Nothing says “Happy New Year” quite like a bottle of bubbly. Here are six Champagnes and six sparkling wines to help you toast 2022.
Written by: Eric Asimov | New York Times
December 16, 2021
Bubbles go with year’s end as surely as Thanksgiving and turkey, and Valentine’s Day and chocolates. It’s a tradition and an expectation. But why?
Is it the impression of extravagance that comes with a fine bottle of Champagne? The hope and joy in the pop of a cork? The rush of sparkle and froth that connotes celebration?
All of the above, along with a lot of successful marketing. But the pairing would not stick if people didn’t love it. I know I do.
Rising prices may make many reluctant to pop a Champagne cork this year, but it doesn’t mean people will drink less sparkling wine.
Prosecco, cava, crémants, spumantes, frizzantes, sekts and pétillant naturels are just some of the sparklers made outside of Champagne. Add in the wines produced using the same grapes and methods as Champagne — from the United States, Italy, England, South America, Australia and more — and consumers have plenty of options if, as some have predicted, a Champagne shortage is looming.
I have my doubts about that, just as I’m never surprised when oil companies claim summer shortages require them to raise gasoline prices just as vacationers hit the road. Not that the same supply-chain difficulties impeding the availability of other consumer goods has not affected wine in general. It has, but skepticism is not unwarranted.
After a recent shopping spree for sparkling wines in New York City retail stores, I found 12 bottles I highly recommend, six Champagnes and six sparklers from elsewhere.
Now, singling out 12 bottles is like presenting a lone bubble from among the estimated million or so in a glass of Champagne. I could have selected dozens of other great bottles as well. I tried not to repeat previous end-of-the-year suggestions, although a few of these bottles are old favorites, and among the Champagnes, I stuck with nonvintage and entry-level bottles.
You can find many more recommendations in previous articles, whether about cava, pét-nat, English sparkling wines or Champagne in its myriad forms, whether from big houses or small grower-producers.
Some producers, departing from years of conventional wisdom that Champagne must be a consistent style blended from many terroirs, are making single-vineyard Champagnes. Many, in an effort to reduce the perception of sweetness in their wines have, for better or worse, explored the extra-brut style of Champagne. Sometimes, you just want a rosé Champagne, and sometimes you want a general list of names and terms to know when shopping.
Here are the 12 bottles, from least to most expensive within each category.
Sparkling Wines
Le Vigne di Alice Veneto Tajad Frizzante NV $19
Cinzia Canzian makes this wine as a homage to her grandmother, who, in the days before the glera grape came to dominate Prosecco production, used to blend glera with two other local varieties, boschera (better known by its synonym verdicchio) and verdiso. The wine is dry and flowery, lively and charming. The second, bubble-inducing fermentation occurs in big tanks, as with most Proseccos, but Tajad is far better than any standard-issue bottle. (Portovino, Buffalo, N.Y.)
