How to Choose the Right Champagne for Your Wedding

Weddings and Champagnes – outside of the couple tying the knot, is there a perfect pair? The bottle of bubbly is a true celebratory beverage that has been a witness to countless toasts for both the freshly engaged, and the just married. And just like your spouse-to-be, choosing the right one can be trial and error.

The venue’s size, your budget, and your preferences are all considerations when selecting the perfect bottle of Champagne. Often forgotten, however, is how wedding themes and styles can also influence your choice of toast. Here, we share tips on how you can navigate between the bottles to choose the right Champagne that truly highlights your wedding theme.

Know before you taste
If you’re new to wedding traditions, it’s important to remember that Champagne is a type of sparkling wine but not all sparkling wines are Champagne. To acquire this label, the bottle must be made in the Champagne region in the northeast of France following the Appellation d’Origine Controlée (AOC) regulations.

You’ll also find the bottles labeled to describe its sweetness, ranging from the nectar-sweet doux to the driest of them all, extra brut. Although champagne is typically a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, some are made exclusively from Chardonnay (Blanc de Blancs) or from Pinot Noir/Meunier (Blanc de Noirs).

Taste before you buy
Although you can get as many recommendations for different labels, it’s important to work with your palate too. Champagne tastings allow you to get acquainted with the different ranges of the sparkling wine.

It’s a great opportunity to try out different glasses of the sparkling wine before splurging on bottles for your wedding. Having your caterer with you at the tasting also helps in curating a reception menu that pairs best with the Champagne of choice.

A burst of freshness for destination weddings
Summer offers plenty of opportunities for beachside destination weddings. To match this romantic escape, opt for an enlivening brut that brings cool in the warmer temperature. Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé is a refreshing choice that offers gentler spice accents and forward fruit flavors. Plus, it comes in a luminous color that shines under the tropical sun.

With its soft bubbles and fruity and light taste, Taittinger Brut Reserve NV Champagne, on the other hand, adds a zesty, fresh vibe to the wedding toast perfect for engaging pre-ceremony soirees with close family and friends.

The scent of rustic weddings
BBJ Linen shares that rustic weddings take advantage of the season’s beautiful organic elements. So when it comes to the Champagne, opt for those that capture the season’s harvest with complex aromas. Vintage should be an easy choice if you’re looking to splurge, but non-vintage Champagne work just as well.

Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve, for example, has a distinctive aroma of ripe pear with hints of cut hay that recall autumn’s changing colors. Bollinger’s golden-colored Special Cuvée, on the other hand, is an inexpensive classic with the wafting scent of roasted apples and peaches, but with a brighter flavor that’s perfect for more casual, rustic affairs.

A classic for winter
Although red wine has been traditionally associated with winter, couples who choose to tie-the-knot during the holiday season will find that Champagne is perfect year-round. This cooler weather certainly calls for a bolder beverage. Blanc de Noirs is perfect for wintry celebrations. Because they’re made from pinot – or a blend of pinots – that give it power, body, and a broad aromatic palate, a glass of this bubbly can make Yuletide-inspired weddings warmer and cozier after the toast. Opt for bottles with a forward red fruit character and accents of gingerbread notes for a decisively festive celebration.

Rose for romance
Nothing beats a bottle of Rosé Champagne – everyone’s favorite pink drink – for a romantic or vintage-themed wedding. And if you’re looking for an iconic label, then a magnum of Moët & Chandon Impérial Rosé delivers the sophistication of the world-renowned Champagne house with its seductive palate and bright fruitiness. Its pink color and amber highlights compliment sophisticated wedding receptions that put emphasis on breathtaking decor and personalized design.

However, those who truly want to impress guests will not go wrong with the highly-reviewed Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé – an elegantly flavored rosé in a radiant pink that made for lovely, spring weddings.