New Year’s Eve wouldn’t be complete without a bubbly champagne! As promised, below are some choices for champagne or sparkling wine selections. By the way, true champagne comes from the French region and is normally pretty pricey but most stores carry sparkling wines in the champagne tradition. Or you can always choose a Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) or a Cava (Spanish sparkling wine). When choosing a sparkling wine of any kind, remember brut is dry and normally not as sweet. Keeping that in mind, here are a few of my picks:
- Pick a sparkling wine that uses grapes with which you are familiar. Most of the Finger Lakes wineries carry sparkling versions that use the Cayuga white grape, for example. They are affordable and yummy! Just locate the New York section at your local wine or liquor store and you should be able to find some selections. A few I’ve had include Swedish Hill and Dr. Frank’s.
- If you would like an Italian version of Prosecco, check out Cupcake Vineyards’ version, which is highly rated even by Rachel Ray!
- Cava is a delicious sparkling wine from Spain. It’s not as well-known but it is usually priced right and has a delightful sweetness to it. Check out Wine Folly’s full description on Cava and dare to try one for your celebration!
BONUS: If you have kiddos this holiday, make sure you serve up some bubbly for them, too. I’m planning to make this simple mock champagne recipe from Chef Mom this year. I found all the ingredients at Wegmans, including the unbreakable champagne “glasses” from their seasonal isle!
No matter what you drink this New Year’s, enjoy the moment and reflect on 2016. Remember, a new year is chance to start over and a way to make a fresh start. Make a resolution that you can truly keep. And if you need some inspiration on that front, why not resolve to read more A Wine for All Times? Kidding… Happy New Year, everyone!