"champagne" news and stories

Learn how to keep that bubbly sparkling long after the cork has been popped.

The Slashfood team is heading out for our New Year's celebrations. But there's still time to get your feast and drinks prepared. Read on for a host of last-minute ideas.

• Before you start your festivities, learn how to open champagne like a pro with LeNell Smothers.
• Don't know the difference between French champagne and Italian prosecco? Our guide will walk you through all the options and we'll even offer you some bargain bubbles that won't burst the budget.
• Not into the bubbly stuff? Lift a glass of the hard stuff and toast to 2010 with these at-home classic cocktails.
• Don't forget about the food. Cocktail party recipes are the sure-fire way to get the party started.
• Did you know that if collards are eaten on New Year's Day, they'll bring wealth in the coming year? Learn what other foods are considered lucky with New Year's food history.
• In 2009 we indulged our way through dozes of new cookbooks, check out our favorites.
• Finally, brush up on the decade with the 10 Greatest Cooking Shows of All Time, Eight Fast-Food Miracles and Missteps and The Decade in Ingredient Trends.

To pop open something different this New Year's Eve, turn to the country that's been making wine the longest: the Republic of Georgia. It's estimated that wine-making began here around 5,000 B.C., which is much earlier than the advent of France, Spain and Italy's storied wine history. Even today, about 75 percent of Georgians earn part of their income from wine in some way, and the republic produces about 500 grape varietals.

Bagrationi 1882, Georgia's leading sparkling-wine house, founded in 1937, recently began exporting its Brut to the United States -- although the first bottles date back 130 years. Whereas many bubblies are marked by dryness or sweetness, Bagrationi produces a very balanced bottle that's excellent for matching up with hors d'oeuvres.

Located on the Black Sea coast and surrounded by the Caucasian mountains, the viticulture climate in this area of Georgia consists of warm sunny days and cool nights. Winters are frost-free and mild, so there is no death to the grapes when the temperature dips.

Here are two Bagrationi bruts available throughout the United States.

Bagrationi 1882 Classic Brut ($14): This is one of the best values I've seen over the past few years when shopping for bubbly. Oregano and mint are on the nose, sailing into notes of honeydew melon and ending with a buttery, lingering finish. Expect a snappy, crisp wine with good structure but delicate too.

Bagrationi 1882 Reserve ($25): Blends of Chinebuli, Mtsvane and Tsitska varietals are used to make this Brut. A peach and apricot nose is followed by concise, refreshing bubbles and lots of fruit. Yet it's as balanced as its budget counterpart above.

With 2010 knocking at our door, our minds turn to Champagne, or at least sparkling wine since the stuff labeled "Champagne" ideally should come from the Champagne region of France. Although it's hard to believe, I have heard some people complain that they simply don't like Champagne. Are you planning on entertaining guests this New Year's Eve who fall into this category? Perhaps try serving them a sparkling red like bubbly Shiraz or a brutish dry Lambrusco. Or just take on the challenge and turn them onto Champagne cocktails by laying out an array of everything needed to make a variety of them.

Chill some Champagne or a good cheaper alternative, like a Blanquette de Limoux from France. Set out some spirits basics like brandy, gin, absinthe, Campari, various liqueurs such as Chartreuse, Pama pomegranate and orange liqueurs like Clement Creole Shrubb or your favorite triple sec. Basically offer your guests whatever tickles your fancy and pleases your budget. Lay out sugar cubes and a spread of various types of aromatic cocktail bitters such as Angostura, Peychaud's, Regans' Orange, any of the Fee Brothers or perhaps some of the Bitter Truth line. Pick out a variety of flavors and allow guests to create their own Champagne Cocktail versions. Set out some lemons and oranges for wedges, twists and spirals. Let folks play. Happy New Year!

A playful Champagne cocktail recipe:

Place sugar cube in bottom of chilled Champagne flute. Dash some bitters on top of the sugar cube. Add no more than ½ ounce chilled liquor or liqueur of choice, which may be shaken or stirred with ice or pre-chilled in an ice bucket or in the fridge. You can also just drop an ice cube into your glass like bartenders of yesteryear would do. Pour a little chilled sparkling wine into the flute to prevent foam over. Let settle and then fill with bubbly. Garnish with citrus spirals, twists or wedges as desired.

References to Champagne drinks abound in old newspapers, novels and cocktail books. Champagne drinks containing brandy and orange liqueurs in the forms of punches and cups can be found in old cookbook recipe collections such as Mrs. Beeton's "Book of Household Management," first published in 1861.

I've seen mentions of Champagne cocktails in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives as far back as 1869, the same year Mark Twain mentions the drink in "Innocents Abroad." The first recipe citation for a Champagne cocktail goes back the "The Bar-Tenders Guide" written by Jerry Thomas in 1862.

Champagne during this time was generally much sweeter than today's popular dry style labeled "Brut," which didn't exist on a label until around 1876. Thomas' 1862 book calls for shaking the ingredients, including the sparkling wine, which was surely a mistake since shaking carbonated drinks can get explosive.