Quote:
Originally Posted by MRM
Veuve and Perrier are very nice and aren't cheap but they’re not expensive from a Dom or Cristal perspective. Mumm is also quite nice. All are more than you need to pay for a really nice sparkling wine. But before you chose, you should consider what sparkling wine (or champagne) is and what difference there is between the types.
Prosecto is Italian sparkling wine. It is sweeter and easier to drink than a dry sparkling wine (brut). Spanish sparkling wine is called Cava and can be sweeter like prosecto, but I think of it as more yeasty and very flavorful. Different and very good in its own way. True French Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Anything else is just sparkling wine. It has a special taste that can't be replicated anywhere else. The bubbles are smaller, the taste is lighter, and the body is somehow tighter than anything else. That's why, for the money, I like Veuve.
But for real bang for the buck bubbly, try Roederer Estates' brut sparkling wine. It's about $20 a bottle and it is great.
Roederer Estate Brut
A good host would stock up on a few bottle of the fancy French stuff to start the evening and have a selection of Spanish Cava at $10-$15 a bottle, Italian Prosecto at about $15, Italian Asti Spumante sweet bubbly at $15-$20, Mumms Napa Valley and tons of Roederer and let the guests pick them off ice and pour what they want. You'll be surprised that most people will go for the sweet cheap stuff while the more sophisticated palates will go for the Roederer, and the status hogs will go for the French stuff.
Try it yourself, you'll see the difference between the various types and you'll be surprised to see what you like and why you like it after a blind taste test. |
Not sure I agree with this. It's pretty hard to go from a good French champagne to prosecco or, god forbid, Asti Spumante in one evening. That is a steep fall.
I would buy a nice cremant ( french but not from the champagne region) which you should be able to get for $20 a bottle and stick with it. Every bit as good as a good champagne - just not from the region.
Also a couple of the big French houses produce fine champagne stateside, and these are superb value. Moet Chandon produces champagne in Napa under the name "Chandon" for example, for about $20 per bottle, and this is superb stuff.
If you start and end with one of these options you'll be far better off than starting expensive and ending cheap IMO.