Champagne

[Sijan]

Fussychicken,

Yes, you should definitely start with NV rather than vintage champagnes. They are a much better value. Try anything with Hiedsieck in the name. Try Paul Goerg. Try Henri Abele if you can find it. They are all good values. Starting out, look for bottles priced under $30 and preferably in the $20-25 range. But it would really be easier on your budget to start with non-champagne sparklers from CA, Spain, and elsewhere.

For non-champagne sparkling wine, I strongly recommend Roederer Estate, as well as Gruet and Gloria Ferrer. Freixenet is a very affordable and widely available cava. There are many other good cavas on the market - I tend to find most of them to be quite drinkable and consistent, although not as complex as champagne. I think quality varies more in prosecco. I prefer Nino Franco prosecco, but there are several respected brands you should try.

Yes, generally vintage champagnes will be similar in style to the NV champagne. Champagne houses do tend to have a house style that is apparent in all (or at least most) champagnes they produce. So if you like a NV champagne by a particular house, it's likely that you'll also enjoy their vintage bottlings. As to whether the price difference is "worth it," it's hard to say. Try one some time and see what you think.

And eventually you should give grower champagnes a shot. But that's for another day...

[fussychicken]

Thanks for all the info guys! All very interesting. I'll have to report back in a year or so after having had a few. I don't want to rush things too much, I don't want to let this get too much in the way of my bourbon schedule.