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The holiday season is here so bring on the bubbles!! Champagne, that is. Whatever you’re celebrating, nothing’s more festive to pour. A nice bottle makes the perfect gift for your host or hostess and my Cranberry Champagne Cocktail is a refreshing nod to the season.
Champagne 101
Choosing the right bottle of champagne can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re looking for. My Champagne 101 tips will make sure you pick the right bottle to pop!
First things first, in order to bear the name ‘champagne’ it must be produced in the Champagne region of France. Everything else is simply sparkling wine in the U.S., Prosecco in Italy, Cava in Spain.
Types of Champagne
Brut: Brut is the most common and driest (less sweet) type of champagne. Occasionally you may come across a bottle labeled ‘Extra Brut,’ which is even drier.
Extra Dry: This is where it can get tricky. The term dry, when used to describe other wines, typically means the flavor is not sweet. When applied to champagne it means the opposite! Extra Dry champagne is slightly sweeter than Brut.
Demi-Sec, Doux: These are the sweetest types of champagne.
Choose the champagne you prefer for this Cranberry Champagne Cocktail. If you lean toward sweeter cocktails, pour a Demi-sec. I look for Extra Dry, which is the perfect balance of sweetness for me.
- 4 1/2 cups cranberry juice
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup raspberry liqueur, like Chambord
- 1 750-ml bottle chilled champagne
- Stir cranberry juice, orange juice and raspberry liqueur together in a large pitcher.
- Add champagne then immediately pour into flutes and serve.
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