Picking a Champagne can be a difficult choice, especially over and for the holiday season. When picking your Champagnes, you will need to think about why and which ones work well with what you are doing. In this guide, we explore the different Champagnes to have in your house for the holiday season.
Mix of styles
Have a diversity of popular Champagne like a blanc de blancs (made entirely from Chardonnay), a rosé, and a vintage Champagne. Blanc de Blancs is a Champagne made solely from chardonnay grapes. These show a refined, elegant style. Excellent options include the Pierre Peters Cuvée Réserve Blanc de Blancs or Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs. Vintage Champagnes are made from grapes all harvested in a single year and they capture the personality of that season’s weather.
Rosé Champagnes get their colour and flavour from still red wine grapes added before the second fermentation. They’re rich yet vibrant – perfect for celebratory toasts. Outstanding choices are the Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé and Armand de Brignac Rosé. The beauty of having several options is that you can delight a wide range of Champagne lovers.
Consider food pairings
When planning holiday feasts and gatherings, consider Champagnes that go well with your food. One of the easiest wines to match with food is Champagne, due to its wide variety of flavours and textures. These chardonnay-based Champagnes go well with goat cheese and raw bar foods like oysters, prawns and ceviche and they also have crisp citrus flavours. The weighty palate, well-defined body, and powerful fruit Vintage & Rosé pair wonderfully with the flavours of these luxury cuvées, which complement rich main courses like beef tenderloin, duck breast, or roasted salmon.
Champagne goes great with a wide variety of festive appetisers, dinners, and desserts. The high acidity cuts through fats and richness. Planning food and Champagne pairings together ensures your selections will delight and it showcases Champagne’s wonderful flexibility as a dining wine, even with lavish holiday meals!
Stock up on classics
You can’t go wrong with very dry, crisp options like a brut non-vintage Moët & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot as these are crowd-pleasing and versatile. Also, consider including a Champagne cocktail base in case so that you are fully prepared and stocked up. Have a bottle of extra dry or demi-sec Champagne on hand for making Champagne cocktails like the French 75 with gin, lemon, and sugar.
Check vintages
For premium bottles, look for recent outstanding years like 2008, 2009 or 2012 for vintage Champagnes as the older is not necessarily better. The key is having variety, balance, and the basics covered to celebrate any holiday occasion with Champagne.
Still stuck for ideas?
Bollinger Special Cuvée: This small grower Champagne house makes complex, toasty cuvées perfect for celebrating. The Special Cuvée has notes of brioche, apple, and citrus.
Pol Roger Brut Réserve: Elegant and refined, with a delicate mousse, notes of white flowers, brioche, and fresh berries. Rumour has it that it was Winston Churchill’s favourite champagne.
Perrier-Jouët Grand Bru: The signature floral style of Perrier-Jouët, offering honey, pear, and jasmine notes in a refreshingly crisp package. A reliable crowd-pleaser.
