'Tis the season...for cheap "champagne".
Sorry to be so déclassé, but I need to buy a lot of cheap champagne. My choices are Cooks, Freixenet, or Robert Mondavi Woodbridge. If some of you have any experience with these, I would greatly appreciate your ratings of these choices at your earliest convenience.
TIA!
Joebob
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I would go with Gloria Ferrer sparklers. Heck, I bought a ton of the GF Royal Cuvee for $12.
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re: 4wino
I would remind you the OP is in Hawai'i and it's highly unlikely Gloria Ferrer is anywhere near $12, let alone the Royal Cuvée which, on the winery website -- http://shop.gloriaferrer.com/SHOP.AMS... -- lists for $32.
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re: zin1953
GF is discounted a lot and has a pretty broad distribution. It might not be as reasonably priced as a steep discount here, but sometimes Hawaii can be odd. Things pop up. I remember Cloudy Bay SB being avail as readily and inexpensively as mainland. For a while there Turley's lower-end wines could be found at a bunch of lower end outlets there.
To Danna above. If you buy a decent champagne stopper, you can easily maintain the fizz and freshness in bubbly for 1 maybe two days in the fridge.
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I can't *stand* Cooks - far too sweet for my taste; I've never tried the Mondavi, so I can't comment. My mom's go-to was always Freixenet (or, as she called it, "Fishnet"), and I still like it for mixing. (Straight up, I refuse to go cheap: cheap sparkling wine gives me the vilest of hangovers.)
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re: webgeekstress
sunshine842
Jan 1, 2013 04:43 AM
I agree with you o not going cheap for straight-up toasting, webgeek.
last night, sadly, the midnight pour was a bottle of Mumm's Napa Cuvee...yes, a California sparkler. (and unfortunately not cheap -- brought proudly by British friends who had no doubt parted with a tidy sum to buy it....)
It's no wonder Americans think they don't like Champagne -- this stuff was nasty -- one-note, over-oaked (like being bashed with a 2x4), and far, far too dry to be a sparkler (and I choose Extra Brut when left to my own devices....)
Next year, we'll bring a few bottles of good bubbles, whether it's Champagne or Cremant.
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re: sunshine842
maria lorraine
Jan 1, 2013 11:31 PM
<<It's no wonder Americans think they don't like Champagne>>'
Um, we don't think that. No one ever I have ever met ever ever thinks that.
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re: maria lorraine
sunshine842
Jan 2, 2013 01:05 AM
an awful lot of times (my own wedding, many NYE celebrations over the years, my own graduations) a lot of people refuse the sparklers because it's too sweet, it gives me a headache, etc.,e tc., etc.
I misspoke -- not liking Champagne isn't all that common -- but an awful lot of folks have never had *Champagne*, and think that *Champagne* tastes like the awful bubbly substitutes that they've been given at special events.
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re: sunshine842
maria lorraine
Jan 2, 2013 01:15 AM
Yes, I refer to to the same thing as the lumpfish fallacy. People say they don't like caviar when they've never had the real thing -- they've been eating cheap lumpfish eggs and saying they don't like "caviar."
All I gotta say, is nothing, nothing, nothing, is like Champagne.
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re: maria lorraine
sunshine842
Jan 2, 2013 01:22 AM
I agree -- when we were in Florida, the wine shop I frequented said we were the only clients he had who would open a bottle of Champagne just because -- all his other clients stringently kept it for special occasions.
Sad, because a decent bottle of something sparkly (including a cremant in stingy months) can MAKE a crappy day a special occasion.
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re: sunshine842
Two different things:
a) it IS true that most Americans still reserve sparkling wines -- regardless of the method of production -- for "a special occasion." So if you were the only customers that would open a bottle of Champagne "just because," I'm not surprised.
b) it IS also true that most of the major houses (Moët, Mumm, and the like) produce multiple cuvées for their "Brut"-designated Champagnes -- drier for the UK market, primarily; "dry" for the domestic (French) market, and most of the planet; and on the sweeter side for the US market, and a few others. All fall within the "Brut" category, but all three have different levels of sweetness.
