Why do you need two bottles of champagne at a wedding?

Champagne can easily be called the main wedding drink. You will hardly meet a celebration where this sparkling alcoholic drink will not be present. As a rule, it flows like a river and is bought in abundance.

Even for children's tables, champagne is bought, albeit non-alcoholic. However, a wedding is not a simple celebration, it is a whole ceremony that requires strict adherence to traditions. All of them were invented so that newlyweds could have a happier, more harmonious and fun life.

Wedding champagne: what to consider when choosing alcohol

There is no doubt that a wedding requires a lot of champagne. But you still have to calculate exactly how much alcohol you need to buy. Otherwise, guests will quickly switch to drinking stronger drinks or will have to urgently purchase what is available in the nearest supermarket, rather than treat their friends to a high-quality aromatic drink.

But there is no need to spend extra money when preparing for a wedding. Therefore, before we go shopping, let’s try to figure out what to choose and how much.

When calculating alcohol, be sure to take into account the number of guests and the time of the banquet.

Perhaps these are the main factors that will have to be taken into account in the future. But it’s also worth making adjustments for quantity:

• non-drinkers, light drinkers, lovers of a good walk - this can only be done by knowing the alcoholic preferences of the guests;
• youth - it is young people who drink more at such holidays;
• women - ladies prefer light alcohol.

The wedding season also influences the choice of alcohol. During a sultry summer celebration, many times more cold champagne is consumed than at winter weddings.

You can learn about the history of champagne in the article: Happy Birthday, champagne: the most interesting facts about the sparkling drink.

Universal three: classic drinks for a wedding

Traditionally, 3 types of alcohol are offered at a banquet: champagne, strong alcohol and wine. Champagne creates a festive atmosphere. Without it, it is difficult to imagine such a joyful event as a wedding. On this day it should flow like a river! Meeting guests, a ceremony, a walk, a feast - all this takes place under the cheerful hiss of sparkling wine and the clink of glasses.

At the wedding table, guests must be given the right to choose - lighter wine or serious drinks with a “strong character”. The fair half usually chooses wine, martinis, light cocktails, and men prefer drinks with a higher degree.

Wedding champagne bottles: how many should there be?

During a wedding, champagne is given the TOP place among other alcoholic drinks. Definitely, there will be vodka, wine, and possibly exotic cocktails on the tables. But the wedding begins with sparkling wine.

They are served to those present during the ransom, congratulated the newlyweds immediately after the painting, and poured into glasses during a walk. And the crowning place on the tables will be taken by a pair of bottles, popularly called “bulls”.

How much champagne do you need for a wedding? Let's start with simple calculations.

A standard bottle of sparkling wine contains 750 ml of liquid. This is approximately 5 full glasses.

Next, you need to figure out where the champagne will be needed, and how many guests will drink it in each case.

Approximate calculations would look like this:

• at the bride's ransom, a glass is poured for each person present;
• immediately after the painting, the registry office will need champagne, one glass per guest;
• For a walk, take sparkling wine at the rate of 3 - 4 glasses.

If it is planned that during all these stages there will be the same number of guests, then it turns out that each of them will need 1 bottle of wine.

But often only the closest ones are present at the ransom, or some of the guests refuse to take a long walk together, immediately after the registry office going to the banquet venue. In this case, you will have to take into account the specifics of holding your own wedding when calculating.

Additionally, take 2 - 3 bottles. Be sure to stock up on alcohol for “gratitude.”

Young people often give bottles to drivers and other personnel involved in the celebration. And don’t forget to put a bottle of chilled sparkling wine in the newlyweds’ car. It is unknown how long the crossing will take, or whether there will be traffic jams along the way.

In total, you will need approximately 35 – 38 bottles of champagne for 30 guests.

But champagne should also be on banquet tables. The standard rate is a bottle of champagne for 3 people. But you can use the table if you know the preferences of the guests.

Table 1. Amount of champagne per person

Note: the table shows data for a banquet lasting 6 hours.

And don't forget about champagne for the newlyweds. Usually newlyweds drink champagne at their wedding. But you will need a couple more bottles, as integral and inviolable attributes of the ceremony.

For what snacks to complement champagne, read the material “What and how to drink champagne: rules and ideas.”

It turns out that for a wedding with a 6-hour banquet with 30 guests, taking into account the decorations and walks, you will need approximately 49 - 57 bottles of champagne.

