Originally Posted by tfar

Guys, I am disappointed. Almost everybody's throwing around big names as if they were Donald Trump's rich uncle. It's like a champagne pissing contest.

It is quite hard to actually go wrong with a $200+ bottle of champagne, don't you agree?

I am also surprised that nobody has mentioned Ruinart. It is an excellent Champagne, not super hard to find and even the "premier prix" (the entry price) "R" is very good. Nicolas Feuillate also makes some beautiful Champagnes. Demoiselle by Vranken is very good, too.

And although I am quite a wine snob when it comes to prices that Americans are asking for their "young start-up" wines that are the same as those of 200 year old French labels, I must say that Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs is reasonably priced and very drinkable.

For Briankoenig: If it's for a marriage proposal, go with a bottle of Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque. White or Rose. Both are wonderful and it will be great to keep the hand-painted bottle which she will certainly like. With a little luck you will find the vintage of the year when you first met, assuming you didn't meet within the last year. They also make their own hand-painted glasses for it. In terms of functionality and taste these glasses are absolutely good, not Riedel Sommelier but totally acceptable unless you are either a snob or super wine expert. The idea in getting the "coffret" with the glasses and the bottle is that you can use the glasses for each anniversary and use the box to store THE original bottle. With all that thought YOU put into that, she won't even notice the Champagne anymore.

Till