andy (12/07/82)
Hi, Can somebody recommend some moderately priced Champagnes for the holiday season? (moderately priced means ~15-25 dollars a bottle) Thanks, Andrew Rodnite Periphonics Corp. decvax!harpo!floyd!peri!andy
rg (12/07/82)
There are two very very good wines that you can find in your price range (approx. $20). I feel that these are two best champagnes around for any price. The first is Moet 1975 (their WHITE START is a non-vintage wine which is cheaper, but try the 1975). The second is just as good if not better. This is Tattengier (spelling might be wrong). Again, go for a vintage bottle. Try these and I think you will really be happy. If you are located anywhere near New York City you might take a wine shopping trip to Astro wines (its near Eigth street). You can pick up lots of good wine and get the above a good prices.
robertc (12/07/82)
Two excellent sparkling wines to try are produced by joint French and US ventures: 1) Domaine Chandon Napa Valley Brut-$13.50 retail in Oregon (9.19-12.50 in California) also consider their Blanc de Noirs (made from all pinot noir). Joint venture with Moet & Chandon, national distribution. 2) Piper-Sonoma-$12.50 retail in California, may not be distributed to other states. Joint venture with Piper Heidseik. If you want champagne (from France as the name indicates) any of the non-vintage Bruts (dry and crip) or Demi-Secs (med-sweet) are good. My personal favorite is the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, ~$25 NV and ~$35 1975 Brut retail. If you want to spend the money on vintage champagne I prefer based on a large sampling of 73s and a small sampling of 75s, the 1975 vintage. Now if you prefer slightly sweet sparkling wines, or are going to have it with dessert in particular, you might consider an Italian Asti Spumante. These are usually non-vintage. My two favorites are Fontanafredda and Bonardi and are available for less than $10.
wsh@sri-unix (12/08/82)
In regard to buying Champagne, here are some points to keep in mind:
1) The word "Champagne" is very tightly defined in France. Specifically,
any French sparkling wine bearing the name "Champagne" must come from the
correct district, must use the correct method, etc. So the first thing to
look for is the word "Champagne" on the label. Don't be misled by near
misses, such as "Sparkling Wine" or "Champagne Method." Of course, if
the product is not from France, all bets are off.
2) Once you are dealing with genuine French Champagne, you should
keep in mind that Brut is the driest (and, presumably, the most desirable)
form of Champagne. Surprisingly, Extra Dry (such as Moet & Chandon White
Star) is not as dry as Brut. Pink Champagnes are relatively sweet and are
used more for dessert wines.
3) I have heard experts say that once you have a Brut (French)
Champagne, you have won 90% of the battle. Of course, you can have
Dom Perignon (at >$50 per battle), but there are many Brut Champagnes
selling for less than $20 per bottle, and these experts claim that
you can not go very wrong with any of them. In the New York area,
they often sell for less than $15 per bottle. Brands to look for
are Lanson Black Label (often at $12 per), Pommery & Greno, and some
others; the Wednesday New York Times usually has several ads.
Whichever brand you buy, you are enjoying the king of alcoholic
beverages; there is no finer gift of the gods.beshers (12/08/82)
#R:peri:-15500:uiucdcs:13800001:000:158 uiucdcs!beshers Dec 8 09:41:00 1982 Somewhat less expensize is Korbel Brut which in my opinion is the best American Champaign. You can often get cases for a very good price, i.e., $8 a bottle.
minow (12/09/82)
May I make a recommendation for an extremely cheap, but very good, sparkling wine from Spain, Freixenet (Brut, Cordon Negro). It is a very good deal for the money, and cheap enough that one of my co-workers gave me a bottle for my birthday. According to a friend, it is made from the same grapes that were used for "the best French champagnes in the '50's and early '60's". Later in the '60's these grapes went out of fashion, as "lighter" varieties were favored. The wine is made "methode champenoise" with real corks and all. By the way, if you drink too much, you might get a huge hangover. I know I did. Martin Minow decvax!minow
markb (12/10/82)
Try the California sparkling wines Domaine Chandon (Brut, Blanc de Noir) and Hanns Kornell (Brut, Demi-Sec, Sehr Trocken). They are both quite good for domestic wines, with the Chandon being the better. They are not too expensive, with the Chandon available in discount liquor stores for ~$9/bottle and the Hanns Kornell ranging from $6-$8/bottle. Mark Bales ...!ucbvax!hpda!markb
avsdS:nelson (12/10/82)
I vote for Domaine Chandon and Korbell Brut (domestic). By the way, Domaine is not a joint venture, it is owned by the French. Glenn Nelson, Ampex, Redwood City
johnl (12/10/82)
Frexinet is indeed the best "champagne" you can get for anywhere near
its low price. The Spaniards just haven't learned how to cut corners and
keep pumping out superior wine at reasonable prices.
If you want French, though, for my tastes Champagne falls into three
general categories, plain, vintage, and fancy. Within the various categories
there is little variation, which isn't so surprising when you realize that
it's all made in a tiny geographical area and that all Champagne, even the
best, is a blend of many kinds of grapes. In the plain category, Lanson and
Valiers are relatively cheap and as good as any. Similarly for vintage.
Fancy champagne is easily recognized by fancy bottles. Perrier-Jouet is $25
wine in a $25 bottle (for a total of $50) but for special occasions it or Dom
Perignon is hard to beat.
In California, Domaine Chandon is excellent, but not worth the price.
