While popping a cork on a champagne bottle is a great idea any time of year, we all know we pop a hell of a lot more Champers during the holidays. The best thing about champagne — I’m talking the real deal stuff from Champagne, France, and not American sparkling wine, prosecco, sekt, and so forth — is that it is one of the most versatile pairing wines in the world. Truly.
So I figured it was high time to pair some great champagne with some amazing foods. Below, I’m calling out some of my favorite pairing options with some of my favorite champagnes. And while you may know me mostly as a whiskey critic and judge, champagne is my other deep passion in life. So much so, that I did this exact exercise a week or two ago with two of my close friends (who are Master Sommeliers) and our families. We all brought several bottles of bubbly and every level of food and just hung out all night popping corks and noshing as the conversation flowed.
We even had a fire crackling away on the back deck. It was a glorious time.
Long story short, gather your family or crew with some great champagne and some of these foods. You’ll be in for a treat. And if you can’t find the exact foods or champagnes, use this pairing list as a jumping-off point to do something similar. Let’s dive in!
- These *Real* Strawberry Margarita Recipes Are Exactly What You Need This Weekend
- The Bourbon Smash Is Our Official Labor Day Weekend Cocktail — Here’s The Recipe
- Learn To Make These Essential Bourbon Cocktails For Bourbon Heritage Month
- The Five Cocktails That Everyone Should Be Able To Make At Home
- The Rusty Nail Is The Only Cocktail Recipe You Need This Thanksgiving
Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne + ‘Crisps And Caviar’ Flight
Average Price: $39
The Champagne
This champagne might be the most representative of the region in a single bottle. Nicolas Feuillatte is more of a collective (or union) of 100 individual winemakers and 82 winemaking cooperatives covering over 5,000 vineyards around Champagne, France. That equates to Feuillatte pulling its juice from a swath of vineyards that cover around 7% of the wine grown in the region.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of dry breadiness next to ripe apricots and peaches that draws you in on the nose before a light flutter of clay dirt sneaks in on the back end.
Palate: The body is effervescent and full of bubbles that burst with orchard-pitted fruits alongside hints of vanilla and musty cellars full of old oak barrels.
Finish: The end gets creamy with that vanilla and a twinge of fresh flowers with apricot and peach skins and pits.
The Food:
Price: $140
Pringles and Caviar offers a set of various flavored Pringle cans with white sturgeon and smoked trout roe, both from U.S. producers. It’s a great pairing if you’re looking to dip your toe into the world of easygoing caviar flavors combined with very well-known crisp flavors.
The Pringles and Caviar kit includes the following items:
- 1 oz. Classic White Sturgeon Caviar
- 1 oz. Smoked Trout Roe
- 3 2.5 oz. cans of Pringles: Sour Cream & Onion, Original, and BBQ
- 2 disposable spoons
- 1 Caviar Tin Key
How It Pairs:
Since Nicolas Feuillatte Brut is a fairly budget/entry-level option in the grand scheme of things champagne-related, it’s fun not to go too extravagant here. A local caviar set with a Pringles pairing feels perfect for that level of champers sipping. Smoked trout roe feels familiar if you’re already into smoked salmon and offers a great pairing with a Sour Cream & Onion Pringle. It’s almost like a fancy tuna melt.
If caviar still feels a little too “premiere” for your palate, then try some tinned seafood from Spain. Mussels in hot oil, white tuna in olive oil, or squid in its ink are great places to start.
Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose Champagne + KFC Original Recipe 8-Piece Bucket
Average Price: $76
The Champagne
Veuve Clicquot is a great starter champagne when you’re looking to take things up from novice to advanced beginner without getting too deep into the “advanced” stuff. Their Rose offering is made with 50 to 60 different crus that come from largely Pinot Noir grapes supported by Meunier and Chardonnay wines.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Berry tarts with buttery pastry and bright citrus oils pop on the nose next to a flourish of almond and lemon cookies dusted with powdered sugar and a whisper of oak spice.
