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[TigerLily]

Veuve Clicquot - good stuff. Happy! Happy!

[ladynred]

First off, you really need to figure out if you want it sweet or dry or extra dry. Sweet is sweet but dry and extra dry (brut) are lacking sweet with the extra dry haven even less then the dry. If the group you are severing is more of a red wine (such as Merlot or Syrah) drinking kind of group, then a dry champagne or dry sparkling wine will be more acceptable, but if not then you may want to find a sweeter one.

In the past I have purchased the cheap stuff to the expensive stuff and for the most part it is just a matter of finding one you like. I would just warn to stay away from the cheaper versions of any wine based product (such as 'Cold Duck') if you have problems with sulfates (i.e. sulfer) as the amount of sulfate (S02^2- Sulfate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). If you have a group that does are not normally wine drinkers, you may want to look for a 'flavored' champagne as it will have a very distictive taste, I know I have purchased Raspberry and Almond over the years.

As my DH is not much of a wine or champagne drinker and when he does drink them he likes to have lots of flavor to them. I usually purchase sweeter champagnes and wines any more. I usually try and find an Italian sparkling Muscat wine (should be labeled: Moscato D' Asti), this is on the sweet side. If we are looking for something a little drier but still some what sweet, I will purchase an Asti (at one time was called: Asti Spumante). If I am going to be serving a heavy meal such as lasagne or Steak, I will at times opt for an Italian Lambrusco, which is a red sparkling wine that you serve chilled.

As noted in an earlier posting, if it is a true Champagne then it has to come from the Champagne region of France, otherwise it is just considered a Sparkling Wine (basically Champagne is a subclass of the Sparkling wine group). Additionally, the process of making a sparkling wines startes with wine and puts it through a second fermintation so any sparkling wine will only be as good as the wine that it started from. If you don't like a certain brand or region of wine either white or red, you most likely will not get for a sparkling wine from the same region as it will have very similar charatristics.

Enough of my rambling. Good luck with finding a bottle that everyone lines. Once you find one, check the year and make sure you get the same year as they very in taste from year to year.

Lanie Moore

[Dee161]

Not a big drinker. I think it is an aquired taste and I don'tdrink it enough to like it.

[Danielle Harmon]

I am an Asti Apumante kind of gal...but Dom Peringon is good too...but REALLY expensive. Only had it once...I got promoted before my husband so he had to buy me a bottle. (Glad he didn't get promoted first...I would have had to but him a Harley.)

[Danielle Harmon]

ahhh...that would be Asti Spumante

[Suzie&Jay]

Originally Posted by DyanKJ130

On the rare occassion that we do have champagne (New Year's Eve ), I always buy Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante

yep... pretty much failsafe I also love Ballatore, and both are right around $10

[dejavu]

I'm no help as I rarely drink and if I do, I'm the gal going for the really sweet stuff.