Save your money to visit the restaurant at their vinyard, which is. Silicon
Gulch residents should be able to tell us about lots of neat little vineyards
that don't ship east of Sacramento. Next week, a report on the wineries of
Southern New England.
John Levine, decvax!yale-co!jrl, ucbvax!cbosgd!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE (arpa).djo (12/11/82)
I like Domaine Chandon, Brut and Friexenet, Cordon Negre (black bottle).
craig@cfib.UUCP (08/10/83)
#N:cfib:11700001:000:531 cfib!craig Aug 8 16:56:00 1983 A friend of mine recently brought back some very expensive champagne from France (he hit the champagne district). After splitting a bottle (label forgotten) with him, I started to wonder what exactly defines a good champagne. It seemed to me that his stuff had much smaller bubbles than your everyday sparkling wine or $10-a-bottle champagne. The base wine also seemed, not surprisingly, to be better. Are these the normal standards for good champagne, or was my palate conned by the price tag? Craig Partridge ima!cfib!craig
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (08/10/83)
I heard on the radio that an agreement had finally been reached. The Americans would stop putting <something> in Champagne and Sparkling wine to make it more bubbly, and the Europeans would stop putting dried blood in their red wine to make it redder. Sorry, it was on the radio, and I didn't write it down, so I can't remember what the <something> was. Laura Creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
akt@mcnc.UUCP (08/15/83)
now what we need is an agreement to call "Champagne" only that champagne which is produced in Champagne, France. How dare the Americans (and others) rip off the French and all the lovers of fine champagnes!!! [Is there any such thing as an international trademark?]
tjj@ssc-vax.UUCP (T J Jardine) (08/16/83)
Agreed that THE ORIGINAL champagne is from the province of France called
Champagne, and, to quote Alexis Lichine, "The only wine with any right to the
name Champagne is that made from certain legally specified grapes grown in
limited and well-defined sections of...". However, since this argument has
been going on, both off and on, for as long as Frenchmen {net.women readers
please close your eyes} have seen fit to complain about such things, I
sincerely hope we don't have to duplicate a century of argument in this group.
There have been attempts from time to time to call wines made according to the
champagne process by other names if not from Champagne. You may still see
some labels that refer to Sparkling Wine, Champagne-style, or similar epithets.
Some California vintners even take the trouble to include reference to Charmat
(a process for bulk fermentation of sparkling wine originated in 1910 by a
French enologist of the same name) or bottle fermentation on their labels.
I know that the finest Champagne is, for example, Dom Perignon, but I think
that Christian Brothers, Krug, and several others make a bloody fine imitation.
There is even an excellent champagne-style wine originating from the
Stellenbosch area known as Here XVII. Didn't someone once say something about
imitation being the finest form of flattery? Drink and enjoy!!
TJ (with Amazing Grace) The Piper
ssc-vax!tjjmoss@eosp1.UUCP (08/19/83)
>From "MONEY" December 1981.
""...Taitinger. Its Comtes de Champagne Dlanc de Blancs is probably the best
of the bubbly - although perhaps not as well know as some of it rivals.
Taittinger was the pioneer in making a lighter wine that particularly pleases
American palates. It is made exclusively from white Chardonnay grapes grown in
vineyards in Epernay that are rated tops by the French government.
Taittinger is a champagne of extraordinary delicacy. ..."
Has anyone tired it? Is it as good as "MONEY" says?
---
Bill Moss
Exxon Office Systems(Princeton, N.J.)
{decvax!ittvax, allegra, princeton}!eosp1!mossthomux@abnjh.UUCP (E. Thom) (08/22/83)
Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc is everything MONEY says and more. Its lightness and delicacy are exquisite. To my taste, Dom Perignon, the most popular of the "Tete de Cuvees", suffers considerably by comparison to Taittinger. In this category, Perrier-Jouet's Fleur de Champagne is also very nice, but not quite up to the Taittinger. Eric Thom ATTIS Morristown, NJ
wolit@rabbit.UUCP (09/16/83)
Another excellent and inexpensive Spanish sparkling wine is Sigura Viudas. It beat out Cordiniu (sp?) unanimously in a blind taste test my wife's family and I conducted before our wedding. We paid just over $4/bottle in case lots. Jan Wolitzky, Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ
thomux@abnjh.UUCP (E. Thom) (09/20/83)
I definitely agree with the endorsement of Segura Viudas Spanish sparkling wine. I even got a case of it for $3.29 a bottle! However, more recently it has been going for twice that. The best non-Champagne bubbly I have discovered to date is "Brut Royal" which is a 100% chardonnay from France. It's going in New Jersey for $7-9. It definitely comes the closest to the elegance of "the real stuff" for my money. Eric Thom ATT-IS Morristown, NJ
kiessig@fortune.UUCP (09/28/83)
For cheap Spanish Champagnes, I like Paul Cheneau - about $5 a bottle. My all-time favorite is still Mumms Courdon Rouge. Rick
steve@rochester.UUCP (Steve Hammond) (01/13/84)
From: Steve Hammond <steve> Over the holidays I had the good fortune of trying an inexpensive "champagne" that was excellent for the price($5 range). It is a Blanc de Blanc from Le Jardinet and has a cork top. For the casual drinker, which class I am included I found it very pleseant and on par with some in the $8 range. For only $5 it's worth a try. I agree, this group has been inactive for too long. How about if everyone that subscribes sends a comment on their most recent "good find"; that should be enough to generate some discussion. steve hammond rochester!steve steve@rochester