Palate: Those berry tarts take on a rich strawberry note on the palate that’s fresh and vibrant before that butteriness returns with a moment of vanilla pods and old oak staves soaked in dry brandy.
Finish: A moment of orange oil drives the finish toward dry oak and butter vanilla with a hint of those bright berries lingering the longest.
The Food:
Price: $23
A bucket of Original Recipe KFC Fried Chicken is a quintessential fried and salty treat. The chicken is juicy and well-spiced while the coating is soft with a hint of crunchiness. This is comfort food turned up to 11.
How It Pairs:
This is a very specific pairing from the backstage aftershow playbook of Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, and it freaking works. The saltiness of the chicken is perfectly countered by the dry brightness of the champagne. It brings out a sweetness in the chicken that takes it to the next level while the saltiness of the chicken brings out an almost creamy nature to the bubbly.
It’s a match made in Rock-N-Roll heaven.
Ruinart Blanc De Blancs Champagne + Fortnum & Mason Coronation Caledonia Fruit Cake
Average Price: $99
The Champagne
Ruinart Blanc is a very specific champagne. It’s made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. The ripple here is that 25% of the blend is from reserve wines that have settled in oak for several years before batching. Those wines are primarily Premier Crus (premiere vineyards with the best terroir) from the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs regions.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose bursts with a fresh fruit basket brimming with pears, sweet and tart apples, freshly plucked red berries, and a big ol’ pineapple in the middle before hints of summer wildflowers and fresh ginger sneak in.
Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of walnut fats and cardamom pods next to fresh peach tossed with pear brandy and orange zest with a whisper of sea salt.
Finish: The orange takes on a chinotto vibe on the finish as the spices kick in from the oak next to this lush sense of vanilla and butter at the very end.
The Food:
Price: $37
American fruitcake leaves a lot to be desired. But that’s not all fruitcake in the world. Fortnum & Mason in the U.K. makes one of the best fruitcakes I’v e ever tasted. The cake comes from a small Scottish family-run bakery up in Edinburgh. Scottish heather honey is the main sweetener and adds a delectable brightness. Add in the rum-soaked raisins, deep winter spices, and candied orange and you have a dense and delicious slice of Christmas on a plate.
How It Pairs:
This will take all those bright fruits from the champagne and stew them on your palate when paired. It’s a wonderful dimension of depth. The booziness of the cake will also temper slightly as the sharpness from the wine adds in more nutty holiday cake vibes, amping up the whole experience to new heights.
And look, you can do this with any wintry cake really. American fruitcakes tend to be a little too candied fruit forward with too mild of spice (and very dry). But if you can get your hands on an Italian Panettone or a German Stollen, you will also be delighted with this holiday-themed pairing.
Moët & Chandon Nectar Imperial + Katz Deli Pastrami
Average Price: $68
The Champagne
Moët is a very old-school champagne that goes back to the court of French royalty. The popularity of this wine cannot be understated. They’re one of the biggest producers of champagne in the world. Nectar Impérial is a special blend of reserve wines (old ones) chosen to add a deeper sense of richness and complexity to the bubbly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The flute pulls you in with a sense of tropical fruits leaning towards mangos and pineapple while stonefruits lurk in the background.
Palate: Those stonefruits take over on the palate with apricots and meaty plums leading toward a white grape touch next to a hint of vanilla.
Finish: Finally, that vanilla takes on a slightly creamy edge (thanks to a touch of Chardonnay in the blend), bringing a well-rounded body to this sip.
The Food:
Price: $40/lb.
Katz Deli Pastrami is iconic. The meat is brined for 30 days before slow smoking, steaming, and resting. The mix of herbs, spices, and botanicals with salt is perfect — yes, I will die on the hill that Katz Deli perfected deli pastrami. The best part is that you can get this delivered to your door anywhere in the U.S. and it’ll still be delightful.
