Bubbles for New Year’s!
What other drink can I suggest for this weekend that would be more appropriate than Champagne? Or really I should say sparkling wine… because anything that bubbles, tickles your nose and is a party in a glass will do! All celebrations are just a bit more festive when you are holding a glass of sparkling wine in your hand. The name Champagne is reserved exclusively for the sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine produced anywhere else cannot be called Champagne but can be just as good. In Spain it is normally labeled Cava and in Italy you may find Proseco, Franciacorta or Asti (formerly called Asti Spumonte). In the U.S. most are simply labeled sparkling wine.
You don’t need to break the bank to enjoy a nice bottle of bubbles. Especially at this time of year when sparkling wines are specially priced just about everywhere you look. The main thing to remember is to look for a wine that has been made in the traditional method or “méthode champenoise”. If the label does not carry this designation, chances are the bubbles have been “forced” into the wine by injecting carbonation and this is what causes that very bad headache you may experience the next morning! Of course, overindulging in even the best champagnes has been known to have that effect! However, you are more likely to experience it partaking of even a moderate amount of sparkling wine with forced bubbles.
Château Ste. Michelle makes a decent line of sparkling wines that can be found for around $8 right now. There are many Italian Proseccos available in the $10 range and I recently purchased a magnum of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava for $10 at Costco! How can you beat that? All of these are nice wines. If you want to go up a little, Chandon makes a Blanc de Blanc and a Blanc de Noir that are both available for around $15 (or less) at this time of year and there are many fine bottles available in the $20 to $30 range.
If you are learning about sparkling wines there are a couple of things you want to know. The first is about the relative sweetness of the wine. I prefer a dry wine and so I always look for “Brut” on the label. “Dry” is a bit sweeter than Brut - I know that seems wrong but it’s the way it works - and Demi-Sec is sweeter yet. This article on About.com explains a bit more. The other lesson is on styles of sparkling wine. This article explains the difference between vintage and non-vintage (NV), blanc de blanc and blanc de noir, etc. There is really quite an overwhelming amount of information about Champagnes and sparkling wines on the web. You can learn as much or as little as you’d like - half the fun is in the experimentation, after all!
More ideas for Cocktails made with Champagne…
But enough about the beverage! What should you serve with it? I think for this holiday weekend the focus is on easy but elegant. You want to be able to put something together relatively quickly so you can get on with relaxing and enjoying the celebration.
Smoked Salmon Appetizer
8 oz of Smoked Salmon (for this appetizer I prefer the thin-sliced, moist type)
4 oz of cream cheese (reduced fat is fine)
¼ cup diced red onion (or less, if you prefer)
2 Tbsp drained capers
1 package of nice wheat crackers
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature and gently fold in the red onions and capers. Spread a small amount of the mixture on a cracker. Top with a little smoked salmon, kind of piled for a nice presentation. Garnish with a bit more of the red onion, chopped chives or green onion.
If you have the time and want to make this a bit fancier, instead of crackers use Buckwheat Blini as the base.
During the holidays we have something very similar: a cream cheese based spread with spices mixed in. The main difference is we put smoked oysters on top. My wife has the recipe. Maybe she’ll share it.
I have a bottle of 2001 Blanc de blanc from Lieb Cellars. But I might toast the new year with the Champagne of the beer world: a gueuze from Cantillon in Brussels.