Wine and bubbly pairings for hamburger

Hi,

Last year was the 25th anniversary of Grace Kelly's demise memorialized in a lengthy magazine article. I didn't read this article, though a friend has been rhapsodizing on Grace's favorite dinner with her girlfriends: champagne and hamburgers.

I like the concept, too. I also want to buy the smart choice of bubbly, whether it is champagne or sparkling wine, and hopefully not break the bank. Hamburger is relatively inexpensive and champagne can be the polar opposite. I recall Pigmon selecting a Spanish sparkling wine for the Ed's Potsticker holiday party that was inexpensive (less than $10 a bottle) and a crowd pleaser.

I look forward to any suggestions, because I want to walk into Sam's or Binny's prepared. At Costco it is totally DIY and frankly this is not my area of expertise. I just don't want to buy just to buy and learn later there were better choices.

Regards,

Spanish Cava is a lovely wine, and can be a very good value. They sell a perfectly reasonable bottle of Segura Viudas for around $7 or $8 at Trader Joe's. Cristallino is in the same price range and very widely available. I like the Segura better, though Cristallino is nice too.

Wine Discount on Elston often has a nice selection of Cavas, so you could try a few and see which you like best. I definitely like some better than others.

As long as you don't expect Cava to be Champagne, and appreciate it for its own merits, you'll be fine.

Just a lovely image to set the mood...

One of my favorite inexpensive sparkling wines is Gruet, fron New Mexico. The Blanc de Noirs is currently 12.99 at Binnys. Here's a link to a recent discussion of Gruet which you might find interesting:

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/sho ... ight=gruet

The Roederer Estate is also consistently good, but it's closer to $17.

The Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico (also about $12) represents a good value for Italian sparkling wine.

i'd go with something to the dry side, rather than the sweet side.

Cava Brut 1+1=3 is a great drink
Schramsburg Blanc de Blanc usually goes on sale regularly
Heck, you can drink what I'm pretty sure she was drinking on the road- Moet Chadon White Star- the most drank champagne in the world.

leek wrote:Spanish Cava is a lovely wine, and can be a very good value.

Absolutely!

Recently, a small group if us did a blind tasting of a wide cross-section of rosés ranging in price from about $55 for the Laurent-Perrier all the way down to the Cristalino (Spain) for about $5.
After all was said and done, the biggest surprise was the Casteller cava rosé (Spain) for around $8. Although nothing we had came close in quality and depth to the $55 Laurent Perrier rosé (France), the Casteller cava for about $8 was easily the best value and, more importantly, quite enjoyable.

If you're open to a rosé, this is worth a try.

BTW Cathy, the wine served at the holiday party was the Cristalino.

it's not a champagne rose, but have you had the sergio prosecco rose? it's incredible, especially for the price.

HI,

What are the best temperatures to serve these Champagnes and Cavas? Ice cold? Refrigerator cold? Refrigerator cold but standing outside for a while?

Thanks!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

What are the best temperatures to serve these Champagnes and Cavas? Ice cold? Refrigerator cold? Refrigerator cold but standing outside for a while?

Thanks!

Regards,

Champagne/Cava all gets served between about 40-19 degrees- so cold, but not freezing cold. What I normally do is I keep a bottle in the fridge, then about 5 or so minutes before it's time to drink I pull it out and open it. Then I pour a glass, put it on ice, and let it sit. A few minutes later it's ready to drink from the glass and your bottle will stay cool, but close to the right temp.

Few tricks on opening champagne if you're not used to it. Remove the outside wrapper and look for the circle pull to take off the cage. Turn it 6 turns and it will release, but wait, leave that cage on the top. With a towel in your hand cover the cage and use the spokes of the cage to rotate the cork. It will pop out but not shoot all over your house destroying god knows what and scaring your dog Grace. Wait, I digress. Anyways, this is what I consider to be the best home method for opening because the cage provides a nice grip on the cork to loosen it (some of those corks get in there really tightly) and it keeps the cork from flying.

One more word about keeping the bottle chilled- if it's too cold (sub 32 or so) then your champagne is going to flow out of the bottle when the pressure is released. I don't keep my fridge that cold so it's not much of a worry for me.

The method of making champagne is very very interesting, it's worth doing some reading on. It's very complex and very hard to do correctly. There are only a few places in the US doing methode champinois (sp?) really well. I only know of one, Schramsburg, that hand riddles their bottles.

HI,

I recall seeing a thread, by Pigmon I think or maybe it was you, on the advantages and chemistry of buying a magnum over a bottle. You're right it is indeed interesting to read up sometime.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

I recall seeing a thread, by Pigmon I think or maybe it was you, on the advantages and chemistry of buying a magnum over a bottle. You're right it is indeed interesting to read up sometime.

