Most of us are like twitchy squirrels when it comes to consuming Champagne and its more affordable cousins (see page 49), storing it up for special occasions or using it as an aperitif rather than treating it like the willing flavor and mood booster that it is.
In fact, insiders not only enjoy bubbly more freely; they drink it throughout a meal. Dry versions play nicely with almost any savory dish and have a natural affinity for salty tastes such as nuts, olives, and soy sauce, as well as for fried miracles such as calamari and pommes frites. Its cold temperature and moderate alcohol will also take some of the “pow” out of kung pao chicken and other spicy fare, as I elaborate on in the next chapter.
But what about bubbles after a meal? It often surprises drinkers that many major Champagne houses make semisweet (labeled “demi-sec”) or fully sweet (i.e., doux) styles, which—in contrast to today’s penchant for dry bubbly—was the dominant style of the nineteenth century. My favorites, Taittinger Nocturne and Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec, will send you off into the night with sweet sparkle.
Even better, and more consistent with today’s calorie consciousness, is to serve dry Champagne at the end of a meal. Wine pros have traditionally discouraged people from doing this because a sweet dessert such as apple pie and a dry wine like brut Champagne tend to clash on the palate. But there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy a dry Champagne with a lightly sweet dessert or, even better, as a palate-cleansing meal ender in itself. It is the wine equivalent of a refreshing lemon sorbet. I tell my audiences that one of the great pleasures is giving a meal “Champagne bookends.”