Budget Friendly Sparkling Sippers

Tuesday, 21 December 2010 17:49 Written by  Savvy Girl  

champalt

We all love the crisp, fruity effervescent party in the mouth that champagne gives, particularly during the holidays, but the $40+ price tag? Not so much.  Champagne is one of those rare alcoholic drinks we could sip at any time of day—breakfast, lunch, brunch, cocktail hour, dinner, nightcap—we need no excuses to pop open a bottle of that versatile bubbly, but why, oh why is it so expensive?  After a quickie web search, we found some pretty logical answers:

  • Real champagne comes from the small, fiercely regulated and expensive region in France called (take a guess)...Champagne.
  • Grape output in Champagne is wee, owing to cool temperatures and again, limited real estate which can actually be called "Champagne"
  • Champagne is extremely testy to make, requiring rigorous growing methods, expensive equipment and long storage, all of which costs vintners mega bucks.

 

Ok, so champers is well worth the splurge, but what happens when you don't have mega bucks to shell out for the real deal?  You turn to your neighbors, who often make sparklers in the exact same way as in Champagne, but can't call themselves the real deal because they're not in Champagne.

Savvy Champagne Trade Offs: Budget Friendly Sparkling Sippers

*Brut just means "extremely dry" and although this one is a bit of a splurge, any brut will do.

Two Savvy Ways to Make your Cheap Sipper Taste Better:

  1. Always serve sparkling sippers in tall flutes which help the bubbles last longer.  Wide, champagne coupes (like the plastic variety) make bubbles dissipate too fast and will make your alternative sparkler look cheap.
  2. Always hold the flute by the stem.  If you hold around the bulb of the flute, the champers will warm up from your hand warmth and taste less than optimum.

 

 

 

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