But if you decide to surprise your guests with a pyramid of champagne, agree on an additional number of bottles with the organizer of such a show, or count the number of glasses in such a slide, and adjust the calculations of champagne for the banquet.

The champagne fountains also look original.

But in this case, the additional volume of sparkling wine will be measured in tens of liters.

Assortment of sparkling wines

Today, large supermarkets and specialized wine boutiques can offer their customers a huge selection of sparkling wines in a wide variety of flavors and a wide price range. To buy real premium champagne, you no longer have to fly to France.

Elite champagne wines

Real premium champagne, made in the province of Champagne according to traditional French recipes, is available for sale in a small number of recognizable names that are well known to real connoisseurs of elite drinks: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame (Madame Clicquot), MoЁt&Shandon (Moe Chandon), DomPerignon (Dom Perignon) ), GH Mumm (Mumm de Cremant), Pol Roger (Paul Roger), Louis Roederer (Louis Roederer), Taittinger (Tetengzhe) - wealthy newlyweds choose these exquisite drinks, the cost of which in Russian stores is measured in more than one thousand rubles.

Imported sparkling wines

If your goal is not to impress guests with the scale of the wedding celebration and demonstrate the high social status of the new family, you can choose high-quality foreign-made sparkling wines as a worthy decoration for the wedding table. Martini Asti, Lambrusco, La Gioiosa, Dr. Demuth and other brands of European champagne have excellent taste at an affordable price of up to a thousand rubles per bottle.

Russian sparkling wines

The most economical newlyweds choose Russian-made wedding champagne. Premium “Lev Golitsyn” and “Abrau Durso” or budget “Sovetskoye” - the good traditions of Russian wineries and the familiar taste of the pearl drink are not spoiled by the low cost of domestic champagne. Therefore, it is not necessary to chase the status and prestige of imported drinks - Russian wines will harmoniously fit into the festive setting of the wedding feast.

Champagne at the registry office

The beautiful tradition of congratulating the newlyweds immediately after the painting is accompanied by kisses, wishes of happiness and love, sprinkling with coins, wheat, flower petals, and giving bouquets. And you can't do without champagne.

Stop. Here the question arises: is it possible to drink champagne in the registry office? By the way, the question is quite pressing. Since after the adoption of the law banning drinking alcohol in public places, this became simply impossible.

Many registry offices have refused to provide buffet halls and special rooms.

It is also prohibited to open a sparkling drink in the areas adjacent to the building of the Wedding Palace.

Since a lot of controversy arose around this problem, the heads of the registry offices began to look for a way out of this situation. Therefore, options appeared.

In institutions that have received an official license, they offer buffet rooms or specially designated rooms for rent. Most often, this service is paid, and for the standard 15 minutes provided you will have to pay a decent amount.

But you shouldn’t count on the opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds with champagne in the lobby or at the exit from the registry office. These places fall under the prohibited law and you can start the wedding not with pleasant congratulations and emotions, but with a real fine.

To maintain tradition and avoid trouble, some newlyweds offer their guests non-alcoholic champagne.

But how solemn this approach will be is difficult to say.

Tradition with wedding champagne glasses

It’s better to go for a walk and congratulate the young family on their birth. Here you can observe another beautiful tradition of breaking wedding glasses.

If disposable cups are usually prepared for all guests, then glass wedding cups are required for the newlyweds.

This is not the couple that will show off next to the champagne on the banquet table. And simple glass ones or with minimal decoration, since their fate is already predetermined.

According to wedding traditions, such champagne glasses will simply need to be broken.

Today it is quite difficult to say what this beautiful symbolic ritual is connected with.

Maybe with the custom of Jewish weddings, where since ancient times the groom broke a glass wrapped in a napkin for good luck. Or maybe from the traditions of Russian officers who smashed glasses after toasts.

Most likely, the roots of such a ritual go back to the Middle Ages, when it was believed that the sound of breaking glass drove away evil forces from the young.

By the way, some peoples suggested that the bride break a pot in order to evaluate her innocence based on the results of this ceremony. Echoes of this custom have survived to this day.

Many people try to determine the sex of a young child's unborn child using the fragments of broken glasses. Large fragments from broken glasses promise the birth of a boy, and small ones promise a girl.

And as lawyers advise, to avoid troubles, drink glasses in nature carefully, drink a little and do not disturb the peace.

