How to Choose Champagne

Jill Davie: Hi! I am Chef Jill Davie. Champagne is the wine of celebration. It's launched thousands of ships, it's headed millions of weddings, no other drink is so associated with a special occasion. Without a little bit of education I think shopping for champagne can be a little daunting. Don't you? David: Yeah, you know you are right Jill. There is a lot of different things that you need to look for when you are going to buy a champagne. First off, Champagne, only come from Champagne in France, everything else is just Sparkling Wine. First thing I usually look for is figure out what style of champagne you'd like to have, a nice sort of range, and level from sweetness. The most popular one in this country is called Brut, that's a very dry champagne. But that's where it starts to get confusing, because there is Extra Brut which is a little bit drier than Brut. Then going from drier to sweeter, we go to Extra Dry which you think would be drier than dry, but it's actually sweeter than Brut. Then we've got Dry, then we go to Sec which is French for Dry, then we go to Demi-Sec which means half dry, and then we have Doux which is sweet. Jill Davie: So most importantly when shopping for a bottle of champagne, I think we should consider the dryness. David: Hmm, hmm... Jill Davie: And we should consider what we are serving it with. David: Exactly. Jill Davie: And cost is always important. David: Cost is always an issue and most important for when I throw a party is how much we are going to need. Jill Davie: Right, well if it were a party for me, then you might look into the monster bottle. David: I think we should just back the champagne truck up. Jill Davie: When shopping for champagne, remember to buy champagne that has been stored properly, preferably on its side in a cool, dark place. Severe fluctuations in temperature can ruin the taste. Older champagne isn't necessarily better. Unlike many wines, champagne does not require further aging and is ready to drink when it is released by the manufacturer. Champagne comes in various bottle sizes. Buy an unfamiliar label by the half bottle. This is a good way to sample a new champagne to see if you like it before making a good investment. Now that you have your champagne, here are some great accessories for opening, storing, and taking your champagne with you. If you are someone that's easily intimated by the cork on a bottle of Sparkling Wine, well then this is the gadget for you. It's called a Cork Catcher. The way it works is that you actually put it over the cork, twist the bottle, and the cork comes flying out, safely, securely. It will run you around $20. If you are ever in the situation where you have a little bit of champagne left in the bottle well, you are going to need a Champagne Stopper. This Champagne Stopper is pretty cool. It's made out of plastic. The way it works is that it fits snugly over the bottle. Press it down just like so, it keeps all the bubbles inside and keeps the wine from oxidizing. It will run you around $15. Just press the legs together here, and it pops right off. Now, here is another kind of stopper. It's really easy to use. It has a screw down top, and it has a plastic seal here. So you simply put it on the top of the bottle, screw it down, and it keeps all those tiny bubbles fresh. It will run you around $10. Maybe a romantic picnic in a park or champagne on the go, well check this out. This is a champagne carry cooler, open this up. Now, the way it keeps your champagne cold is by this. What you do is you fill it with water, put in the freezer, and pop it right back in. It will keep two bottles of champagne cold for hours. This will run you around $50. With all these champagne accessories there is always time to celebrate.