How It Pairs:
Salty spiced meat and Veuve Clicquot Rose go together so well. The salty spiced fattiness of the pastrami offers a great counterpoint to the bright and almost sweet fruitiness of the champagne. You’re creating textures and layers in your mouth when you pair these two things. Also, the bubbly calms down the heftiness of the salt to a point where it feels well-seasoned more than just salty (it’s still pastrami after all), allowing the spices to mingle with the fruits and become clearer and more pronounced.
Naturally, this is in the same vein as the fried chicken above. So do that too! Or if you can’t get a good Jewish deli pastrami, then go for a charcuterie board in general. Spicy salami, cured ham, smoked turkey, local pastrami, and funky cheeses are going to work too.
Bollinger Brut Special Cuvée Champagne + Fresh Hama Hama Oysters
Average Price: $104
The Champagne
Bollinger has spent centuries becoming the icon it is today. The wine got a huge boost when it became the champagne of Queen Victoria’s court in the late 1800s, which led to it being the official drink of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Thanks to the guidance of Lily Bollinger post-WWII, the brand became the champagne that the adventurers, jet-setters, and champagne drinkers in the know drink.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This draws you in with a sense of over-ripe peaches next to tart apples and sweet pears stewed with dark spices, sultanas, and buttery wine before hitting this layer of dry oak with a hint of old cedar flakes.
Palate: That spice and apple/pear bring about an almost apple butter feel as the svelte nature of the sip leads towards a brioche loaded with walnuts with subtle winter spice barks and dry yet sweet oakiness.
Finish: The end leans into the sweet creaminess of the orchard fruit with a vibrant sense of flaked sea salt and dashes of brandied raisins and saffron-stewed apricots.
The Food:
Price: $115
Fresh oysters on the half-shell shell are the way to go. Hama Hama offers some of the most delicate and refined fresh oysters for shooting with champagne on the market. The extra small oysters are creamy and lush with a hint of sea brine that is, yes, sweet. They’re world-renowned for a reason, folks.
A Hama Hama Oyster Start Pack includes:
- 3 dozen extra small oysters
- Hama Hama shucking gloves (multiple sizes)
- Shucking knife
- Oyster tasting guide
- A bar towel for shucking
- Seasonal mignonette
How It Pairs:
This lush and sweet oysters chased with a sip of Bollinger are the perfect pairing duo. The deep sweet and dark stewed fruitiness of the bubbly gives way to the creamy brininess of the oysters perfectly. That hint of oak and cedar from the wine also just makes sense when paired with a fresh oyster in a way that’s damn near preternatural. This is the sort of pairing that’ll make you sit back slowly in your chair and close your eyes in ecstasy as all the flavors wash over you.
Of course, if sourcing oysters from Western Washington State is too costly, any local fresh oysters will also do. Just make sure to get extra smalls.
Perrier Jouët Belle Epoque Brut Champagne + Niederegger Marzipan
Average Price: $244
The Champagne
Perrier Jouët Belle Epoque is a vintage champagne. That means the absolute best wines (from the top-tier vineyards) from a specific year (2014 in this case) were left alone to mature until ready for release, creating a bit of a time machine to another era of wine-making in France.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Summer wildflowers and white peaches fresh from the tree dominate the nose with a sense of sweet oakiness, soft and very fresh croissant (to the point of almost feeling warm from the oven), and this flutter of almond shell.
Palate: Fresh apple skins and pear stems drive the palate with a whisper of chinotto orange bitterness, soft lemon oils, and more of that nutshell dryness with a hint of soft oak that’s damn near creamy.
Finish: The creaminess amps on the finish as the wildflowers meld with creamed honey, soft stewed pear, and a whisper of winter spice barks.
The Food:
Price: $32
Niederegger Marzipan is nothing like every other marzipan out there. It’s the top of the top when it comes to the Germanic treat. Let’s start with the coating. The chocolate — either milk or dark — is a superb chocolate by itself and it’s not even the star of the show. The marzipan is made with delicate and very moist almond paste that’s lush and super soft and not overly sweet (like American versions). On a basic level, that almond paste is kissed with rose water as the major key flavor note with hints of other oils added to create different flavors — think espresso, pear brandy, orange, pineapple, and so many more.