And don’t forget to collect the fragments from broken glasses and disposable cups in a prepared bag.

By the way, take as many disposable cups as possible so that guests do not have to take already used dishes with them until the next stop of the wedding procession.

Champagne and New Year

Most Russians associate the main winter holiday with the usual attributes - an elegantly decorated beautiful spruce tree, fragrant tangerines, the striking of the Kremlin chimes and, of course, New Year's champagne. The tradition of celebrating the New Year on January 1 arose with the light hand of Peter I , who ordered feasts and folk festivities to be held on this day. But such constant companions of the New Year as tangerines and champagne are a legacy of Soviet times. Tangerines appeared on the shelves in the USSR closer to the onset of the winter holidays. The fragrant fruits were especially loved by the residents of the Land of the Soviets, as they were convenient to use as edible Christmas tree decorations. And champagne was the real “hero” of the Soviet New Year, becoming the main decoration of the table.

The fashion for drinking sparkling wine during the holidays began in tsarist times . Russian nobles borrowed from the French aristocrats not only their language, but also their love of fine wine. For a long time, champagne was considered the only drink suitable for noble ladies and young ladies of blue blood. Emperor Alexander II, a great lover of magnificent holidays, invented the tradition of clinking crystal glasses at the table. But the sparkling drink won the love of the common people precisely during the times of the USSR. In the 1960s, Soviet authorities decided to give out one bottle of champagne per family to celebrate the New Year. Thus was born the beloved tradition of drinking “Soviet Champagne” - a famous brand that is still loved by residents of the CIS. It is curious that the wine of a popular brand in the USSR acquired a sweet note, unusual for champagne, thanks to Joseph Stalin. The champagne of the famous factory seemed sour to the “father of nations”, and sugar and a small amount of sweet liqueur were added to the drink.

A mandatory item in the New Year's holiday program is making wishes for the next year . As soon as the first chimes sound, you need to focus on your most cherished dream and take the first sips of champagne. In order for the magic to work in full force, the wish must be written on a piece of paper in advance and then burned. The resulting ashes are poured into a glass and sparkling wine, which must be drunk at the festive table while the chimes strike. They say that all New Year's wishes made with all your heart will definitely come true over the next year. The only condition is that you can’t tell anyone about them, even if the champagne bubbles go to your head a little.

Why is wedding champagne called the bride and groom?

If at all other stages it is possible to refuse rivers of champagne, reduce its volume or replace it with other drinks, then it will not be possible to exclude a couple of wedding bottles of champagne for the newlyweds from the list.

This is one of the attributes with which many interesting traditions are associated. They are decorated and tied up, a place of honor is allocated for them and they are protected from kidnapping. And, most importantly, this pair of bottles is under no circumstances opened at the wedding, since they are destined to go with the young people into their future lives.

Therefore, special attention is paid to decorating wedding champagne.

Young people try to stylize them to match the theme of the wedding or dress them up in costumes of the bride and groom, tie them tightly with ribbons or use them to write wishes.

You can get acquainted with ideas for using and decorating wedding champagne in the article “How to decorate champagne for a wedding with your own hands.”

But few people know what this tradition is connected with, why such alcohol is called “bulls” and when they drink champagne from a wedding.

Interestingly, the custom itself has undergone several significant changes and has reached our times, having changed greatly.

The ritual itself is associated with the customs of the Don Cossacks. Some sources attribute the idea to residents of southern Ukraine. There it was customary to give a bull and a cow as a wedding gift to the newlyweds. Their horns were necessarily connected with each other.

Such a gift was considered very expensive, but was both symbolic and practical in nature. First of all, the new family had the opportunity to provide themselves with food.

But besides this, they had to preserve the living creatures until the first anniversary. Only the husband and wife had livestock to live on. The happiest ones also had offspring.

Therefore, it was customary to treat guests at a calico wedding to homemade milk from their own cow. And if a baby was born in the first year, milk from your own cow was simply irreplaceable.

Clearly, such a tradition could not be preserved in its original form. Therefore, instead of bulls and cows, they began to put two bottles of alcohol on the table, which were supposed to symbolize the masculine and feminine principles.

That is, the groom's wedding champagne was originally a bottle of strong alcohol: vodka, cognac, brandy. And the bride’s bottle could contain champagne, wine, or liqueur. In fact, they chose drinks that were more popular with young people.

