Everyone knows champagne is a sparkling liquid made of grapes but do they all know that champagne is named because it is made in a region called Champagne in France? Another interesting but little-known fact is that the champagne was invented by monks. But, you need not know about these trivial facts about the best champagne in order to drink it on New Year’s Eve or for that matter, on any occasion.
You only need to know which bars in America serve the best champagne two days before the New Year eve and how to identify best champagne. If you do not arm yourself with some knowledge of champagne, you may end up drinking a third-rate wine but would have paid for a bottle of real champagne.
How to identify best champagne
- Champagne should be always in light gold or pale yellow in color.
- Champagne should not be in red color.
- The best Champagne should be crystal clear when poured into a goblet. You should be able to see the other side of the goblet. No turbidity should be detected.
- You should be able to smell freshly cut apple
There are some characters of best champagne such as the ‘mouth feel’ and the ‘flavor’ to measure the quality of champagne but these two aspects cannot be put into words. You will know only by tasting several bad champagnes to declare what best champagne is.
Where is The Best Champagne Served on New Year’s Eve?
Let us now get to know the best champagne serving bars so that even if they are slightly away from your home, you will find out how to reach the bars well in advance so that you can reach early before the crowds arrive and leave early before the traffic and the tongue gets thick.
For Best Champagne: Marta, New York
What is the best city that comes to your mind first than New York to enjoy the New Year fully without inhibitions; New York City, of course. What else can match the life of New York? Champagne does that- exactly-helping the drinker to drop the defenses by shedding the inhibitions-right?
Marta located at the 29th street is known to serve crispy (thin crust) pizzas that are coal-fired and some of the best champagne. Ask anyone who had been to the Redbury New York hotel situated in the Madison Square Park, and they will you where to find the Marta quickly.
Address:
The Redbury Hotel, 29 E 29th St, New York, NY 10016, USA
Phone: +1 212-651-3800
The Press Club, San Francisco:
My next choice of big city is San Francisco, the city of world celebrities. The Press Club is famous for allowing you to taste several shots of wine before giving you a full goblet of your choice of champagne. For accompaniments, the empanadas are highly recommended. They look similar to the ‘samosas’ of India but with a different filling.
1760, San Francisco
This is another recommendation to taste authentic champagne in San Francisco.
The sleek 1760 is located at 1760 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA. Phone to make reservation: +1 415 359 1212
This high-end and upscale restaurant serves the best champagne and the food has received several positive reviews. The recommended dishes are:
- Tombo tuna crudo,
- Smoked albacore,
- Parmesan truffle fries
- Pork ribs
- Brussels sprouts (It’s one of my favorite vegetables)
Ambonnay – Portland, Oregon
I should have placed it on top of this list because this champagne bar was listed in quite a few places as one of the best exclusive champagne bars in the U.S. Even before I started writing this blog post, I should have first looked upon the Imbibe magazine, the internet’s most trusted online magazine for anything related to drinks. Apart from the imbibe.com, the Ambonnay bar got featured in several places and that resulted in the bar being awarded several accolades. Since 2006, it has received 10 awards.
So, what they do have in the champagne shelves?
A wide range of champagne bottles is stacked on the shelves of Ambonnay bar. There are actually 55 different champagne bottles and as a guest takes his seat in the bar, he is served 6 different champagne in goblets.
Looking at the accompaniments, it seems they know what goes well with the champagne. A few of the snacks that are served are:
- Mantequilla Green olives
- Spanish corn nuts
- Popcorn
Address:
107 SE Washington St #167, Portland, OR 97214 Phone: 503-575-4861
Brindille, Chicago
Address: Address: 534 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654, USA
Phone: +1 312-595-1616
I know I would not get the usual hug from my grandma if I did not mention her birth city Chicago in this prestigious list of places to drink the best champagne on the day before the birth of 2018.
Brindille is said to be a champagne special outlet that also serves delicious beef tartare, duck breast cooked medium rare and the rhubarb ( a vegetable with a fruit taste) sorbet. Have a goblet full of the most preferred Chateauneuf du Pape champagne.
Heist, Washington, DC
I cannot escape without reporting a bar in the capital of the U.S.A. Here we go to the Heist DC, at the political center of the world. It is rated as the number one place to drink best champagne in Washington DC. (Source:YELP) All the reviewers mentioned only about the loud music and the friendly DJ. I could not find any information about the brands of champagne served and the foods they liked. How odd it is!
Address: 1802 Jefferson Pl NW Washington, DC 20036
Phone: +1 202-688-0098
POP Champagne Bar, Los Angeles.
Not many reviews about this champagne bar that is frequented by the ‘who is who’ of the Hollywood. Naturally, the bar serves more than 53 varieties of champagne. I browsed their lengthy menu of champagne, Rose, Sparkling wine, White Wine, and Dessert wine and even I could identify some of the world’s best champagne. Wow! They have it all, buddy. No wonder it is very well patronized.
The recommended food items are, cheese & Charturie plate, Cana de Cabra, Procuitti di Parma, Beemster, and Brillat Savarin cheeses, Salami picante, and Genoa Salami. Most of these items sound strange to me.
Address: 33 E Union St, Pasadena, CA 91103, USA
Phone: +1 626-795-1295
I like to drink the best champagne, chilled without any accompaniments. I want the taste and smell of the champagne to linger n my mouth till dawn.
1 comment
Thanks Jane. One of the best Champagne post and a view of the whos whos in New year. It’s very important for a connoisseur to be able to demarcate original champagne in gold or light yellow. I like my scotch that way. Amazing post and a peek into lives and culture in New York.