Dom Perignon, Moet and Chandon or Veuve Cliquot

I like for the well known trades : Louis Roederer, Pol Roger, Bollinger. Less known but very good: A.R Lenoble, Bruno Paillard, Nicolas Feuillate. Don't forget Champagne rose : Laurent Perrier cuvee Rose brut and Bollinger La grande annee rose (2004)

Is Veuve Cliquot any good? I see it around a lot but have yet to try it...

Taittingers

Perrier Jouet

Bollinger . Standard and rose. HATE veuve cliquot.

Vintage Veuve only..... Non-vintage Veuve, non. I don't mind know the oenophiliac word for non-vintage... blended, maybe?

I dunno why I don't mind know....sigh.

Ha! I was really R5 signing as R3....bahahaha!

Billecart Salmon. It's exquisite.

As with any wine, it's all about personal taste. R4 hates Veuve Cliquot, I love it.

I only drink expensive champagne when I fly first class internationally. Japan Airlines served Salon, which sells for about $300 a bottle. But since all my miles are gone, I don't do that anymore

Sad DL queen, OP.

Dom Perignon is the prestige cuvee of M&C. Some times you feel like a nut...

VC is well known and mightily marketed.

Personally, I like a Laurent-Perrier Brut Rose. If it was good enough for Diana's wedding, good enough for me.

Bolly, right Pats?

This thread is my cup of tea.

First of all, champagne lovers with normal salaries, never limit yourself to French champagne. Méthode champenoise has been used for decades up to centuries, to produce delightful bubblies in other regions. Italy has Franciacorta, which isn't distributed very far around Europe. Switzerland has Mauler. France has Crémant d'Alsace and Crémant de Die. There are are few Austrian Sekts in the method. And many delicious Californian and some Australian méthode de champenoise bubblies.

Second, are we talking vintage campaigns or daily pleasures?

Any truly dedicated Champagne drinker opens at least a bottle to two per week per person in the household. This person will probably have a non-vintage Champagne, often unknown house or a brand bottled for a supermarket in his country. British, German, Austrian, and Swiss supermarket chains all have made up label house champagnes, real champagnes mind you, and some are good to very good.

Almost every famous French house that you know of, will produce a delicious quality non-vintage mass market champagne from 30-50 bucks a pop. Everyone I know prefers Brown Label Veuve Clicquot over Yellow label (and Brown is non-vintage but quite more expensive) - but Yellow can hit the spot.

Then, how much sweetness do you want, from demi-sec all the way down to the latest fad for brut nature. I really don't want brut nature unless its strictly as aperitif AND a very elegant affair AND its the dead of winter AND the champagne is impeccably ICE COLD. I like fruity demi-secs in the summer, and sometimes with meals.

It all freaking depends. Its a pity if you stick to one brand, and one style in that brand, IMHO, but its not sad, because all méthode champenoise wines, if they are quality, are a delight for the taste buds and for the special buzz they give.

Dom Ruinart....the best

PS if you want my opinion on bling champagnes, Dom Pérignon, Cristal, etc., enjoy them when they are offered to you but never spend your own money on them, unless you are quite rich.

piper heidsieck

Oh, I just buy whatever is on sale at Trader Joe's but only for special occasions. Like when one of my eight cats has a birthday.

I second the recommendation of Nicolas Feuillate, especially the Rose.

Creamy, buttery Krug.

Nicolas Feuillate is a top seller in France for a reason. Appropriately priced and delicious. It also produces for "invented label" store brands and other big name houses.

Wow, R12, thanks for your informative post. I'm a newbie, just turned 21 and trying out all the new stuff. What books should I read to educate myself regarding wine and champagnes?

R19, I'm gonna buy it and try it.

Whatever... just as long as it isn't burnt!

Dom, but it's a sentimental favorite. I scored a bottle, wholesale, in my 20's. It wowed my boyfriend and his mom. Will never forget it.

[quote] Nicolas Feuillate is a top seller in France for a reason. Appropriately priced and delicious. It also produces for "invented label" store brands and other big name houses.

Do you mean for labels and brands here in the US? Any idea who's buying from them?

I like Pom.

Thanks, R12. For special treats it's Tattinger.

Nobody's mentioned Korbel Natural which was Jackie Kennedy's choice for JFK's inauguration dinner. I love it.

Taittanger, R25.

And Iron Horse makes the best US sparkling. Helps that they're super gay-friendly, too.

The best stuff is in France. They keep it for themselves, and you can get stuff that is as good as the super premium bottles for about 30 Euro.

Unfortunately, it's Tattinger, R26. From the vineyards of Dubuque, IA.

