The holiday season is approaching, and it's almost time to get out your finest glasses. Enjoying champagne throughout your meal is possible, but you still need to choose the right pairings for the dishes on offer. Discover Maison Nicolas Feuillatte's tips for wowing your guests with an intoxicating blend of flavors.
Which champagne for the aperitif and starter?
If there is a moment of the meal associated with champagne, it is the aperitif. What better way to welcome your guests than with carefully selected fine bubbles? To start the meal, we look for something easy to drink, on the light side. Blanc de Blancs champagnes are perfect and pair elegantly with fish or seafood dishes. The omnipresence of Chardonnay brings elegance and lightness, for a totally successful champagne / aperitif pairing. Non-vintage Brut champagnes are also recommended for aperitifs and starters. Moreover, if their freshness has long accompanied the first bites of our festive meals, it is anything but a coincidence!
Our suggestions:
- Blanc de Blancs Millésimé, 100% chardonnay, with its citrus notes.
- There Réserve Exclusive Brut, an iconic vintage with notes of pear and apricot.
- The Reserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra-Brut, a mineral champagne with great aromatic richness.
Which champagne for the main course?
If you have chosen to stick to seafood, Blanc de Blancs champagnes or the Extra-brut champagne will delight your guests' taste buds. However, for more generous dishes (especially those with meat or poultry), we'll tend towards vinous champagnes with more body. We're inevitably thinking of champagnes based on Pinot Noir, powerful and structured. The nobility of this grape variety is a perfect match for festive meals.
For this special day, champagnes Millésimés are obviously part of the menu. Both complex and rich, they pair perfectly with dishes with sauces, enhancing your most beautiful evenings.
Our suggestions:
- Grand Cru Millésimé Blanc de Noirs, with its spicy nose and hints of fruit.
- Reserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra-Brut, particularly for seafood or meat dishes.
Which champagne goes with cheese?
Offering champagne with a cheese platter is a wise choice. When deciding which champagne to serve, you should refer to the type of cheese being served. For example, for soft cheeses, it's best to choose a Brut champagne. The sweeter Demi-secs will pair perfectly with sheep's milk cheeses, but also blue cheeses, bringing that very fashionable sweet/salty side. For goat's cheeses and hard cheeses (Comté, Cantal), it's best to choose a Blanc de Blancs champagne.
Our suggestions:
- Reserve Exclusive Demi-sec, to accompany blue cheeses (Roquefort, Fourmes, Gorgonzola, Bleu de Vaqueyras).
- Organic Extra-Brut, notably with goat cheese.
- Reserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra-Brut, with Brillat-Savarin.
Which champagne for dessert?
What type of champagne should I serve with dessert? In most cases, it's paired with a semi-dry champagne. The sweet notes are revealed at the end of the meal, a little treat to finish off beautifully. There are perhaps two exceptions. For chocolate desserts, you can opt for a vintage champagne, whose aromatic palette will effectively crown your event. Finally, for desserts based on red fruits, a touch of originality with a rosé champagne will surprise your guests.
Our suggestions:
Treat yourself with Nicolas Feuillatte vouchers and gift boxes
The holiday season means gifts for loved ones! Maison Nicolas Feuillatte has thought of you with champagne gift boxes which will delight your loved ones if fine bubbles lovers. You can between a gifts set around the Réserve Exclusive Brut with two “Absolus” glasses, warmly recommended by our Cellar Master, or a box to discover our two emblematic champagnes: Réserve Exclusive Brut and Réserve Exclusive Rosé.
Another idea to please your loved ones: we offer gift vouchers including our cellars tours, accompanied by different tasting options. An exceptional opportunity to discover our region, in a unique and enchanting setting.
For an exceptional gift, choose our prestigious champagnes set: Palmes d'Or Millésime Brut or Palmes d'Or Millésime Rosé Intense.
How to choose your champagne?
Find our complete guide to select your Nicolas Feuillatte champagne!
