The most knowledgeable champagne store I've been to is the Wine Expo in Santa Monica. They have an incredible selection, mostly of grower champagnes, and can help direct you to a variety of options when you tell them the style you like. Only caveat with them is that they can be a bit quirky, and have a bias against "mass-produced" champagne.

Closer to home, I would go over to D&M at Fillmore and Sacramento- they've always been helpful to me, and they specialize in champagne. Roberts Market in Woodside has a small but well selected inventory, and the wine guy there, John, really knows his stuff.

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

You beat me to it! I was just going to suggest the same thing. These bottles are beautiful and the Champagne is very, very good. I don't know prices in America, but I would think you could get it for less than $200.

He didnt ask for something "drinkable" or inexpensive. He asked for something less than $250 for a very special occasion. Sorry, Schramsburg doesnt fit that bill. For under $100 it is tough to go wrong with Pol Roger. Another option in the under $250 is the Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill. I prefer it to either Dom Perignon (which I basically dont like) or Cristal. But none of the ones you mentioned can touch Krug or Churchill Cuvee in my opinion. In fact, I would say that the Perrier Jouet is one of the most disappointing champagnes I have ever had in terms of price/quality. It is a lot to pay for a pretty bottle.

I'm not a fan of the Perrier Jouet either. The Pol Roger Winston Churchill is sublime, but the if posters wife finds DP 'too nutty' then I doubt she'll enjoyed the PR. Runiart is a great house, and the vintage Dom Ruinart Blanc des Blanc might fit the bill.

The OP didn't ask for an expensive bottle. And "drinkable" is an understatement a la francaise.

My PJ BE suggestion was to Brian in particular. It was clearly the best suggestion of all because it fits the situation and is very thoughtful. Brian's future wife doesn't seem to have the appreciation or knowledge of fine champagnes that some here pretend to have. So while some might not enjoy this particular wine it is probably hard to dispute that it is still a very good wine, it is within the budget, it is easy to find and it is most suitable for the situation because of the design and symbolism and even the name of the wine. Will this particular champagne make an oenophile cry with joy? Who knows? Will it be the ideal fit for the occasion and make his future wife cry? Quite likely.

By the way, I am a huge fan of the "winy" and rich champagnes. So far I've only had three bottles of DP. The 1973 was the best for me. It was almost like nectar.
Till

I wasnt responding to the OP, it was more than 4 years ago. I was responding to post 58 from today, which was the most recent post since mid-2007. And I think Perrier Jouet is badly overpriced for the quality. I simply dont like it, nor do I like Schramsburg. I find the latter "sour" and astringent.

Three questions for yourself on every occasion when ordering or buying champagne....

To what extent do I plan to impress those for whom I'm buying?

How acute/astute/informed are their palates?

Just as I may be seen as an under-buying cheapskate, may my purchase brand me as a profligate wastrel (or an employee blowing the company's money on gross excess)?

$300 Champers is like unto $1000 call girls. Does the quality of what is received emerge as three times better than a one costing a third as much? For champagne and call girls, the price is often related to the venue. You'll often be overcharged for bubbly in the same joint where the other commodity is vastly over-priced and generally over-rated.

The lesson is simple. Unless you or he/she with whom you'll drink it know to appreciate the champagne for some reason other than the price or the label, it's too expensive on which to spend your or your employer's money.

TM Oliver has pointed out, rather politely, most of these posts are from people that i refer to as "LABEL DRINKERS". couldn't blind distinguish DOM from CHRISTAL from a decent $25 bottle of CA from toilet training. big name big house wines are made from grapes produced by "growers" only a few produce more than a very small percentage of the grape. they buy grape or even juice from the "growers"

terry theise has a fantastic selection of grower wines. buy a couple three and see if you can taste the difference between them. these are wonderful wines. read the whole thing. i do not know much more about champagne than what is in this pdf

http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/docu...8final_opt.pdf

there are special really limited collections of "estate" grown grapes by the big kids produced for special occasions . they are not, however, pounded into the branded high end wines.

for the best exotic of high end special that your friends will be wowed, go find a bottle of Salon.

Thanks to all for the thoughtful advice. ^

Is champagne similar to designer fashion in that you can try a "down-label" bottle from the same house, and get an understanding for their flavors and methodology at a lower price point (albeit at a lower quality as well?) Would trying a Perrier Jouet Brut and a Pol Roger brut, each <$50, give me an accurate sense of whether we'd like the Belle Epoque or Winston Churchill more?

(and thanks slawecki for the PDF link, I will read that shortly)

I personally wouldnt buy and Perrier Jouet. But the roughly $50 Pol Roger is wonderful and if I am getting champagne and dont want to spend more than a hundred, which is usually the case, it is always the first one I look for. Its a great buy for the money.

My family is celebrating a major event this summer in the US. There will be 16 adults. Most are not regular alcohol drinkers and do not have adventurous palates. Thus, I think a champagne that's not too dry but slightly sweet (without being too sweet or sugary) would work well for them. Our champagne budget is limited.

Here's what the restaurant where the dinner will be held offers in this price range:
Cooks Brut
Korbel Brut
Chandon Brut
Piper Heidsieck Brut
Gionelli Asti
Martini & Rossi Asti

My preference would be to bring 3 bottles from a small producer in France, but the restaurant charges a $20/bottle corkage fee so I'm wondering if it's worth it if indeed any of the above choices are acceptable.

Opinions, please?

i am uncomfortable with the Cooks. it is a $5 bottle of wine. the korbel and chandon are both sound.

we have hosted a number of parties for employees who are not wine drinkers(or drinkers). Asti has always gone over very big. it is not slightly sweet(m&r is pretty sweet to a wine drinker), and is also low in alcohol.

i would split the order, and get about half asti(i am not familiar with gionelli), and half korbel or chandon.

although not offered, there are a number of italian rose bubblies that are half sweet. they really go over big with most everyone.

Good sound advice.

For most inexperienced palates, the M&R Asti, sweet to champagne afficionados, will go over big, as much a thrill asa $100 bottle would be. I second the recommendation of the pink Italian bubblies. "Color" thrills.

There's nothing wrong with the Korbel or the Chandon, neither distinguished but certainly up to the audience. "Chandon" may be a name with a little more glitz associated with it. IIRC, the Korbel is even "hand-turned".

It's well to recall, that as "Vermouth" was developed to find markets for local wines otherwise unsaleable, and "Cognac" was the result of how to get rid of local wines that even the locals found unappealing, "Champagne" seems likely to have been the result of a locally-based attempt to take otherwise unappealing wine and add pizzazz and marketabilty to it. Whether it was an old monk, crafty and innovative 18th century winery owners, borrowing from others, the discovery of a potential for effervesence perfected by adding sugar, or simply the result of a group grope (unlikely), they struck gold.

Wine, any wine, should be selected to match the palate of those drinking it, not to impress them with the host's pocketbook's potential.

Thanks for the advice. Based on the one time I tasted Asti years ago, I was afraid it would be *too* sweet, but I'm trying to keep the majority's palate in mind. It costs the same as what I would bring from France but wouldn't incur the corkage fee. And there's something to be said for not having to deal with the hassles of transporting it.

I'll have to think about this a little bit. Thanks again for your input; I appreciate it.