7 Champagnes to Pop Open This Christmas and New Year

It's officially the Champagne season! Champagne’s vivacity is an asset for the generous indulgence of the holiday season. The sound of a bottle of Champagne being popped delights everyone, am I right? But with all the options out there, which ones are the best to choose? Here are my top picks, from budget bottles to the finest wines known to humanity!

Click on each one to read full tasting notes and/or pairing recommendations.

Louis Roederer Collection 242

Founded in Reims in 1776, Louis Roederer has been in the hands of the same family for over 200 years and has remained family-owned and independent. The Collection 242 is a new wine from Roederer. 242 refers to the base vintage (2017) is the 242nd Roederer vintage. And it's a classic: the Roederer purity is on display, with gorgeous Chardonnay fruit as well as depth and complexity. A prime example of the terroir, definitely one that needs to be on your holiday table!

Champagne Tarlant Zero Brut Nature

I recently read an article that says the prime time to taste/drink Champagne is before noon, as we have the cleanest palette in the morning and our palettes are most awake to its flavors. So…I took the advice and asked my husband to open this Tarlant while I was making my favorite fluffy Japanese soufflé pancakes…The wine offers up a beautiful bouquet of apple, brioche, lemon, gentle nuttiness and a top note of dried flowers. Citrusy minerals, refined mousse, and glorious acidity - just what I need!

Pierre Gimonnet Cuvée Gastronome Blanc de Blancs 2014

Pierre Gimonnet is a very well-regarded grower-producer in Champagne with most of their vineyards exclusively planted to Chardonnay. Over 50 percent of the vines are over 35 years old – an anomaly in Champagne. Low yield, long aging, low dosage. The result is amazingly good!

Taittinger Comtes Rosé 2007

Drinking Taittinger Comtes Rosé in my favorite Kaiseki restaurant in the city (Kappo Sono) - it doesn't get better than this! Enticing aromas of dried rose petals, sweet spice and dried herbs, full-bodied and compact, creamy texture. Incredibly fine and delicious with subtle yet complex flavors!

Champagne Lanson Champagne Rosé

Champagne Lanson unveiled a new concept of "Le Rosé Fruit Market", which is a limited edition for this emblematic cuvée - fresh, fruity, and delicate, with fine, seductive bubbles, balanced by citrus notes, reminds us of the scents of fresh fruit market stalls and the wonderful time of the year!

Henriot L’Inattendue 2016

Movie nights just got so much cuter and a whole lot less wasteful with homemade popcorn & Champagne Henriot! I was on my normal afternoon Instagram scroll and stumbled on this totally unexpected way to make popcorn using a Stasher bag! Of course, I had to try it for myself! It really works and it’s so dang easy - you can save money, eliminate waste, customize flavors, and just seal it off and enjoy the next day if you can’t finish it all! Champagne is another must-have for our movie nights at home and this Henriot L’Inattendue (means “unexpected” in French - which perfectly matches my new way of making popcorn!!) is our recent favorite! As the name suggests, the 2016 vintage had quite complex weather with mixed nuances, luckily it turned out gorgeous - fine, precise, elegant, well gathered and has harmony across the overall taste!

Dom Perignon Vintage 2008

It's a bubbly kind of night! Dom Perignon '08 + Omakase for 2 = Perfect Date Night! The opening bouquet is complex and luminous, a mingling of white flowers, citrus and stone fruit. There is complete balance between the nose and the palate - pure, toned, with beautiful warmth and freshness!

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