4th Annual Champagne Tasting
Champagne		Vintage	Rank	Cost
Pol Roger-Sir Win Church		1990	1st	150
Heidsieck – Diamant Blue		1989	2nd	70
Bollinger Grand Annee		1990	3rd	80
Salon		1988	4th	140
Phillipanot – Brut		NV	5th	35
Moet – Brut Imperial		NV	6th	40
Veuve La Grand Dame		1990	7th	150
Cook’s		NV	8th	8

3rd Annual Champagne Tasting
Champagne		Vintage	Rank	Cost
Pol Roger Chardonay		1990	1st	82
Argyle blanc-de-blanc		1995	2nd	30
Bollinger R.D.		1985	3rd	150
Veuve La Grande Dame		1990	4th	150
Pommery Louise		1990	5th	120
Billecart Salmon Rose		NV	6th	60
Charles Heidsieck Rose		1985	7th	65
Laurent Perrier Rose		NV	8th	55

2nd Annual Champagne Tasting
Champagne		Vintage	Rank	Cost
Veuve La Grande Dame		1989	Tie for 1st	110
Krug		1989	Tie for 1st	145
Bollinger Grande Annee		1990	3rd	65
Iron Horse Wedding		1990	4th	40
Perrier Jouet		1990	5th	80
Roederer L’Ermitage		1992	6th	30
Nicholas Feuillatte		1990	7th	40
Tattinger		1989	8th	120

1st Annual Champagne Tasting
Champagne		Vintage	Rank	Cost
Veuve La Grande Dame		1989	1st	95
Roederer Cristal		1990	Tie for 2nd	120
Charles Heidsieck		NV	Tie for 2nd	25
Krug		NV	4th	110
Bollinger Grande Annee		1989	5th	55
Argyle		1992	6th	15
Dom Perignon		1990	7th	85

For 16 years, we have hosted an annual champagne/sparkling wine tasting.  It started very simply – a few friends asked me if I would procure some champagne and put together a blind tasting with prices ranging from high to low, and have the group split the cost.

Over the years the party has evolved, the locations have changed, the food has improved dramatically (I started this as bachelor, and added my wife to the experience about four years in), but there are a few die-hard fans of this festive evening that have been with us nearly since the beginning.  There have been years when we even tried to take a hiatus, but those same faithful few cajoled us into pushing on through.  The party is nearly always held in November, and for many friends it heralds the start of the holiday party season.

One thing that has always remained the same is the end of evening voting.  People take copious notes throughout the tasting, and by show of hands, the guests vote for their best and worst of the night and then we unveil the picks.  We hand out a guide to all of the wines from the evening, including vintages and costs, and from there, our guests can procure their favorites – or be glad that they were able to partake in wines that they might not otherwise purchase on their own.

That’s one of the things I particularly like about the evening – most of the time when people enjoy champagne, it’s for a special occasion and it’s easy to believe that every bottle you drink is the best bottle you’ve had.  But taste them side by side, and the subtleties start to come out – by the fourth and fifth wines in a line-up of 10-12, people have definite opinions.  As we go, we discuss the characteristcs of masculine vs. feminine champagnes, and it’s fascinating to watch as people begin to claim their favorites.

Of course, my favorite part of the evening is watching my wife pick the same champagnes that I like – we’ve done this long enough now that she can pick Krug blind out of a line-up nearly every time it’s included.  That makes a husband proud – and happy to stock his cellar with more!