Champagne is regularly served as an aperitif or as a toast at the end of a meal, so it is often overlooked when it comes to food. However, because Champagne is naturally acidic, it makes a really good food match - and not just for oysters and caviar as you might expect, but for a number of different foods.

Non Vintage Champagne

This is the cheapest and probably most common type of Champagne available. Non-vintage Champagne is blended from wines from several years and, in doing so, this ensures that a consistent style is achieved. Non-vintage Champagne is younger and, generally, fruiter than other Champagnes, so is a perfect match for slightly lighter foods, such as egg or mushroom based dishes, hard cheeses, pasta or risotto (particularly with a cream or mushroom based sauce), vegetables, fish and seafood. Strange as it may seem, non-vintage Champagne also goes really well with fish and chips, as the acidity of the Champagne helps cut through the oiliness.

Vintage Champagne

Vintage Champagne is made from a blend of wines from a particular year, when the quality of the wine is good enough to declare a vintage. Because it has been aged for a few years, it has as slightly more complex structure than a non-vintage Champagne, so can stand up to stronger, fuller flavours. For example, all types of fish and seafood, especially when accompanied with a creamy sauce are a perfect match for vintage Champagne, as are lightly smoked foods, cheese, duck, caviar and poultry with a rich sauce.

Blanc de Blancs

Champagne is made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, which are red grapes, along with Chardonnay, which is a white grape. Blanc de Blancs, however, is Champagne which is made exclusively from the Chardonnay grape. This is a rare style of Champagne and goes well with lighter style foods and, in particular, sushi, oysters, goat’s cheese, gently flavoured white fish and vegetables.

Blanc de Noirs

This is Champagne made from just the red grapes, Pinot Noir and / or Pinot Meunier. If you come across a bottle, try teaming it with full flavoured foods such as meat and cheese.

Demi Sec

Demi sec style Champagne is sweeter than traditional brut champagne and is a good match for foie gras or foods that have a slight edge of sweetness to them. It also goes well with desserts (as long as they aren’t too sweet), as well as red berries - particularly strawberries.

Rosé

Rosé based Champagne goes very well with seafood, including prawns and lobster, or slightly pinker style meats including lamb, ham and game.

Louise Truswell works in and writes about the wine industry. To find out more about Champagne and to choose from a wide selection, featuring vintage, non-vintage and rosé styles visit www.virginwines.com

Champagne looks chic, tastes great and is always a favourite at parties and celebrations. But because of that, there is a certain amount of pressure to “get it right”. So follow these simple tips below and you’ll be impressing your guests in no time.

Champagne to start:

Champagne is a great choice for welcoming people and it really helps to get the party started. However, as much as it may seem right to keep the Champagne flowing, try not to go overboard. If you are entertaining, your guests will probably be drinking on an empty stomach and having too much Champagne will kill their appetites. Stick to one or two glasses each. And, even better, serve it with canapés.

Champagne and fish – a winning combination:

Champagne also works really well with food – particularly fish. So next time you are serving sushi, oysters, crab or scallops, think about matching it with a glass or two of dry champagne. If you like a slightly sweeter Champagne, save your bottle for fruit, such as strawberries or melon.

Experiment with your champagne:

There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to Champagne and you’ll find that if you stick to a well-known champagne you’ll pay a premium for the name. If you fancy a change (and saving your purse), why not try an unfamiliar brand or sparkling wine? Just because you’ve not heard of the name, doesn’t mean that the taste won’t be as good!

Know what you like:

When it comes to Champagne, the key is to find out what you like. There’s no point buying a brut (very dry) Champagne when you prefer a sweeter (demi sec) style. And if you are a Rosé fan, why not try pink Champagne for some stylish, fancy fun?

Serving Champagne:

Serving champagne is the easy part. Place it in the fridge just 45 minutes before serving and it’ll be ready to pour. Don’t be tempted to leave it any longer, as the Champagne will loose its taste and smell.

Stock up for a toast:

Champagne is the number one choice when it comes to any toast. So whether you are celebrating a marriage, birthday, anniversary or New Year, you can’t go wrong with a glass or two of the bubbly.

Author information
Emma Howarth
Emma Howarth is Co-Founder of Pyjama Room a Luxury Loungewear brand launched in 2007.

In early times, champagne was a holy drink, produced by monks and sipped during mass. It took something as monumental as the conversion of a monarch to Christianity in 496 before champagne really began to take off as a celebratory drink. Although its sacredness was compromised, a secular population soon grew to worship it.

At some of the most important celebrations in history, champagne has been the beverage of choice; the sound of soaring corks accompanying the victory cries of French revolutionaries in 1789, the golden-necked bottles arriving spectacularly by balloon at the Paris exhibition of 1900.

At times of emotion, the bottle of choice is almost always champagne, whether Everest has been conquered, a son or daughter christened or a Grand Prix Race won. Even the promise of success is enough to ease the cork from its snug-fitting neck, as ships are launched with its blessing, never mind if they are the QEII or the family dingy.

Never one to miss out on a luxury, Hollywood has embraced the golden nectar: the sunset deepens as the dashingly handsome hero raises a glass of champagne in toast to the glamorous woman by his side. Such is the stuff of dreams and Hollywood films. Champagne has become part of a cliché, but still it’s a clichéd life style that few would choose to resist.

Of course, the success of champagne is also a triumph of marketing, but the myth and magic that has rolled through the centuries is stronger than any protests that it is just another drink. In any case, it will always be an exclusive drink, solely produced in the Champagne region of France. Some other makers of sparking wine may call theirs ‘champagne’, but this is not typical and many countries limit the use of the term to wines that come from the Champagne region.

So why not treat yourself, your partner or your friends to a special night out with one of the world’s most luxurious drinks? There is really no need to wait for an occasion or even to linger in a cocktail bar. All the world’s most hip cities now have exclusive venue to get you fix of bubbly. Whether it’s a champagne bar in London, New York or Paris, with mottos such as ‘gold is the new black’ they offer plenty fashionable liquid excess as gilt sparkles under the ambient lighting and corks are skillfully eased by practiced bar staff.

Cocktails bars might have been good enough for James Bond, but if you want to live like a monarch (or a revolutionary) then champagne bars are the places to be. Cheers, or to use a more old-fashioned phrase, bottoms up!