That’s why even today you still come across advice to pair not two bottles of champagne, but vodka and champagne or cognac with wine.

And according to ancient tradition, they were connected. And in some regions, two spoons were tied between such bottles so that young people had something to sip their happiness with.

The tradition underwent another change with the advent of fashion for stylized, themed weddings. The trends also affected the decoration of the bulls. Wedding alcohol has become more sophisticated and symbolic. And here there was simply no place for cheap or variegated alcohol.

Bottles of champagne come out onto the pedestal.

Moreover, modern newlyweds have the opportunity to choose elite varieties of real French drink.

And the decoration for such a wine should be appropriate.

In a champagne wedding, the bride is dressed in a real dress or strewn with rhinestones and sparkles. But why the groom's bottle lost its status as strong alcohol remains a mystery.

Maybe the key role was played by young people’s refusal to drink libations, or maybe it’s just that two identical bottles are easier to fit into the overall theme of the holiday.

Therefore, if desired, you can prepare “bulls” from both two bottles of champagne and assorted alcohol.

The tradition, in any case, will be respected.

Moreover, the timing of drinking wedding champagne is of great importance.

And here, as it turns out, there are also pitfalls.

DIY bottles for a wedding - use ribbons

So there are at least two bottles of champagne. Making it exclusive is not at all difficult, the main thing is to prepare well. To begin with, get rid of unnecessary labels, only carefully so as not to scratch the glass. Then you can start decorating. One of the most popular methods for decorating champagne is using satin ribbons. This method is simple and affordable, but the result is a bottle that looks gorgeous.

Ribbons are needed to wrap vessels with sparkling wine, and also as an additional decoration. The satin ribbon should be the optimal size and color.

ADVICE. It is better to process the edges of the tape (carefully burn it) so that it does not diverge.

Decorating champagne with satin ribbons master class The method is simple and universal; satin ribbons can be selected to your liking. Materials:

• tape – 2.5-3.5 m;
• gold brocade ribbon – 1.5 m;
• instant glue;
• champagne with gold foil;
• scissors.

How to decorate a bottle with ribbons master class

1. Let's get started! First you need to measure out enough tape for the first layer.

2. Cut the tape and use glue to mark the points.

3. Wrap a satin ribbon around the vessel, pulling it tightly. Do the same with the other cut, which will be larger as the bottle expands. Make the third and fourth layers in the same way.

4. Now it’s the turn of the brocade ribbon. Two layers are enough.

5. Glue the gold ribbon to the bottom of the bottle so that the seam is at the back. And also cut 7-8 ribbons of the same length of the chosen color, glue them in the same way so that the seam is at the back.

6. You can remove a sloppy seam using another tape.

7. Cover empty spaces with gold tape.

8. Carefully trim off any protruding corners.

9. For additional decoration, you can use beads, lace, bows - whatever you like, the main thing is not to overdo it.

10. DIY wedding champagne is ready!

Modern traditions of wedding champagne

Unfortunately, wedding champagne does not always survive until the end of the banquet. There will always be those who wish or suffer, who will be visited even during the wedding by the idea of ​​​​uncorking these particular symbolic bottles. This is another reason why they should be different from other alcohol in appearance. Still, it’s better to tie them together.

But people will definitely remember another tradition - stealing wedding bulls. Therefore, you need to be on your guard. Otherwise, both the newlyweds and their witnesses will have to try hard to buy such a symbol.

And some people are happy to put on a whole show right at the wedding, selling a bottle at auction to the bride and groom.

Don’t give in to temptation - the bride and groom should leave the wedding with these two bottles. No one would sell newly donated bulls and cows right at their own wedding. And the idea of ​​“eating” them here would be blasphemous.

Champagne for a wedding for newlyweds

• When the groom takes the bride from home - at least 1 bottle, but a lot depends on how many people will “give” and “take” the bride. If the bride has a large family and the groom will come with more than one friend, then count on 0.5 bottles per person.
• After painting, the newlyweds drink a traditional glass of champagne and another bottle.
• On the newlyweds' table during the celebration there is a special wedding champagne - two beautifully decorated bottles, which, according to tradition, will be opened on the first anniversary (the groom's bottle) and after the birth of the first child (the bride).

If, after painting, you plan to travel to significant places in the city for a photo shoot, add another 0.5 bottles for each person present.

