Boozin’ Blog

Few drinks are as specifically associated with a holiday or event as Champagne is with New Years Eve. Sales for Champagne and sparkling wine go through the roof in the days before New Years and for many people this is about the only time that they consider it. So with the big day just around the corner I thought a few words about everyone’s favorite bubbly might be in order.

First let’s deal with the name of this wine. Champagne is a type of sparkling wine. That is all Champagne is sparkling wine but all sparkling wine is not Champagne. Tradition and European Union law dictate that only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne. This distinction is mostly respected throughout the world although I did once see a wine made in Missouri with Champagne on its label. That particular wine-maker has since changed the label and removed the ‘c’ word.

Now, what’s with all this nonsense about brut? In the world of sparkling wine this simply means dry. Why bubbly booze has to use a different word from everyone else is beyond me. So if the label says brut or extra brut that just means that this is a dry wine. Now, just to muddy things up the word dry does appear on some labels but it actually means less dry than brut. On sparkling wine labels dry is middle of the road between sweet and dry. Sweet Champagne makers use the term demi-sec on their labels.

Drier wines, brut here, tend to do well with meals and sweeter wines or demi-sec in the sparkling wine world are best with fruit and desserts. So, for standing around at a party or to pop the cork on for a New Years Eve toast, dry or extra dry sparkling wine is the best choice.

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