:-)

R20 you don't need a book, or just go to the public library and see what's in the stacks and available for free. If you want to learn about wines and champagnes, find a wine shop in your neighbourhood, region, that isn't terribly pretentious with good customer service. If they are somewhat serious about bubbly, they are going to have a few champagnes, including smaller brands perhaps you never heard of, and they had better have some California bubblies and be able to tell you the method. Then just start tasting within your budget. The problem with books is that houses change over the years, so if the book is 10 years old, its not going to be a good guide as to which house has gone up and which gone down. Nicolas Feuillate is a newer house but its massive. I don't know if there are supermarket branded french champagnes in the USA. I doubt it. Feuillate obviously will not announce with other brands its sells to. But as a rule you should drink what you can afford because there is no pleasure in worrying about it being good for the price you paid (if the price as a stretch for you), and also until your palate and preferences are developed a rather expensive 60 dollar bottle might not be worth it, when there's a delightful 20 dollar bottle of California bubbly.

Pol Roger ... but most champagne is ok Krug & Dom for celebration

I just remembered while I was glancing at this thread that I have an unopened bottle of Moet & Chandon in my refrigerator that has to be 20 years old. Gift from a friend for my 21st birthday.

Yeah, yeah I'm old.

Is it still any good, or should I toss it? I keep moving it from house to house, but never drink it.

Codorniu Brut

Last time I was in the Somme, I met up with some Germans on their yearly trip to stock their wine cellar. They had all these places they'd visit, all of which required trips down dirt roads with lefts or rights at the third haystack, but they shared some of their haul with me at one dinner, and it tasted worth all the ins and outs.

No R30. Are you a hoarder or what. You're dragging around a bottle of 20 dollar piss.

Why are people afraid of champagne. If you buy a bottle, open it and drink it. If you're given a bottle, chill it, pop it, serve it. Unless you have a cellar for vintage champagne, drink it within a year.

You can drink it out of small juice glasses. Drink it from white wine glasses. Many of my wine snob friends will only drink champagne from chardonnay glasses in recent years. Drink your champagne folks. Almost any bottle you have is not for keeping.

"I only drink Champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry, and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it -- unless I'm thirsty!" - The Widow Bollinger

Andre (brut) over ice, splash of lime--BOOya! (I'm not kidding; very refreshing for an everyday cocktail. Oh, and you can reseal the bottle! Let the pearl-clutching commence....)

You can reseal any bottle of champagne and its good for another day.

You can re-seal it and it's still good the next day. I do it all the time.

R37 here. I know you can reseal any bottle of champagne--hell, I've done it with a baggie and a rubber band! What I meant was that Andre's bottles have a resealable cap/cork thing that's kind of cool. Who doesn't want to get the most out of their $5.99 bottle?!

As for glasses, my last three bottles of DP were sipped out of waxed Dixie cups. The wax lets the bubbles rise. Very pretty. Very anti snobby as well.

André makes a delightful Cold Duck, R37/40. Goes down like soda (to which it's related).

Are you serious R42? Cold duck is more along the lines of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill. Decidedly low rent.

That's why I love it so, R43. Now, back to the expensive stuff.

Do people actually drink champagne? I thought they only did that on Dynasty.

[quote]I don't mind know the oenophiliac word for non-vintage... blended, maybe?

Aren't all champagnes blended wines?

I know the top quality champagnes are very dry but I like Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin demi sec.

You can't even buy Krug where I live.

This is a great thread as I've never dropped a wad of cash on alcohol. I promised some friends I would spring for a bottle of Dom when we get together in Palm Springs to celebrate trump being out of office. I think they will be disappointed if it isn't Dom. It will be worth the money to celebrate such a fabulous occasion.

Cheers.

Miller lite?

For special occasions, I prefer Taittinger. But let's get real – most people cannot tell the differences between French champagne and other sparkling wines. Almost any ice-cold sparkling wine will do.

I'm old enough to remember the 1980's, when Freixenet appeared on the scene, in its novel black bottles, for $4.99 each. I cannot tell you how many cases of that stuff we drank (we were poor graduate students), but I got burned out on sparkling wine.

These days, for regular parties, I usually go for Korbel Extra Dry. It has a nice flavor and aftertaste. Their Brut has a bad aftertaste, IMO.

Dom, P&J, Moet & Chandon are all showy bottles, designed to impress somebody you serve it too. If that's your reason, by all means, knock yourself out. But switch to something else after the first bottle is done.

Lately for general purposes I've been drinking De Margerie Grand Cru Brut. I like the freely "red"quality and the intriguing fruitiness, and its cleanness. I've had disappointments in Moet and Veuve Cliquot. Dom is fine, but lacks nuance in its grandeur. Certainly it makes a statement on the table, but who cares about a statement?

I have a couple of bottles of Krug 1988 for New Year's for the quiet night planned.

Graham Beck from South Africa has been my go to. Obama served it at his inauguration. It's under $20 usually available in the states, and it sated a sense of nostalgia during the current administration. Louis Roederer if it's on someone else.

Sprite with a shot glass of Popov thrown in the glass. Stop frontin!

Try Aldi, mes amies.

Pourquoi payer plus?

Freixenet, Cooke’s