How to Pair Champagne with Food

It's all about the sparkle with this luscious wine. It tickles your nose and tantalizes your taste buds. Probably the best description of Champagne is by Dom Perignon when he had his first taste, "Come quickly, I am tasting stars." So how do you pair sparkling wine with food? Below is an outline that pairs food by the terminology you will find on the label of your Champagne/Sparkling wine. Enjoy!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Champagne or sparkling wine
• Food of your choose

1. Champagne which is often served like a bottle of port, with cheese or standing on it's own, will have the following classification on their label:
   * Deluxe Cuvies - The most expensive vintage champagne; usually made with grapes from Grand Cru vineyards.
   Notable quote: "I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate…and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself." Napoleon Bonaparte

2. Champagnes which are usually served with food will have the following classification on their label:
   * Brut - very dry champagne
   * Extra Dry - not as dry as Brut so slightly more sweet but still on the dry side
   The rule of thumb is that the food shouldn't overtake the wine. Therefore the food you serve with champagne should be light, not spicy and not oily. The food you choose ought to be more along the line of light appetizers or light, soft cheese and eggs.

3. Champagnes which are usually served with sweet foods or desserts will have the following classification on their label:
   * Doux - Sweet champagne

4. Champagnes which are usually served with breakfast or brunch will have the following classification their label:
   * Sec - more of a medium-dry, better with egg dishes
   * Demi - more of a medium-sweet, better with food that includes fruit
   Notable quote: "Champagne and orange juice is a great drink. The orange improves the champagne. The champagne definitely improves the orange. Philip, Duke of Edinburgh"

Tips & Warnings

• Other, good to know, terms:
• Blanc de Blancs - "White" champagne containing only Chardonnay grapes
• Blanc de Noirs - Champagne containing only Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes
• Rosi - Pink champagne made by adding red wine
• While only the sparkling wine grown and bottled in the Champagne region of France can legally be called "Champagne" there are many wonderful sparkling wines from other countries that are both exceptional and becoming more known and accepted as "Champagne without the title". So if the label says "Sparkling Wine" it doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't equal to "Champagne".
• If you are going to pair chocolate with any Champagne/Sparkling wine, you need to built this pairing with a chocolate with the highest sugar content, to match the wine. It is for this reason that white chocolate is the best chocolate to choose. Although, not technically "chocolate", because it doesn't contain cocoa, white chocolate is best with Sec or Demi Sec wine.
• Champagne is meant to be drunk young. The fermentation process is one that expects this wine to be drunk within the first few years of being bottled. So don't expect that if you "cellar" a sparkling wine that it will grow in complexity. Instead, the reverse is true. So don't try to store champagne to age it. Over time it will loose it's sparkle and losing sparkle doesn't make sense. After all, it's the sparkle the reason you chose this wine in the first place?
• This is the only wine that the usual steps to wine tasting don't apply. It will not gain complexity by "breathing" or being "opened up". This is why you want to serve this wine in the narrowest wine glasses or flutes. Keeping it tight in a glass will keep the sparkle for the duration of your enjoyment.

[oltibc]

on 3/11/2008 Funny that you should note this NataleeKW. I vasilated on adding this, so the fact that you noted it shows me that I erred in my decision making. You are correct, Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France and only sparkling wine from this region can be labeled as "Champagne". Perhaps this will help people understand that sparkling wine from other regions of the world and Champagne are from the same grape although one is named for it's beautiful origins in the vineyards of France.

[NataleeKW]

on 2/5/2008 It is great to see that someone did their homework! Bravo on the champagne and sparkling wine knowledge, although you forgot to mention that champagnes only come from Champagne, France.