Champagne is commonly associated with celebrations but as with all wines, champagne varies in price, appearance and taste. If you're buying champagne, it's important to know exactly what you're looking for.
When would you like it?
The most popular time to enjoy champagne at your wedding is during the speeches when a glass of champagne is given to each guest to enjoy the toasts. However, you might also decide to offer champagne as a welcome drink, or even to accompany pudding and wedding cake. Well-chosen champagne can pair well with fish, poultry and meat so you could serve champagne throughout the wedding breakfast if you feel like splashing out.
What style of bubbles should you choose?
Unless you're a real champagne connoisseur and planning on serving champagne throughout the celebrations, chances are you'll be choosing one label that will work well as a welcome drink and for toasts. To suit all your guests, it's wise to stick to a brut (dry), well-balanced wine that you don't feel is too heavy or full bodied. Rosé champagne is certainly worth a consideration - the delicate pink tone being perfect for a romantic wedding. Always be sure to have a tasting, and perhaps even buy one bottle to enjoy at home before you make your final decision.
How much will everybody drink?
This is the tricky bit - it all depends on how strict you're going to be and how much your guests are in the mood for a party! If you're offering champagne as a welcome drink, you should provide at least one glass per person, two if you're feeling more generous. If you're serving canapés and expecting guests to mingle for quite a while before sitting down to the wedding breakfast, two glasses is wise. One glass is perfect for toasts. A bottle of champagne contains around six glasses so, as a guide, allow around half a bottle per person.
Where should you shop?
The main rule when buying champagne is to shop around and look out for deals. Many supermarkets and wine merchants will offer incentives such as a free bottle for every case purchased, and this is just what you want. Remember, you're buying in bulk so you deserve a good price! Heading over to France is a great idea, either to general wine merchants or to the champagne region itself where you're likely to get the best of everything - prices and variety. This is a fabulous excuse for a romantic pre-wedding weekend for two. Jump on the ferry or Eurotunnel and drive down to Reims. Don't forget to take a decent-sized car and some proof of your impending wedding (perhaps an invitation) so you can verify that it is for private consumption.
What if your venue supplies champagne?
Many hotels and venues will have champagne on their wedding list so ask whether you can bring in your own champagne and pay corkage. If their answer is no, or the corkage fee is as expensive as the champagne itself, you may have to stick to their offering. If the price and the champagne are exactly what you're looking for, it's a perfect situation. If you feel it is too expensive, or there's a particular champagne that you would like to serve, it's always worth asking whether the venue would buy it in for your wedding and how much they would charge to do so.
How much should you spend per bottle?
How much do you want to spend per bottle? As with everything else, it's important to work out your budget when it comes to champagne. It's obviously going to be more expensive than the wine. As a rough guide, if you're buying a good-quality non-vintage champagne, you should expect to pay between £15 and £25 per bottle in the UK - less in France. Venues will often charge a good mark up on this. Vintage champagne is wonderful but prices will rise considerably. It's perhaps best saved for one special bottle for the two of you to share!
How should you serve it?
If you're having a celebration at home and serving champagne yourself, it's important to know how to serve it properly. What a shame to buy lovely bubbles and not enjoy it to its full potential! As soon as you buy champagne, store it in a cool place away from the light. Champagne should be drunk chilled, not iced, so never put it in the freezer to cool it down - simply in a bucket of water and ice or in the fridge for a few hours. When it comes to opening the bottle, undo the wire cage without removing it, grasp the cork and the cage firmly and turn the bottle until the cork comes out.
What's the alternative?
Champagne can only be called ‘champagne' if it comes from the champagne region of France, so there are plenty of other sparkling wines from around the world - Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy and a wonderful selection of new world sparkling wines. Don't forget to look closer to home - Nyetimber, Ridgeview, Bearsted Vineyards and Carr-Taylor all produce excellent English sparkling wines.
Photo David Jones
Useful contacts
English sparkling wines:
www.carr-taylor.com
www.nyetimber-vineyard.com
www.ridgeview.co.uk
French champagne:
www.champagne-bollinger.fr
www.moet.com
www.feuillatte.com
www.piper-heidsieck.com
www.taittinger.com
www.veuve-clicquot.com
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