The fate of wedding champagne: how to store and when to drink

The wedding has ended, and the newlyweds say goodbye to the guests so that they can be alone. They go to a hotel or home, taking with them that very wedding alcohol.

But not to drink on your wedding night, but to save until those moments when you can drink the sparkling drink according to tradition.

And the first worthy milestone is the birth of a baby or wedding anniversary.

The opening of the “bulls” is timed to coincide with these events.

As in ancient times, young people must treat their relatives with “milk” from their cow. What kind of bottle of champagne do you drink on your wedding anniversary?

Of course, a man's or a groom's. Since the calico anniversary is a milestone of perseverance and responsibility for one’s obligations.

And to a greater extent, it largely depends on the determination and courage of the spouse whether this wedding anniversary will be celebrated at all.

And a woman’s bottle symbolizes procreation and fertility. Therefore, it is always opened for the birth of the first child.

Since not all young families plan to have heirs in the first year of marriage, the bride’s bottle has to be kept indefinitely.

And here the question logically arises, what will happen to the sparkling drink by this moment.

Most types of champagne are stored for 1 - 2 years from the date of production. Therefore, if stored correctly, it will calmly wait until the anniversary. But if the drink has to be stored longer, you will have to look for ways out of their situation.

It’s better, of course, to initially buy an elite, expensive drink. Here the shelf life can vary from 2 to 25 years. 5–10 years of storage are considered standard. But the price of such alcohol is exorbitant.

Or play it safe and instead of champagne use shelf-stable alcohol for the “bulls”: wine, vodka, cognac.

Alternatively, bottles are simply replaced with fresh ones before the date. Removable jewelry will be good here. If the husband and wife are not too superstitious, but do not want to offend the feelings of parents and relatives who attach great importance to rituals, you can go this route.

Someone simply does not ask the question whether it is possible to drink expired champagne, but only for the sake of tradition opens sour wine and symbolically pretends to drink it.

But even for the best sparkling wine with a long shelf life, ideal conditions must be created.

You need to remember only three things: champagne is afraid of light, heat and vertical position. Therefore, immediately abandon the idea of ​​​​displaying this beauty, in a sideboard or on a chest of drawers.

It is ideal to place the bottles in dark bags and send them to the basement, where the temperature should be from 5 to 15 degrees. And he doesn’t put it, but we put it horizontally. This way, the wedding champagne will safely live to see its time.

Alternatively, you can place the bottles in the refrigerator in a tight box.

Remember, leaving champagne in direct sunlight for 20 minutes is enough for it to spoil. And after freezing, the cork will inevitably begin to crumble.

Choose the right drinks for wedding “bulls”, check the shelf life of champagne and create the right conditions for symbolic drinks - and on traditional dates you can not only observe traditions, but also take a sip of that romantic sublimity that was present at the wedding itself.

Which champagne or sparkling wine is not a shame to give as a gift - 13 best options for any budget

Oh, this is champagne! Drink of royalty and aristocrats. Subtle and sparkling, slightly intoxicating to the mind and awakening the emotional senses. This is what we will be talking about in this article! Choosing champagne as a gift, at first glance, may seem like a simple matter, because champagne is sold in any store and is presented in a wide range. But this is only at first glance. If you delve deeper into the topic of production, study the technology and varietal component, questions may arise regarding its choice. Thanks to a competent approach to choosing a gift, the result will not take long to arrive. 13 sommelier tips will come in handy!

At the beginning of the article I would like to say a few words about the fact that real great champagne is produced only on the unique chalk and limestone soils of the Champagne region. There are no such soils anywhere in the world! It is this drink that can bear the proud name of champagne, and everything else is essentially sparkling wine.

Classics of the genre are the key to success, or briefly about

the main thing

The main rule when buying champagne is to know the method of its production. A self-respecting producer never violates age-old traditions and classic technologies for producing sparkling wine. Only the method of secondary fermentation in a bottle, with elements of manual labor called remuage and disgorgement, can serve as a 100% guarantee of quality.

Real champagne is made only in the Champagne region. It was so many centuries ago, it is so and it will always be so. The famous champagne is very expensive! “ sparkling wine ” on the label , and remember that the price of a good sparkling wine starts from 600 rubles.

