12.31.2007
Picking the perfect bubbly
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What should a buyer look for when choosing a sparkling wine for a special event?
Some people prefer dry wines and others sweet wines. When looking at champagnes, bottles will generally be marked to show its level of dryness or sweetness. Ranging from driest to sweetest, words to look for are “natural,” “brut,” “extra-dry,” “demi-sec” and “doux.”
“Try different kinds until you find one you like,” recommends Linda Lawrence Dalton, of Lawrence Distributing Company, which distributes wines to dealers throughout this area. “There’s nothing wrong with the less expensive ones; they are less complex, but you can learn what to expect in different levels of dryness or sweetness.”
One doesn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a bottle of champagne - though you certainly can, if you want some of the rarer years of Dom Perignon, Cristal or other top-shelf champagnes.
But if you have a more modest budget, don’t despair; Dalton said there are many champagnes and sparkling wines in the $10- to $50-per-bottle range that will please most guests at special celebrations.
Freixenet Brut, a Spanish sparking wine, was available at Ginger Bread House & Garden Center on Friday for $10.95. They also had Mondoro Asti, a sparkling wine from Italy, for $10.95; Moet & Chandon White Star, a French champagne, for $45.95 and Piper-Heidsieck, a French brut champagne, for $39.95.
Others Dalton recommends are Korbel, which runs about $13 a bottle; Mumm, about $28; Perrier Jouet, about $72 a bottle.
Dalton said champagne should be served cold in slender fluted glasses. The flutes help hold the bubbles longer.
One warning Dalton offered was to sip sparkling wines and champagnes rather than gulp them.
“Those bubbles can make alcohol more potent and go to your head quicker,” Dalton said.
And if you’d like the sparkle without the alcohol, you can always try a sparkling cider (available in most grocery stores). Just chill it and serve it in a champagne flute for tasty, bubbly elegance without the alcohol.