There are five days until New Year’s Eve, and some wine lovers among us may still be deciding which sparkling wine to uncork to say Hello to 2021 and good bye, in earnest, to 2020. For most of us, that turn of the calendar year could not happen soon or fast enough.
So let me cut to the chase, and be quick about it.
I’ll start with the top three finishers of a blind tasting that my husband and I organized a few weeks ago with two other couples in our COVID-era pod, each of them enthusiastic wine consumers with a special curiosity around Champagne and sparkling wine. We tasted six sparkling wines and, though I was the only one who knew the order, brands and price points of the samples, each of us identified our preferences before long.
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The favorite, undoubtedly? Champagne Krug’s Grande Cuvée 168th Edition ($180), with Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve as the second favorite ($50). Tasters recognized that the 2014 Domaine Carneros Extra Brut from Taittinger ($35) was the very appealing curve ball in the lineup, most notably because it was from California rather than France and because it was a vintage bottle with some age on it. I can attest that the tasters in the group sought and purchased each of these three wines afterward, for the various reasons you might anticipate: it was unique and unexpected, or it was the right price point, or it was a truly special bottle for an eagerly awaited occasion, or it was some combination of the three.
Those three wines, and those three reasons, are perfectly reasonable starting points as you choose a sparkling wine or two to uncork on New Year’s Eve. Here are three additional considerations to keep in mind as wine lovers wind down 2020.
Leading 2020 Takeaway, Part One: NA Beverages as an Option
Since Thanksgiving Day at the end November, I’ve been posting a #wineaday option on my Instagram page that in some way speaks to a significant event this year in the world of wine, whether that’s been mourning the premature passing of a winemaker or recognizing the global influences influencing the industry, from COVID to wildfires to tariffs. (The last post of the series is scheduled for December 31. I promise it will be a Champagne or other sparkling wine.) From the beginning I allowed for non-alcoholic (or NA) beverages as an option on some of the days, “partly to vary the routine and partly because the staying power of the sober curious movement has proven itself in 2020. The success of NA beverages themselves is a theme worth reflecting on, particularly for an industry with alcohol at its core.”
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All of which is to say that just because it’s New Year’s Eve, and just because that’s traditionally when we open a few bottles of wine, doesn’t mean that you have to. You have options. And, as I discovered during the #wineaday series, some very imaginative and clever ones at that.
Leading 2020 Takeaway, Part Two: Customer Service as Differentiator
With such a significant percentage of wine purchases moving online this year, retailers and wineries themselves have had to up their game in terms of ecommerce and customer service. By and large, that’s been good news for consumers. If you’ve developed a relationship with a store or winery’s staff this year who have gone out of their way to fulfill your requests, consider showing your appreciation this week with a special, more-than-usual purchase.
Final Note on Price Points
It won’t take long to recognize that price points for Champagne and some premium-label sparkling wines can be high and, this year more than most, wine budgets may be tighter. You’ll want to get the most value for your money. Here’s a tip for the language or designations to look for when choosing your New Year’s Eve beverage from the Champagne region itself: Récoltants Manipulants, who make Champagne using only grapes grown in their own vineyards, and Coopératives Manipulants, which are large groupings of Champagne growers who pool their resources in order to achieve economies of scale and still make great wine.
If you’re having trouble finding that signification, ask your customer service-oriented retailer (see the second point, above).