If you’re planning to serve champagne at an event in Grand Cayman, come to Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits, where you can buy your supply and find suggestions on how best to serve it. With eight physical store locations and an online store that provides surcharge-free delivery, we make shopping for your beer, wine, or liquor needs convenient and cost-effective.
Serving champagne, or sparkling wine, appropriately makes the difference between a satisfactory experience and one that’s remarkable. Allow our team to make suggestions, including sparkling wine cocktail recipes.
QUALITY SHOWS THROUGH
When buying champagne, avoid cheap bottles that lack quality. Quality champagne is less likely to cause a hangover, and the bubbles occur naturally during the second fermentation process within the bottle. In lesser-quality bottles, makers inject carbon dioxide into the beverage. Guests will recognize lesser quality if they’re familiar with champagne at all.
VOCABULARY MATTERS
The labels on sparkling wine bottles indicate the amount of sugar added to the wine during the second round of fermentation, otherwise known as the “dosage.”
- Doux = >55 g/L of sugar creates a very sweet, dessert-level sparkling wine
- Demi-sec = 33-55 g/L of sugar creates a semi-sweet wine that pairs with dessert as well as spicy cuisine
- Sec = 17-35 g/L of sugar creates a medium-dry wine that still has some sweetness
- Extra Dry = 12-20 g/L of sugar creates a medium-dry wine that has just a touch of sweetness and pairs with several different food choices
- Brut = <15 g/L of sugar creates a dry-very dry wine, which is the most popular choice
- Extra Brut = 0-6 g/L of sugar creates a very dry, tart wine
- Brut Nature – 0-3 g/L of sugar creates an extremely dry wine that serves roasted poultry and creamy sauces well.
SERVE PROMPTLY
Buying your champagne too far in advance of your event is a mistake. The humidity and temperature levels for storing champagne matter greatly, so unless you have a place specifically designed for cork preservation, plan to have the Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits team deliver your sparkling wines near when needed.
CONSIDER YOUR CHOICE OF GLASS
Serve your champagne in the best glass choice. Some suggest using a champagne flute to emphasize the bubbles and direct the aromatics of the wine, while others suggest a white wine glass to appreciate the depth of flavor better.
KEEP IT COOL
When serving champagne, temperature matters. The bubbly should be chilled, not cold. Achieve the ideal temperature by putting the champs in the fridge for three hours before serving or chilling them in an ice, salt, and water bath for 20-30 minutes. Also, make sure to choose a stemmed glass because holding the bowl of a serving glass will warm the champagne too quickly.
MAKE A COCKTAIL
A lovely sparkling wine can make a marvelous cocktail beyond the mimosas you usually associate with champagne cocktails. Mixologists hail the notion of using champagne to top off cocktails to elevate the sweetness of the drink. Need some inspiration?
Air Mail
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. golden rum
- ½ oz. lime juice
- 1 tsp. honey
- 5 oz. brut champagne
Instructions:
- Put ice in a cocktail shaker.
- Add rum, lime juice, and honey to the shaker.
- Shake thoroughly until chilled.
- Strain into a serving glass.
- Top with champagne.
Click here to learn more about Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits, where residents and vacationers alike choose to buy champagne in Grand Cayman.