Regards,

It wasn't me, and I'm not sure that I've ever heard that. Frankly I don't keep many magnums around because it's mainly my fiancee and myself drinking together and the last thing we need is an addtional bottle of wine to consume. Also magnums are really hard to store without a dedicated space, and while renting we just don't have that. We won't until we buy something.

Cathy,

Here's something of an explanation regarding champagne in 750's vs. magnums:
http://www.thewinenews.com/decjan0506/comment.asp

In my experience, I would generally drink cavas and proseccos at a colder temperature than a good bottle of champagne as it hides some of the less desirable tastes. I think 50 degrees is a more desirable temperature for a decent bottle of champagne.

I can't say that I really "get" the hamburgers/Champagne concept, but speakin simply about tasty less expensive sparklers, I have enjoyed the Gruet. A lot of people speak highly of Rotari at the lower end. (I think I had it once but have no memory from which to comment.)
Something in the middle to look into, if you're near a real wine shop is sparkling Alsacians, which can fall in the $15 range. Very crisp, very dry. I'm rather fond of them. Iron Horse also makes a variety of good sparkling wine in the $20 range. We had the "Wedding Cuvee" at our wedding.

I second the Segura Viudas recommendation. Try the Brut Rose, its very nice.

I read somewhere that Marilyn Monroe used to like champagne & potato chips. Oh, wait, I think that was her character in Seven Year Itch. I tried it once...it wasn't bad.

Liz in Norwood Park wrote:I second the Segura Viudas recommendation. Try the Brut Rose, its very nice.

I read somewhere that Marilyn Monroe used to like champagne & potato chips. Oh, wait, I think that was her character in Seven Year Itch. I tried it once...it wasn't bad.

Schramsberg Mirabelle is a perfect match to buttered popcorn.

Hi,

Yesterday I went to Sam's in Highland Park with plans to purchase Pigmon's recommended Casteller cava rosé (Spain) and jpschust's recommended Schramsberg Mirabelle for buttered popcorn. Neither was available at my local Sam's, I bought instead two bottles of Pigmon's recommended Cristalino (Spain) for around $7. each. Everyone enjoyed the Cristalino very much and were pleased it was so affordable.

I had a friend picked up Moet Chadon White Star for $29 at Costco, which never was drunk. It might have been drunk had it been chilled quicker possibly, though I don't think anyone really missed it.

BTW - I used the snow piled up around my front door to chill the bottles.

Thank you all for offering me intelligent choices. I am certain I would have not done so well without your help.

Regards,

The method of making champagne is very very interesting, it's worth doing some reading on. It's very complex and very hard to do correctly. There are only a few places in the US doing methode champinois (sp?) really well. I only know of one, Schramsburg, that hand riddles their bottles.

One of my favorite childhood memories was touring the Schrmsburg vineyard. I don't remember how often they turn the bottles but just the fact that they do it by hand and how much quanity they produce, it's pretty amazing.

pizano345 wrote:

The method of making champagne is very very interesting, it's worth doing some reading on. It's very complex and very hard to do correctly. There are only a few places in the US doing methode champinois (sp?) really well. I only know of one, Schramsburg, that hand riddles their bottles.

One of my favorite childhood memories was touring the Schrmsburg vineyard. I don't remember how often they turn the bottles but just the fact that they do it by hand and how much quanity they produce, it's pretty amazing.

The don't riddle everything, just a small portion of what they make. I believe it's just the reserve. I'm going to guess this practice will probably stop for good after their current riddler retires. There are very few riddlers left in the world. Bottles can be machine riddled now as well.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Yesterday I went to Sam's in Highland Park with plans to purchase Pigmon's recommended Casteller cava rosé (Spain) and jpschust's recommended Schramsberg Mirabelle for buttered popcorn. Neither was available at my local Sam's, I bought instead two bottles of Pigmon's recommended Cristalino (Spain) for around $7. each. Everyone enjoyed the Cristalino very much and were pleased it was so affordable.

I had a friend picked up Moet Chadon White Star for $29 at Costco, which never was drunk. It might have been drunk had it been chilled quicker possibly, though I don't think anyone really missed it.

BTW - I used the snow piled up around my front door to chill the bottles.

Thank you all for offering me intelligent choices. I am certain I would have not done so well without your help.

Regards,

Moet is not bad, and it's nice that they sell it at Costco. It's far from my favorite champagne out there (I really hate buying from the big houses) but it's a solid choice for consistency. The bottles you drink today taste very close to those from 30 years ago because of their massive blending.