Champagne
 

Well we have a high end knife and alcohol threads going on right now, figure I better start one about champagne. I'm kind of a champagne enthusiast, I can't necessarily afford the hobby but when I can get a nice bottle I always try to do so.

I have had a few great bottles in my 22 years of life, namely:

Louis Roederer Cristal Brut '02
Dom Perignon '02
Veuve Clicqout Brut Yellow Label

Other than that I've enjoyed a lot of Moet & Chandon Imperial and Mumm Napa Brut's. And the old faithful, Ballatore Gran Spumante, $7.99 a bottle and sweet as candy. I don;t really care for super sweet champagne but when I want some bubbly and my better half isn't feeling a brut I bring home this to keep her at bay.

We're getting married in November and trying to decide which champagne we want to enjoy at dinner. I'm not making this decision solely off of price as I want to enjoy the best champagne in the world with my new bride.

I'm leaning towards a bottle of Cristal Brut '02 because I could probably buy a few bottles, one to enjoy at dinner, one when we're winding down and one to save for our one year anniversary. But the other two high ends are also very good, very close in quality to Cristal I think, and I could buy three of those for nearly the same price as two of the Cristal. But then again, there is something about Cristal that sets it apart (no I'm not a fan of MTV Cribs). This champagne goes down so incredibly smooth, yet you don't feel the acidic feeling in your stomach you get from a low to mid range bottle. Even the Moet & Chandon leaves that feeling for me.

TBH I'm open to anything, just wondering if anybody else has tried some of these or some others I may not be aware of.

My wife & I drink tons of Champagne. Our favorites are(in order - all French):

1.Pommery
2.Perrier Jouiet
3.MUMM
4.Tattinger
5.MOET

My nickname amongst friends is Champagne Riley, I love the stuff, 1 bottle to the face = the perfect drunk for me!

1. J
2. Vueve Yellow Label
3. Cristal
4. J Rose
5. Mumm

You can get J for 25 bucks at most BevMo's and the stuff is soooo good!

We just had some Dom Perignon '02 for our aniversary a couple weeks ago. It was good stuff, but we pretty much drink moet chandon or Vueve when we get good stuff.
I guess my palette is not trained enough because I don't know if I can apreciate it compared to the cost if we go more expensive then $50 or $60 bucks a bottle.

try some Pommery or Perrier Jouet. Makes Vue and Dom P taste like piss. & is a tad cheaper.

Scharfenberger, preferably the Cremant. Can get it a few places up in Northern CA. It's good and only about $20 a bottle. I always pick it up when visiting up north of Bodega Bay.

Schramsberg... It's beens served at official State functions by every US President since Nixon. I received a private tour of the winery located near Calistoga, CA. The caves they store the wines in were amazing. Check out the website when you get a chance.

Scharfenberger, preferably the Cremant - so this is sparkling then correct?

Yep, the sparkling. Good stuff.

can a beer guy be a champagne guy too or do i have to be a wine guy? i usually take a couple cheap bottles to the lake and then use my wife's um, "upstairs investments" as a funnel to pour it into my gullet.

I have a bottle of 2000 Dom and a bottle of 2000 cristal rose? or something like that in my cellar. probably need to find a reason to break that stuff out sometime soon! they were both gifts. I'm more of a wine drinker personally.

2000 Cristal Rose? That's a $600 bottle! Save it for something special!

The more I think about it I think I'm just going to go with Cristal, it really is top notch. I don't know that there is anything better. Counting down the days now!

geez, that seems ridiculous! i guess that's why they were both gifts because i would never spend that kind of money on a bottle of anything! maybe i should sell both of them and get a new board/bindings haha.

I'm a big fan of Andre... Gets me through the days i have to drink Champagne

Atta' boy Alan!

http://www.freixenetusa.com/cordon-n...kling-wine.php

My go-to bottle, can't say I have much knowledge about great champagnes though.

I like Vueve a lot for the price. I also like Gloria Ferrar Blanc de Noir. It's a great buy at sub $20/bottle.

I'm more of a wine drinker, but my wife loves Champagne and it is refreshing and light on occasion.

Hey, for a different use for champagne try a St. Germain cocktail. My wife and I discovered it at a champagne bar in San Francisco, it is pretty darn tasty! Here is the link to the St. Germain website [URL="http://www.stgermain.fr/"] You should be able to find it at any Bevmo. The web site has the recipe for the St. Germain cocktail as well as other recipes. I think it is about $30 bucks a bottle.