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In the FWIW mode, when Mumm was still owned by Seagram's, the people there told me that the US was the major market for their Extra Dry, and that -- in fact -- Mumm only marketed their Extra Dry in two countries: the US and Iceland. In the rest of the world, they sold "Double Cordon" -- the label was designed with a thin (half the "regular" width) RED ribbon (Cordon Rouge Brut) and a thin GREEN ribbon (Cordon Vert Demi-Sec). Brut + Demi-Sec = Extra Dry.
They told me that, in France, Mumm sold approx. 150 cases a year of Double Cordon -- "mostly for children's birthday parties."
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re: zin1953
sunshine842
Jan 2, 2013 08:12 AM
LOL -- we dutifully drank it, because they were so happy to present it, but yeccch.
Years ago, I was challenged by a colleague to tell the difference between French Champagne and California sparkling. (No warning, one flute of Moet from Epernay and one flute from Napa were placed in front of me -- there, hotshot - tell me which one is French and which one is from California)
They were pretty miffed that I made the distinction based on aroma alone -- but the two flutes made their way around the table, and they saw for themselves what a huge difference there is.
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re: zin1953
danna
Jan 2, 2013 12:55 PM
a) I myself reserve Champagne for occasions mainly because you can't really re-cork and have some more the next day.
b) it's so confusing. I accidentally bought "extra dry" Piper Heidsick for New Year's Eve and when I realized it I was afraid it would be sweet, but honestly I could not discern the sweetness. It seemed to my uneducated palate no more or less sweet than the Henriot Souverain Brut I had last week (good week). The Henriot, btw, was beautiful and smelled of graham crackers.
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re: danna
sunshine842
Jan 2, 2013 02:05 PM
Danna, you need a champagne stopper -- like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Plated-C...
They work extraordinarily well -- the bubbles will stay for several days.
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re: maria lorraine
Of course some Americans drink and appreciate Champagne. We did Dom, PJ Fleur, Ruinart NV, Lanson, and Krug MV for NYE. That aside, since my wife is nicknamed Champagne Shirley we go through a lot of sparkling. I find some American sparklers drinkable, especially at the low price-point of Gloria Ferrer Vintage, Roederer Anderson, or even some Schramsberg. They're not tete cuvee or even at the level of some good French Nv like Peters or Billiot, but they cost a lot less and to me are serviceable.
Had some Paddlefish and Hackleback domestic caviar from Exclusively Caviar too. It's not imported, but at the fraction the cost, is similar and enjoyable. Kelly's Katch has some good domestic stuff too. Less $ than the Tsar Nicolai.
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re: wineglas1
maria lorraine
Dec 26, 2012 05:37 PM
Presumably because the OP is in Hawaii, with limited selection.
Were he on the mainland, I would have spouted forth with Gruet, Mumm Brut Prestige at $11 on sale currently, and all sorts of other tasty inexpensive sparklers. But that's not the case, not the case of bubbly, here.
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re: chloebell
c oliver
May 12, 2013 11:16 AM
We prefer their sparkling rose' and WAY less than $10 when Safeway has 30% off and 10% more for a mixed case. We've gotten it for around $6.
Also, just had the Gruet sparkling rose' yesterday and really,, really liked it. Restaurant price was $32 and I see from their website about $16. Will be checking locally.
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IMO rubbery, tasteless cava is only OK if you're not drinking it "net."
I was going to say "Argyle" but I see that in my more than a decade away from working with American wines, many have finally discovered that Oregon might be the best place to make sparkling wines in North America.
Here in France if you don't want to pay the tarif for real Champagne, Crémants are a good choice (half the bubbles).
Crémants from Alsace and Burgundy (Bourgogne) merit your attention.
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re: Joebob
Bill Hunt
May 13, 2013 08:01 PM
JoeBob,
Sorry so late to the party.
How much sparkler do you need, and what is necessary price-point?
You have two Costcos near you, and IIRC, they each have a fair list of sparklers.
From what I recall, I would go with the Veuve Yellow Label, if that is not too far above the desired prices.