All combined, you’re treated to a soft and delectable “candy” unlike anything else in the nutty chocolate sphere of sweets.
How It Pairs:
The brightness of the champagne is perfectly accented by the lushness of the nutty and almost creamy marzipan. A pear brandy-infused Niederegger marzipan morsel with dark chocolate chased with a sip of floral creamy honey pear-influenced wine is spectacular. All of the flavor notes of both pieces of the puzzle rise to new and delicious heights.
Armand De Brignac Ace Of Spade Champagne + Glenfiddich x Thierry Atlan Grand Cru Scotch Whisky-Infused Macarons
Average Price: $299
The Champagne
This is a premier cuvée (the first cut of wine from a batch) champagne that’s dialed in for 21st-century palates (thanks to partial ownership by Jay-Z). Beyond those facts, the winemakers keep their cards close to the chest with the details of what’s in the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft peach and fresh apricot pop on the nose and are countered by tart red berries and bright orange that’s part oily and part floral before a buttery and sweet brioche arrives.
Palate: Those red berries sweeten toward a brandied cherry on the front of the palate as lemon-kissed sugar cookies with a creamy honey sweetness drive the palate toward soft oakiness and a hint of dry cedar.
Finish: That dry cedar drives the finish toward a whisper of winter spice barks before the creamy honey and brandied cherries return on the end for a lush finish full of sharp bubbles.
The Food:
Price: $68
The macarons are made by New York’s premiere confectioner Thierry Atlan. Atlan uses Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23-year-old Single Malt Scotch (finished in rare French Cuvée casks) for the creme in the macarons.
They’re delicious.
How It Pairs:
Macarons are a great champagne pairing treat in general. These macarons are the perfect pairing treat. The sweet and soft oaky apple vibes of the Glenfiddich in the creamy and crunchy macaron just sing with a champagne as creamy and fruity as this. It’s like two old friends in a long embrace.
Krug Grande Cuvée + Caviar Russe “Gold Osetra”
Average Price: $299
The Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvée is one of the best pours of bubbly out there (and I’m saying that as a “die-on-a-hill” Bollinger acolyte). The wine is hewn from 120 different wines that are 10 different ages, ranging into the double digits. Naturally, the wines selected are from the best vines with impeccable terroir-driven winemaking at the core of each of them.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is akin to walking through a field of wildflowers with an orange and lemon orchard in full bloom in the near distance next to rich and very good marzipan cut with moist gingerbread houses covered in candied berries, cherries, and citrus rinds.
Palate: Chinotto orange bitterness opens the dry yet creamy palate with a sense of lemon curd and quince jelly before this deep almond oil sense arrives with a hint of petit pains au chocolat aux amandes (very buttery pastries with rich chocolate and almond paste) next to a touch of dried cranberry.
Finish: The end leans into the dried red fruit and almond paste with a nice dry orange bitterness accented by subtle oakiness that’s more like a walk through a wine cellar than holding an oak stave in your hand.
The Food:
Price: $295/28 grams
Caviar Russe is delivering!
The famed New York restaurant and elite caviar supplier has made some of the most premiere and delicious caviar on the planet available. Go big because you can now and grab some Gold Osetra Caviar. The sustainably farmed German caviar is the prime cut of the roe. There’s a deep sense of the sea that’s somehow one of the most subtle representations of it too.
Each egg feels individual and has an integrity to it that’s second to none — allowing you fully experience a mouthfeel textural sharpness. Then there’s this light creamy sweetness that’s under it all that helps this caviar just explode on your senses with deep sea vibes by way of what feels like creamed nori seared over a driftwood fire. It’s spectacular.
How It Pairs:
Big champagne demands that you go big or go home. This is going pretty much as big as you can when it comes to caviar. This is the best paired with the best. Yes, it’s pricey, but this is a flavor experience that drives your palate toward new heights of understanding. The caviar’s creaminess and clarity play so well with the vibrance of the bubbly that it just works on every level, giving you a fully rounded textural and taste experience.
