Champagne: Not Just for New Year’s Anymore

They say that Winston Chuchill fought for it and Marilyn Monroe took a bath in it. Whatever you do with the Champagne that you don’t drink this New Year’s, don’t let it languish indefinitely in your fridge waiting for a special occasion.

Prolonged refrigeration can dry out the cork, flatten its sparkle or worse yet, allow neighboring food odors to infiltrate and taint its delicate flavors. Like other wines, store champagne in a cool, dark place away from heat, vibrations and extreme temperature variations. Non-vintage Champagnes will keep for two to three years. Vintage Champagnes can be stored for about ten years.

But why wait to christen a ship or mingle with royals to enjoy it? Champagne is a versatile food wine made in a range of styles that can add a little festivity to almost any meal. It pairs well with egg dishes, cheese, and appetizers, seafood, vegetables, pasta, and poultry dishes galore.

The Madame Lilly Bollinger (of Bollinger Champagne fame) had the following advice on when to imbibe this most famous of beverages: "I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes, I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it if I am; Otherwise, I never touch it —unless I'm thirsty."

Cheers!

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Tags: wine | Champagne | storing champagne | food wine | Bollinger Champagne

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