great option. With less fruit and more tart flavors, the Conde de Caralt Brut is a good option at $7.99. Made by Freixenet, I like the dry, tart style of this sparkler. There are some notes of apples, and some citrus, but the fruit is very faint. This is a good sparkling wine to mix cocktails, especially if you like making mimosa as it doesn’t end up being too sweet! Cava generally has a budget focused price point, and I’ve recommended Rondel cava in the past.

Conde de Caralt Brut Cava

Prosecco is a light, delicious sparkling wine style from northern Italy. From Treviso, located in the Veneto region of Italy, the Luna d’Or Prosecco is made of Glera grapes. For $12.99, this refreshing sparkling wine has fruit forward flavors of melon, apricots, and citrus, and is perfect for those who like a little more fruit in their sparkling wines. Prosecco is a great option for a toast on New Year’s Eve. I’ve recommended Lemberti’s Prosecco in previous New Year’s Eve segments!

Luna d’Or Prosecco for your New Year’s party

Check back later on, as I’ll be posting another CBS 12 segment on French sparkling wine and Champagne that won’t break the bank. I’ll also have some other options for bubbles that I’ve had in recent weeks that have been fantastic, such as the Barons de Rothschild Champagne that for $99 at Total Wine is a great classic Champagne from a prestigious producer.

Which Glass is Best For Champagne?

Whether you are serving Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, or a sparkling wine from California, you have probably asked “What is the best glass to serve Champagne in?” While there is no “Perfect Glass for Champagne”, I’ll break down three different stemware options, and give you the pros and cons of each. You can then pick the right glass for Champagne, one that suits you!

Are flute glasses best for Champagne?

The flute glass is perhaps the most popular glass for serving Champagne or sparkling wine. Tall, thin, and elegant, it fits in with any Champagne toast, whether New Year’s or New Baby! The flute glass will preserve your Champagne bubbles the longest of any glass, so if the bubbles in your bubbly are extremely important, then this is definitely the glass for you! While there are  pros of this glass, it’s timeless style and it’s ability to preserve the bubbles longest, there are still some cons. The first is that they don’t really allow you to smell the sparkling wine, which is a big component of taste. Additionally, some folks find that pouring bubbly into a glass like this causes them to pour a bit too quickly, and the glass bubbles over. Other than that, it’s a great glass for Champagne. This glass is what I prefer my sparkling wines in. Robin, however, prefers the coupe glass for her Champagne.

Are coupe glasses best for Champagne?

There are stories that the coupe was modeled after Marie Antionette’s breast. Since the glass was fashioned in 1663 for the English aristocrats, that is probably not true. However, the coupe is an elegant and classic way to enjoy sparkling wine. The glass has a low profile, and a wide bowl. While it does allow your nose to inhale the bouquet of the wine as you sip, there is a major downside to this glass. The coupe is notorious for allowing those precious bubbles to escape quickly. So, while it may show up in timeless movie classics as the glass to toast New Year’s Eve with, it may not allow your bubbles to stay at the party as long as you do. Something to keep in mind while you sip your Champagne.

Can a regular wine glass work for serving Champagne?

A regular wine glass works! Champagne is a mixture of chardonnay,  pinot noir, and pinot Munier, so it’s perfect for a regular wine glass. While it won’t be the epitome of class and sophistication the coupe and flute are, it works nicely to sip Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, or any California Sparkling wine from! So-pop a cork, grab the glass that fits your style, and toast to an amazing New Year!