Champagne must have a minimum amount of residual sugar and must be brut or at least dry. Blanc de Blanc is cool and means the white-on-white method, while Blanc de Noir refers to the method of producing white champagne from red grapes with white flesh. Interesting, isn't it?

Note to the average person: No country in the world considers it permissible to write the word “champagne” on the label of its sparkling wine. The only exception is Russia.

"Bubbles" do not guarantee quality.

What should you not give?

When choosing champagne as a gift, do not stop your gaze on the product located on the shelves at the so-called “eye level”. Usually there is an economy segment product that is not suitable as a gift. Neither the shape of the bottle, nor the cork stopper, nor the notorious bubbles in the drink serve as a guarantee of quality in this situation.

The recipient, if desired, can buy it himself.
The category of such “sparkling wines” includes the factories RISP, MKSHV (Moscow), DZIV (Derbent), some factories in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Territory and others.
The price of such drinks belongs to the budget category and does not exceed 200 rubles. These sparkling wines undoubtedly can and should be consumed in a friendly company, during a wedding feast or a fun evening party. However, for a gift they are too “weak” in their internal content, since they were made not using classical technology (secondary fermentation in a bottle), but using the so-called acratophoric method (fermentation in a vat). It is unlikely that a bottle of such a drink will please the hero of the occasion. But joy is the main goal of any gift.

Champagne or sparkling wine? Key Similarities

and differences

Wines are divided into still and sparkling. This law cannot be argued with. Champagne is nothing more than sparkling wine. It is important to consider production technology here. In addition to classic sparkling wines, you can find carbonated wine drinks on store shelves. A striking example of such a drink is the beloved “Bosco”, priced from 250 to 300 rubles (producing country: Lithuania, Russia, Italy).

Another example is the wonderful Lambrusco, which belongs to the category of pearl wines (producing country - Italy), the price varies from 250 to 800 rubles, depending on the manufacturer. Tasty and sweet, low-grade Lambrusco is liked by many young girls and women. But don’t chase a low price - good Lambrusco cannot be cheap!

Remember that neither Bosco nor Lambrusco are examples of sparkling wines and are produced using completely different technology!

Read the label and back label carefully. Many manufacturers, in the race for sales volumes, are disingenuous and write the following: Labrusco, Lambrusco. This is a so-called marketing ploy and is not punishable by law. The main thing to remember is that this product has Lambrusco

You can buy such wines in almost any store. It is likely that such a gift would be suitable for a visit or for a modest romantic date. It is better to refrain from presenting such drinks to the hero of the day or a high-ranking official, so as not to get into a delicate situation.

Russia and its centuries-old traditions

Let's be patriots of our Fatherland and start our rating of champagne wines with a Russian producer. Since pre-revolutionary times, Russian winemakers have tried to produce decent sparkling wines. Historical evidence of this is Prince Golitsyn, who is considered the founder and progenitor of the glorious Russian winemaking.

As a gift for a reasonable price, you can buy popular sparkling wine. You should pay attention to its endurance. It is this that determines the final price of the product. Choose vintage options in gift boxes. The price for 0.75 liters of goods is from 1,800 rubles. Do you think it's expensive? It's actually worth it!

Novy Svet plant produces classic, aged sparkling wines produced in compliance with all rules. The assortment line is widely represented in the branded stores of Crimean winemakers. The aging of wines ranges from 9 months to 3 years, which significantly affects the price. Champagne can have different sugar content, white, pink and red. Only seasoned versions of it are suitable as a gift. For such a gift you will have to pay from 1,000 to 2,500 rubles.

With the right approach, any buyer will be able to buy excellent and high-quality “champagne” from the Fanagoria Trade House . For example, Fanagoria, Blanc de Blancs Brut at a price of 500 rubles.

How much sugar should you put?

The correct sparkling wine or, as we used to call it, champagne should be brut or dry. Only the most fermented sugar allows you to enjoy the true taste of the contents. The presence of sugar suggests that it may be used to smooth out defects; such “champagne” does not leave a harmonious aftertaste.

Brut or dry is an ideal aperitif, but sweet or semi-sweet are only suitable for dessert.

When choosing a gift, you should still take into account the preferences of the hero of the occasion. If a person does not like acidity, then it is better to present him with sweeter versions of sparkling wines. The best gift will be the well-known Italian sparkling wines produced in the small province of Asti, which is geographically located in the world-famous Piedmont region. These sparkling wines are made from the famous Muscat grape variety. Thanks to him they are so tasty and rich. Look for the letters DOCG on the front and back labels. Their presence indicates that you have in your hands true, sweet, nutmeg gold originally from Piedmont.

