Champagne is festive, celebratory and the perfect way to enhance Valentine’s Day, New Year’s, a birthday or anniversary. But don’t stop there! Champagne and its sparkling cousins from around the world also are the easiest solution to the question: What wine goes with that? They pretty much go with anything. American sparklers offer a slightly fruitier flavor profile, while the French versions are a bit toastier. The French wines also have a more refined, delicate, smaller bubble, giving them a bit different mouth feel. These differences simply add to one's sparkling alternatives. Celebrate and enjoy!
In France, the word “champagne” is legally restricted for use with the bubbly stuff created within a specific geographic region called (surprise) Champagne, an area roughly 100 miles northeast of Paris. French law also requires Champagne be made with any or all of just three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. This French tradition is largely respected by most serious sparkling wine makers throughout the world. This is why the term “Methode Champenoise," is often seen, but not the actual word “Champagne," on a bottle of bubbly produced beyond the boundaries of France’s famous region.