A bounty of bubbly to ring in the New Year

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2018 (2446 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like many of you, I presume, I was terribly spoiled this Christmas. And I loved every minute of it.

The first gift of the day, although we’d agreed we weren’t going to exchange presents this year, came from my husband. (I had a couple of items for him too, but nothing as fabulous as what he gave me.)

He’d hinted on Christmas Eve that he had something for me and said it was consumable, so I was reasonably certain it might be a bottle of my favourite Champagne, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut ($74.44), and it was.

But it wasn’t just the regular Veuve Brut. He’d gone all out and had purchased the vintage 2008 Veuve Clicquot Brut ($101.83)! He knows how much I love it, but it’s such an extravagance, I was totally shocked.

He thought I might enjoy sipping it on Christmas Day, and I would have, but with all the goings on and our family gathering that afternoon and evening, I wanted to save all the doughy, yeasty goodness of the vintage Veuve for a time when I could give it my full attention. Because something that special certainly shouldn’t be rushed.

And with New Year’s Eve just around the corner, I figured that might be the perfect time to pop the cork, because if there’s one occasion that goes hand in hand with bubbly, New Year’s Eve is it.

If you want a little taste for only a bit of the expense of the Veuve Brut, a 375 ml bottle can be had for $42.46. And if you like a sweeter Champagne, check out the Veuve Demi Sec ($81.93) or the Veuve Rich ($88.51).

While Veuve is my favourite, I’ve never had a Champagne I didn’t like. Pol Roger, Bollinger, Moet & Chandon, Cristal, Mumm, Taittinger, Dom Perignon, Piper Heidsieck, Louis Roederer — I mean, they’re all terrific. But they all come with the accompanying price tags that are a version of those listed above.

So for this New Year’s Eve, here are some less expensive bubbly wines I’ve tried and enjoyed very much in the past 12 months, and hopefully among them you’ll find something with which you can celebrate this coming Monday night.

To add a touch of elegance to your eve, a bottle of the Bottega Gold Brut or the new Bottega White Gold Brut or the Bottega Rose Gold Sparkling Pinot Noir (all $28.99) from Italy would certainly fit the bill. All three wines are tasty and refreshing, but the bottles are stunning — encased in gold, silver and pale pink respectively, these are gorgeous to look at — I have a few of the bottles around my house just because I love the shimmer and shine of glitter and metallic, and these simply look beautiful. At the end of the night, you’ve enjoyed the wine and have a pretty souvenir to remember it by. The Gold and the Rose also come in miniature 200 ml sizes with the same attractive cladding for $7.99 if that’s more to your liking.

The Lion Nathan Sophora Sparkling Rosé ($20.07 and from New Zealand) is lovely. The Gouguenheim Sparkling Malbec Bubbles Extra Brut ($15.03 and from Argentina) is delightfully different, while the Australian De Bortoli Family Selection Sparkling Brut is a real surprise for only $12.

The Sumac Ridge Steller’s Jay Brut is delicious. It’s also from B.C., and how nice to be able to celebrate the advent of the New Year with a product made right here at home. It’s worth every penny of its $25.99 price tag.

The Villa Teresa Prosecco Frizzante Organic ($17.99) from Italy is very pleasant, and it also comes with a plastic cork attached to the bottle, so should you have any of the wine left over, you’ll be able to keep most of the bubbles intact to enjoy another day. This was one of my favourite discoveries of the year, and its pinch of sweetness is sure to please plenty of palates.

The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige ($23.49) is about as close to Champagne as one can get for a fraction of the price. This gem has been around for a few years now and is really a dandy wine for the price.

The Italian Acquesi Rosato Brut, delicate and fresh as a spring day, comes in a pretty flower-covered bottle that’s also worth keeping after the fact for $19.05.

And good old Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava Brut from Spain in its distinctive black bottle is consistently tasty for $15.39.

So here’s to 2019, and my hope it will bring more stability and peace to the world than the year we are about to leave behind. Cheers to better days ahead!