Sparkling Wine Favorites for New Year’s Eve

It was pitch black as we made our way down the cliffside path.

I carried the flashlight and my friend carried the champagne flutes and a cold bottle of Roederer NV Brut. We found a bench halfway down the cliff and settled in to wait. Before long, we heard the cries from the hotel above: “Happy New Year!”

Another hotel launched fireworks across the bay, and the commotion awoke the frogs who chimed in. It was New Year’s Eve, 2000, and a perfect start to the Millennium on the Mendocino coast.

This isn’t everyone’s idea of the great New Year’s Eve, but after working in restaurants for so long, it seemed pretty darn nice to me. I had have too many New Year’s Eves working 14 hours on my feet, maybe getting a lukewarm glass of flat fizz for my troubles. Now that I’m out of the business, I enjoy the night a whole lot more.

Here in Seattle, I’m lucky on New Year’s Eve. I just step outside my door to see the fireworks set off from the Space Needle. There‘s a free – flowing party in my building, as we roam from apartment to apartment, everyone offering bubbly and bites to eat.

It’s always interesting to sample the different sparkling wines on offer, as everyone’s taste and pocketbook are different.

Personally, I’m a Veuve Cliquot gal. I adore the yeasty overtones of this true French Champagne, made in the traditional method. The Vintners create an acidic still wine from the first fermentation in the tank. Then they bottle it with a small amount of Liquor de Tirage – a mix of sugar and yeast that prompts the second fermentation in the bottle.