[drink] Budget-Friendly Bubbly for Your New Year’s Toast
I love champagne (or sparking wine, as it’s called if not from the Champagne region of France). I love it sweet. I love it dry. I love it with a dash of peach schnapps (the poor man’s bellini) or with a strawberry or raspberry garnish. I love it in mimosa form. I love it on a plane. On a train. Oh yes, I love champagne.
What better time to give in to this love for the bubbly than New Year’s Eve? Of course, champagne doesn’t have to – and shouldn’t – break the bank. Especially in These Economic Times.
Here are five sparking wine picks for the fabulously thrifty:
Ballatore Gran Spumonte ($7) – This fruity, sweet-but-not-too-sweet sparkling wine is so drinkable that you might consume an entire bottle by yourself. It happens. I understand.
Barefoot Bubbly Extra Dry ($10) – Floral, with hints of apple and mineral, this sparkling wine goes perfectly with appetizers like these.
Mumm Napa Brut Prestige ($17) – Dry, full of melon and citrus flavors and so good your guests will never know it was less than twenty bucks. Wine nerd fun fact: Brut is actually more dry than the “extra dry” style of sparkling wine. Who knew?
Chandon Brut Classic ($15) – A longtime family favorite, this is the first sparkling wine I ever tasted. Rated 90 points by Wine Enthusiast, this affordable option is mellow and elegant.
Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante ($14) – Think of this as Ballatore’s older sister. Slightly better, slightly more expensive.
What sparkling wine will you pop open to celebrate the new year? Let us know in the comments.
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I love Martini & Rossi. It was my first introduction into champagne and I’ve been a lover since.
i usually get Asti but after last year… me+big bottle+lots of pre midnight alcohol+flu= NO MORE Asti (or koolaid- but that’s a whole different story)
Budget: Roederer Estate or Chateau Ste Michelle
Splurge: J
For the real thing, you can’t go wrong with Veuve Clicquot. In states where they don’t think alcohol is devil juice (not Kansas but probably JoCo) you can get it in sizes from splits to jeroboams. For my son’s baptism we ordered a case of magnums – party in a bottle!
My new fav: Pink by Yellowglen – Australian http://www.yellowglenusa.com/pink-sparkling-wine.html
Oh, and needed to add nerd fun facts: Moët et Chandon is pronounced “mow-ette” not “mow-ay” because Mr. Moët was Flemish, not French. Also, it’s six turns to unscrew the wire cap, that’s an industry standard. I learned both those things at Domaine Chandon in Napa, so straight from the horse’s mouth.
We used Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut at our wedding. It won in a blind tasting against Dom Perignon and it runs about $13 a bottle.
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