Aloha,
Hunt
[Edit] I had no idea HOW late to the party I was. Hope that the event, last year, went well. Duh!
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re: collioure
sunshine842
Dec 26, 2012 02:56 AM
In the US, the OP will still spend well north of $10 a bottle, even for cremants...which was not his/her price point.
A few years ago, we bought a lovely Loire cremant for $13 a bottle - and it was good enough to quaff straight....but it's twice the price (or nearly so) of Cook's or Freixenet.
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Bacardi1
Dec 23, 2012 04:16 PM
First & foremost - FORGET Cooks - it's AWFUL!!!!
I vote for Freixenet Brut. In fact, I just bought a few bottles to have on hand in the fridge for impromptu holiday enjoyment. Quite decent.
Have never had Mondavi's Woodbridge sparkler, so can't help you with that one.
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3MTA3
Dec 23, 2012 04:06 PM
mmm... you don't say who you're buying it for. I was going to argue against cheap champagne, but it seems many people don't mind....drink enough of it and you'll never indulge again.(read: pop-skull) You dirty dog ! You're keeping the Veuve Clicquot for your self ?! i hope ?
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pagesinthesun
Dec 23, 2012 03:49 PM
Hands down. The best "cheap champagne" is from New Mexico. I know, right? I've been drinking it for many years as my mother lives in NM. The winery is Gruet. My favorite is the Brut. Try it....I actually think it's almost to good to adulterate with OJ for mimosas!
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re: pagesinthesun
While I personally agree re: Gruet -- it is MY "go-to" domestic sparkler for large gatherings, the OP specifically mentioned Cook's and Woodbridge. Cook's is on sale for $5.49, but quotes $9.99 suggested retail. Woodbridge is slightly more on the shelf, but it, too, quotes a $9.99 retail. Freixenet is on sale for $8.99. Gruet, on the other hand, is $14.99 -- it's at a different price point, and since the OP's stated mission is to buy a lot of cheap champagne, to *MY* mind, Gruet doesn't fit the bill, despite its high QPR.
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re: pagesinthesun
I agree about the Gruet, but it does cost more than the others. I get it for $11.99 @ WineLibrary.com, but OP doesn't say where (s)he is buying this.
Personally, I dislike Freixenet, altho in general I like Cava quite a lot for inexpensive bubbly. Either Cordoniu or Segura Viudas are miles tastier imho.
Cooks is quite fine for Mimosas and Kir Royales, but not so much for on its own. and Andre? Well, if you like soap suds flavor in your sparkling wine.........
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re: pagesinthesun
As I write this I am drinking a glass if pink New Mexico "champagne" - actually quite nice - better than anything on the original poster's list. In my fridge I also have a bottle of Domaine Chandon - qualifies as cheap now for around $7. And also chilling is a bottle of 1995 Dom Perignon - not sure if that is the best vintage year to store for so long.
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Are you planning on drinking these "straight" or mixed into a cocktail (Mimosa?) or punch? It honestly makes a difference.
If you're going to drink it AS a sparkling wine, I'd go with a cava, like the Freixenet. If you are making mimosas, etc., I'd go with the Cook's.
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cosmogrrl
Dec 23, 2012 02:48 PM
I have used Freixenet for my Christmas mimosas for years, and I love it, I think it makes an excellent mimosa, provided that you use a better OJ. I have also drunk it straight and it was Ok.
My parents stocked their parties with Cook's for years, but I really can't abide it anymore, perhaps I *may* have overindulged though :)
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Of these, and the below recommended J Roget (which we used to drink in college at 3 for $10), I think the Freixenet is the best all around for drinking by itself, although around here it's usually twice the price of the others. For that same price, I've also always enjoyed Mionetto (a prosecco).
For cocktails, any of these are fine (I cycle through depending on what is cheapest)
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junescook
Dec 23, 2012 01:38 PM
I'm a fan of J. Roget Brut, from upstate NY. Many years ago some hoyty toyty friends of ours from Yale turned us on to this (he is originally from Rochester though), and we've been buying a case or two around the holidays ever since. It makes a nice light cocktail or dinner wine. I've always preferred it to the California champagnoises.
