GUIDE: The best New Year's champagne of 2018

Christmas is the party of the heart, but New Year is the party of the year! And the champagne party, of course. Because there is no doubt that significantly more of the sparkling wine from Champagne is consumed in France on this day compared to the rest of the year. New Year's Eve is a day of celebration, where both food and wine must be at their best, but also for both 6pm and 12pm, luxury must be at the forefront - in the form of New Year's champagne , of course.

Every champagne in its time

Should the champagne be served for the welcome and the Queen's New Year's speech, for the appetizer, for the wreath cake or the New Year's kiss? Every champagne in its time. Champagne can be dry, sweet or something in between - in champagne terminology designated as brut, demi-sec or sec. The sweet and medium-sweet champagnes go best with the dessert and the wreath cake, while the dry ones are generally better as a welcome drink or with the food. Read on and get our take on which champagne suits your New Year's Eve best.

Bollinger Champagne for aperitif

Despite its name (and its quality!) Bollinger Special Cuvée is the house's "standard cuvée". Bollinger's style is unequivocally expressed in this rich and, for a standard cuvée, astonishingly complex champagne. This Bollinger champagne is the most powerful non-vintage Champagne made. With its strong but dry tones, the New Year's champagne is particularly suitable for an aperitif (read: the New Year's speech), but also a starter with raw fish or oysters lets the tasty bubbles of the Bollinger champagne come into their own.

Let your New Year's dessert be adorned with the pink Möet champagne

Möet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose is a classic. With the delicate, fruity Demi Sec Champagne, you simply never go wrong in town. The pink color underpins the champagne's aromas, which are intense with a touch of ripe blackberries, wild strawberries and blackcurrants. On the tongue, it appears sweet and elegant with a delicious creaminess, which goes perfectly with a dessert. However, don't let your dessert drown in sweetness and pink shades. No, let the Moet champagne do the work and instead add a dessert with an edge - maybe a touch of coffee or licorice?

New Year's champagne that takes cones

The year of champagne is not usually given, but some of the better producers make a "vintage" (vintage champagne) in certain years. And vintage champagne is synonymous with Dom Pérignon. The champagne is produced exclusively from the harvest from a single year and only in those years when the harvest has had the best conditions. Dom Perignon Vintage 2009 shows Dom Perignon from its most charming and opulent side! Light golden in the glass, elegant and refined in taste with a clear hint of ripe fruit. Definitely recommended as the last bubbles of the year! Decorate your New Year's Eve and let your guests taste this New Year's champagne. You will not regret it.

How to serve New Year's champagne

In order for the champagne to come into its own, there are a number of things you should and shouldn't do. First of all, the champagne must of course be cooled down before it is served. Optimal serving temperature is around 10 degrees - colder for cheap champagnes and slightly warmer for more expensive champagnes, roughly so.

It is also not without significance how the champagne bottle is opened. Champagne enthusiasts are outraged by Formula 1 winners and others who shake the bottle and wallow in the spray of foam. It is also a waste of good champagne. Instead, one should consecrate the bottles with both caution and devotion. The cork should preferably come off the bottle with a sigh: Peel off the foil, loosen the steel wire, place a tea towel around the cork and carefully turn it the opposite way from the bottle. Whoop!

Which champagne glasses suit the New Year's bubbles best?

The champagne must be served in tall, slim champagne glasses , which should preferably narrow at the top, so that the aroma collects at the top of the glass and so that the carbonation evaporates as slowly as possible. Pour carefully until the foam reaches the top of the glass. Then wait a short moment for the foam to settle, and then fill the glass up so that it is no more than three-quarters full. If you pour too much, there is no room for the champagne's aroma and bouquet in the glass.