How To Pick And Serve Your Favorite Bubbly On New Year’s Eve

With New Year’s Eve festivities this weekend, many will be stocking up on their favorite bubbly.

John Armstrong is the Director of Hospitality for DelMonaco Winery. He said when it comes to picking the right bottle, it depends on what your preference is.

“Try to get a Brut of some sort is what I would say,” Armstrong said. “And then it also depends on if you’re going to pair it with something of course. If you’re going to drink it with orange juice in a mimosa for the morning, a good cheap sweet champagne is great. But if you’re drinking it just from the glass, then you want to stay away from the sweetness.”

Armstrong said unless the grapes are from the Champagne region in France, you are drinking sparkling wine. However, he said the process to create the beverage is the same.

“It ferments in the bottle and therefore creates the CO2 gas that keeps it bubbly,” Armstrong, “So it creates its own CO2 and it becomes carbonated as its fermented. It happens in wine but it’s not meant to be because you’re supposed to kill the yeast before you start bottling the wine, but in champagne, you want that yeast active.”

Armstrong said for serving, the perfect temperature is 52 degrees. He said if it is kept in the fridge, he recommends taking it out and letting it set out before serving. For glassware, Armstrong said you can use a flat, which brings the bubbles down, or a flute, which keeps the bubbles up.

Armstrong said he recommends staying away from the sweeter wines to drink at night to try to avoid a sugary hangover on New Year’s Day.