Champagne has traditionally been thought of as the beverage of celebration. After a couple of decades of continual interest and involvement with wine, I now know that no wine brings me more pleasure than Champagne, or more genericly, sparkling wine. I have observed on this forum that those who discuss Champagne are deeply passionate about it and how it enhances their social life. And at least for me, while I enjoy great Champagne, I can’t tell you how many bottles of a particular $12 Cava I’ve enjoyed as well. So it doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition. Some say that there is little to celebrate these days. But there have always been difficult times throughout history. It’s up to the individual to find joy and celebration in daily living. There is never a guarantee of tomorrow so it would seem to celebrate even the mundane is worthwhile. I read this little parable probably 30 years ago and it has never left me:
One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran, but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice…
As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine…
Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth…
It was incredibly delicious, the best strawberry he ever had!
Expensive Champagne seems to be a “waste” for me - Champagne invariably is a prelude to the night’s red wines, and thus are finished off in 15 -30 minutes. A bit like caviar - an expensive frivolity to start things off. The reds are allowed much more time in comparison.
Having said that, the branding of top Champagne is unique and everyone swoons a little when they see a Dom P, Krug or Cristal on deck.
I agree with you that this is how it usually seems to happen in practice. Even at serious wine geek tastings, the Champagne is usually served as people arrive, greet each other, mingle, and usually while there is no food to pair it with, which is ironic given how well Champagne pairs with foods.
I often campaign at tastings for someone who arrives early to put in some suitable appetizer orders first off, so there is something to have with the Champagne, but it rarely ends up happening – you often don’t even have a menu yet by the time the Champagne is served, and in any event, usually nobody is focused in on the wine tasting phase yet before the Champagne is pretty much gone.
That isn’t to say it should be that way, though. Good Champagne deserves the attention that the still whites in the tasting dinner get.
I love all three and also many grower Champagnes. Thankfully, my regular crowd doesn’t treat Champagnes as an afterthought or prelude to the real drinking.
We will frequently drink Champagne between courses to re-set our palates if we have a long night of tasting. Champagne & Riesling are our favorites with Sushi…and it’s a cause to just sit back & enjoy some nights at a leisurely place.
@Neal I had the same experience with the Krug MV until I’d had some older bottles & some with a base from a strong year. It would be worth checking out one bottle of the 168eme if you like Cristal. Dom is it’s own monster.
We all have our own tastes. I love Taittinger CdC and Dom Ruinart, but have never really had a Dom Perignon that sent me. For Krug, somewhere in the middle. I have liked virtually every Krug I have had but have only swooned at the vintage ones and they are much more expensive than CdC and Dom Ruinart, which I generally like just as much if not more. Frankly, to me, the buy of the last few years in higher end Champagne has been the 2006 CdC. Nothing has come close to me for the price.
As to the question of when to have Champagne, all I can say is that Champagne teaches us all to arrive at higher end tastings on time. Those of us who come on time get a lot of time with the Champagne (with a clear palate and with time to really ponder them) but you guys who feel the need to seem important and arrive fashionably late rush through the Champagnes.
I have seen many many times Champagne being treated as something of an after thought at many wine geek events. It often felt like we just start with some expensive Champagne because that’s what we are supposed to do. The vast majority of people would barely take note.
Champagne is great wine. And not just the top cuvees. It gets treated the same as any other wine by me now. I find myself buying it as a greater percetage of my buys more than ever. In sort of the $30-60 range that lots of NV bottlings are in it almost always hits the mark. You don’t really have to wonder about drinking windows or opening it too soon.
In terms of comparisons to other sparkling wines I’ve very very rarely ever had any from other regions that compare with the average to better Champagnes. It’s different. And mostly better. Other sparkling wines can be great values and very good in their own milieu but they are almost always a step behind for me.
My view of Champagne has completely changed since joining this forum. Now I open Champagnes with dinner regularly, or have it in the evening with some snacks to wind down. I view it and appreciate it like any other wine and I think that’s great.
We had a dinner last weekend with our social distancing group. We started with champagne and Hors d’oeuvres and then finished with champagne and dessert. It was a good night.
