December is upon us and that means it’s bubbly time again—time to break out the Champagne or other sparkling wine to celebrate the season with friends and loved ones. After decades of enjoying sparkling wines and going through various phases, we’ve found that we keep coming back to our old favorites, even though we do experiment from time to time. After all, experimentation is how we find the things that become our old favorites over time.

For some time now, our favorite Champagne has been Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. Why? Because it has, for us, the best combination of aroma, flavor and bubble profile for its pricing. While it isn’t cheap by any means (often around the mid–$70s), it also isn’t expensive relative to many of the premium Champagnes on the market today. Ruinart describes its Blanc de Blancs this way—It “embodies purity of the Chardonnay grapes from which it is made exclusively…primarily premiers crus from the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs, it is intensely aromatic. The nose is powerfully reminiscent of fresh fruits with dominant notes of citrus and exotic fruits, followed by a touch of jasmine, white peaches and pink peppercorns.”

Of course, part of this bubbly’s allure for us is that it brings back fond memories. It isn’t our everyday sparkler; we reserve it for special occasions. One such occasion was our 30th wedding anniversary which we celebrated a couple of years ago. For that most special of occasions, I surprised Leah with a journey back to our “honeymoon hotel” (the exact same room, in fact) in Yountville (a quiet little town in Napa Valley). We brought with us the very same Champagne glasses we had taken with us on our wedding night so many years ago and we popped open a chilled bottle of Ruinart as soon as we arrived. It was magical to be there over 30 years ago, and it was magical once again for our 30th anniversary—something we’ll never forget. And toasting ourselves with our favorite Champagne just made the occasion that much more memorable.

So, for the holiday season, grab your favorite sparkler and make some new memories. Cheers!

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