The best seller in this category is undoubtedly the Italian sparkling wine “Mondoro Asti”. Many people recognize it by its original bottle, which has a screw, spiral shape. Retail price for 0.75 liters is from 1,250 rubles. But don't confuse Asti with Mondoro Brut, as it is a completely different story.

Undoubtedly, “ Asti Martini” and “ Asti Cinzano ” will be a good gift for a lover of sweets. These drinks occupy second and third places in the market for sales of sparkling sweet and semi-sweet wines, and are not much inferior in quality to their more expensive brother, Mondoro. Their price on the shelf is approximately 850-900 rubles. There are often promotional discounts on such products. Sparkling wine is sold in convenience stores and is a product of mass demand.

France – Pretentious and expensive

Do you want to follow French fashion and be in trend, as modern youth say? Do you want to deliberately emphasize the significance of your gift and have a tidy sum of money at your disposal? Then feel free to go to a wine boutique or look at the top shelves of reputable stores. In ordinary stores that are located in the courtyard and belong to the economy class category (for example, the Magnit chain of stores), such sparkling wines are not sold.

We are talking about France and its incomparable champagne wines. The Champagne region is the best in the world and offers the buyer a choice of champagne in several categories. The AOC category means that the wine is especially controlled by origin (literal translation: appellation original control). The other two categories are of higher quality, they are called Grand Cru and Premier Cru , respectively read as grand and first.

An unmistakable gift option would be Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon . These trading houses are among the top five global brands. The price for 1 bottle of such champagne varies from 5,500 rubles and depends on the trade markup and design option (for example, an iron tube is more expensive).

An excellent gift for a sophisticated gourmet will be millesim champagne, which is produced from the best grape harvest, hand-picked in one calendar year. Excellent quality dictates the high price of such a drink. It can reach more than 10 thousand rubles. and even 20 thousand rubles. for 0.75 liters.

The famous Dom Perignon from the 2006 harvest is priced at 18,000 rubles per bottle.

There are also completely rare exclusive names of champagne wines. The stunning “Crystal” is the dream of any collector. The minimum price of such liquid gold starts from 22,000 rubles.

Italy – sparkling traditions

One of the leaders in the supply of sparkling wines to the world market and a competitor to France is sunny Italy. The aforementioned region of Asti gives the world sparkling wines with a high content of natural sugar. To choose the dry and brut categories, the well-known Prosecco , made from the grape variety of the same name, is universally suitable. It has two quality categories - DOC and DOCG . Both categories indicate that the wine is particularly controlled by origin, and the letter G indicates a higher guarantee of quality.

In addition to Prosecco, Italy is also famous for other sparkling wines made from various varieties of red and white grapes. They are not particularly popular among consumers and can most likely be purchased only by special order in an online store or in a specialized wine boutique. Parusso Spumante Brut” contains decent quality it is made in the Piedmont region from a rather rare white grape variety, Nebbiolo. The price for 0.75 liters cannot be called budget - from 5,300 rubles.

Spain – quality in a glass

Every self-respecting country, one way or another, produces sparkling wines. Spain is known for its tannic red wines from the Rioja region. Not many buyers know that one of the best examples of sparkling wines is Spanish Cava. It comes in white or pink and combines the best champagne traditions. Cava is produced using the traditional classical method and guarantees excellent quality at a reasonable price (compared to the Champagne region). Shelf price – from 700 rubles and above.

Sparkling wines of the New World

The countries of the New World include Chile, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. If we talk about Chile, then this country offers both white, pink and red types of sparkling wines to the Russian market. Among others, you can find sweeter options.

For a gift to a lovely lady, you can choose “Fresita, gift box” sparkling pink, sweet, costing from 1,300 rubles for 0.75 liters.

For a drier option, opt for Concha y Toro , " Sunrise " Sparkling Brut . Its price is quite budgetary and amounts to 600-650 rubles, and you don’t have to worry about the quality. Both options are presented in a gift box, which is very important for a gift.

Give high-quality alcohol, and let the recipient be delighted!
We’ll tell you in this article how to choose a good cognac, a decent liqueur and what wine is best to buy as a gift.