What and how to drink for the New Year

Video: What and how to drink for the New Year

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:37

To help you meet the holiday fully armed, we talked with a specialist in alcoholic beverages. Meet Anna Sviridenko, sommelier of the Stroganoff Steak House restaurant, multiple participant of professional competitions, winner of the 19th St. Petersburg Sommelier 2011 competition.

Pearl strings in a glass

Anna, New Year is approaching, a holiday that traditionally does not go without alcohol. Let's start with the main thing: what is better to choose for the festive table?

I would recommend sticking with 1-2 booze options - the less you mix, the better. A classic New Year's drink is champagne, a combination with wine is permissible. But our people usually do not stop there, and if one cannot do without strong drinks, it is better to choose a folk alcohol - vodka. It goes well with the traditional Russian menu - hot meat dishes, herring under a fur coat, boiled potatoes.

Limit yourself to one strong alcohol option. Wine and other drinks will be bad neighbors. Traditional champagne can only be sipped - a few symbolic sips to the chimes. With this development of events, you have a chance not to feel all the delights of a January 1st hangover.

Champagne for every taste and budget

Econom tariff (300-400 rubles):

In this category, alcohol experts recommend looking not for a spectacular name, but for inconspicuous words on the bottle: "Method Classic" or "Methodo Classico". They mean that the drink is made in a classic way of secondary fermentation in a bottle, without artificial carbonation. The taste qualities of such champagne will be at a quite decent level, despite the democratic price. This section includes:

- "Massandra", "New World" (Ukraine);

- Prosecco (Italy);

- some varieties of Chilean sparkling wine.

Surely many of our readers will prefer romantic champagne to brutal drinks. What varieties would you recommend?

First of all, it is necessary to determine the price category of the drink. Buying champagne for less than 250 rubles seems to me unreasonable. It is unlikely that you will be able to enjoy the taste and aroma of this alcohol. I advise you not to take Russian champagne.

Are you that unpatriotic?

The point is completely different: in our country, the method of artificial carbonation is often used in the manufacture of this drink. The result is a deterioration in taste, a different play of bubbles, rapid intoxication and headache in the morning. By the way, real champagne is produced only in Champagne, a province of France. Everything else is sparkling wines.

Bubble Game sounds very professional. The more, the better the drink?

Sparkling wine made by injecting carbon dioxide contains many large bubbles that do not give us the pleasure of a slight tingling of the tongue, but aggressively burst to the surface and irritate the nasopharynx (like highly carbonated water).

In champagne and other sparkling wines made by secondary fermentation in a bottle, the bubbles are smaller. They give a pleasant sensation and move slowly, mesmerizing - like pearl threads.

A very poetic description

I believe that the main purpose of alcoholic beverages is not to introduce people into a state of intoxication, but to give them pleasant sensations - gustatory, olfactory and aesthetic. Decent options can be found in every price category.

Brut is the head of everything

There are many different types of champagne in stores now: sweet, semi-sweet, brut … Which one is better to choose?

I would recommend choosing dry champagne - brut (up to 6 g / l of sugar) or brut still (aka brut zero) - (less than 3 g / l of sugar).

One gets the impression that he is not favored in Russia

This is true, our people prefer sweet wines. I have to point out: sugar is usually just a way to mask the flaws in the drink. True connoisseurs of noble wines and champagne choose dry varieties - they have brighter and more individual characteristics for each brand, a multifaceted flavor and aromatic palette. These wines, in combination with a decent snack, are capable of delivering gastronomic pleasure.

Middle Class tariff (1000-2500 rubles):

Famous brands of Italian and Spanish champagne are an excellent combination of reasonable price and high quality.

- Cava (Spain);

- Franciacorta (Italy);

- Cremant d'Alsace (France).

It is also very important to observe the temperature regime: champagne should be served only chilled (the optimum temperature is + 7-9 degrees C). Place it in the refrigerator a day before use (never in the freezer!). Warm brut really won't give you the sensations that make it so loved in France.

What is better to serve with this drink?

Initially, champagne and sparkling wines are intended as an aperitif (that is, a drink that opens a meal and whet the appetite). From gastronomic combinations, all kinds of seafood are ideal for dry sparkling: caviar, mussels, oysters, smoked red fish, and other sea and river delicacies. Soft, not spicy types of cheese will be good: brie, camembert, goat cheese. Any kind of fruit will also be appropriate.

How to pour champagne correctly?

The glass should be two thirds full. If your guests are planning to drink something stronger later, use only a third of the vessel.

Blondes or brunettes?

By the way, about wine. Question: "white or red?" as relevant as "blondes or brunettes?" So what's the best way to celebrate the change of the year?

Considering that there is usually a wide variety of cold appetizers and salads on the New Year's table, I would advise you to opt for white wine. In any price category, you can find wines from such grape varieties as Sauvignon, Chardonnay. If you want original sensations and a special, romantic atmosphere - choose Rose d'Anjou rosé wine.

What drinks would you not recommend putting on a festive table at all?

From the lungs - beer, it goes very badly with champagne and stylistically does not fit this event. If we are talking about strong alcohol, it is better to refuse cognac. The fact is that this is a classic digestive drink - that is, it is consumed after a meal to complete a meal and improve digestion. The most successful spirits are vodka or whiskey.

VIP tariff (over 3000 rubles):

This category deals primarily with varieties of French champagne. Our list is full of celebrities:

- Franciacorta Cuve Prestige (Italy);

- Champagne Cuve Prestige (France);

- Champagne Dom Perignon vintage (France).

Obviously, we'll leave the cognac for another occasion. And now the most burning question: how much can you still drink to make the New Year's morning good?

Of course, each person has his own norm. But for most, the upper limit followed by a severe hangover is a bottle of wine or half a bottle of champagne. Necessarily with a good, hearty snack!

Why can't you drink as much champagne as wine?

As it was once said in advertising: "It's all about the magic bubbles." Because of them, champagne is absorbed into the blood faster - intoxication will not keep you waiting. Therefore, it is considered an aphrodisiac - it relaxes faster than other alcoholic beverages, gives a feeling of happiness.