Here’s Why we Celebrate the New Year with Champagne:
12th December 2019
It could quite possibly be that the first time you got to try Champagne was during a celebration and likely that it was one where you were welcoming in the New Year. The popping of the cork, the clinking of the glasses of freshly poured Champagne along with Auld Lang Syne sang all together as you held hands and a bunch of new year resolutions that you have promised yourself to keep for the year ahead.
So why Champagne for New Year celebrations?
For many of us planning for a New Years Eve party we will have to make sure that we have a bottle of bubbly (or two) in the fridge ready – As the chimes of Big Ben ring out we will be pouring the bubbles and taking a sip or two to welcome in the new year.
“A big debate for many is if the New Year is on the 1st chime of Big Ben or the last ie 12th. It is the 1st as the chimes begin at midnight otherwise the chimes would need to have started 12 seconds before the hour.“
Champagne initially was a drink for the rich and for royalty (the ‘elite’) until when in the 1800’s the price point of the wine declined and so it became more available to the common folk. The wine was seen as an aspirational product and reserved for celebrations.
“These new customers couldn’t afford to drink Champagne as a table wine, but they could afford it for special occasions. Champagne’s production skyrocketed from 300,000 to 20 million bottles per year between 1800 and 1850, as the world started ordering it more and more for ship christenings and new year celebrations… ” BusinessInsider.com
Today in many countries the most popular time to drink Champagne is between Christmas and the New Year celebrations – It is quoted that 25% of the Champagne consumed in the USA annually is between 25th December & 1 January.
What Champagne is best for the New year?
We are spoilt when it comes to Champagne with countless labels on offer at all price ranges from the local supermarkets to specialised wine merchants – The world is not short of Champagne with an annual production now around 300 million bottles.
For those of us busy with our day to day lives and wanting someone else to take care of selecting some fine bottles for us and also respecting our environment by all being Organic or Biodynamic then a new company called Champagne Hub could very well be the safe hands you are looking for.
Focused also on grower Champagne labels, those wineries who are globally recognised as producing unique flavours and better value for money, Champagne Hub has the perfect New Year bubbly solution:
2019 New Years Special Edition:
“Say welcome to 2020 with a lineup of some of the most amazing Grower Champagne available. 3 Bottles from 3 low-volume Producers with a mission of Passion, Harmony and Respect for the environment. All the Champagnes are either Organic or Biodynamic which means that you will find a true expression of the Champagne Terroir. These bottles are produced in very limited numbers and are extremely hard to come by, so make sure to secure your bottles now. The 2019 New Years Special Edition are the following 3 bottles…”
Priced at just 175 euros and able to order safely and securely online via Champagne for New Year 2020.
Christopher Walkey
Co-founder of Glass of Bubbly. Journalist and author focused on Champagne & Sparkling Wines and pairing them with foods.