I change my mind about Valentine’s Day almost every year. Last year, I decided that champagne was a rip-off, but this year I’m not so sure. That’s not to say champagne isn’t overpriced, rather that life is way more complicated than that. After all, we pay too much for everything on Valentine’s Day as it is – champagne, perfume, flowers, meals out – so what to do about it?
The obvious answer is to pretend, ostrich-like, that it isn’t happening, but here’s the thing: however much couples may agree to have no truck with this rampant commercialism, some tiny part of us still likes to be treated. And, drink-wise, that means champagne – and ideally one we’ve heard of, rather than the under-£10 deal we know perfectly well our other half has picked up from Tesco. Big brands know this, which is why at this time of year supermarkets discount household names such as Moët, Lanson and Bollinger.
If you want to save some money, buy the standard non-vintage, rather than rosé. Bollinger’s Special Cuvée (12% abv, ), for example, is currently on offer at £33.74 at Waitrose, instead of its usual £44.99, whereas the rosé version, even after a similar discount, is still £10 more expensive at £43.99 (£45 at Booths). In fact, a better deal would be the lesser known but still pukka-looking Alexandre Bonnet Rosé Brut (12% abv); Waitrose has it on offer at £19.99.
For some reason, English producers don’t seem to feel the same need to bump up the price of their pink fizz, which should perhaps be good reason enough to support them. The Dorset-based Furleigh Estate, say, actually charges less for its award-winning Sparkling Rosé (£25.50 direct from the winery; 12% abv) than it does for its 12% Classic Cuvée (£28.50; mind you, that’s on promotion, for £18.80, at selected Waitrose, and £25.02 at Richard Granger Wines of Newcastle).
If you want something a bit less cliched than rosé, you could do worse than go for one of the new demi-sec-style champagnes such as Moët’s shiny, white Ice Imperial (£54.99 Selfridges; 12% abv), which is designed to be served over ice with fresh fruit, cakes and macarons. Or Taittinger’s lusciously peachy Nocturne Sec (12% abv), with its flash, gold-and-purple label, which conveniently comes in half-bottles in indies such as The General Wine Company in Liphook, which sells one at £22.79; Lea & Sandeman has the full-size bottle for £37.95, while it’s £40 at John Lewis. Just to make life more complicated, sec is perversely sweeter than brut. All very confusing.
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