Some prick at my New Year’s party told me that I couldn’t call the stuff I was serving “champagne” because it didn’t come from France. Is he right? And if so, who the fuck cares? I still call my facial tissue “kleenex” even if it’s the store brand. — Darren

Young fellow, your guest was correct in his assertion — even if he behaved incorrectly in bringing such a small faux pas to the attention of his host. To be called Champagne, a sparkling wine must not only be French, it must come from the Champagne region (in the northeast corner, just west of pivotal Alsace and Lorraine).

There are other proprietary names for sparkling wines, too: Cava, which generally comes from Catalonia in Spain, and Prosecco, from Italy’s Veneto region and which is made from the grape of the same name. Both are delightful, less fizzy, alternatives to Champagne. (And please, if you mix a Bellini cocktail, use Prosecco, not Champagne!)

While it is a poorly behaved guest who corrects his host’s jubilant cry of “Champagne!” it is nonetheless vital that standards be maintained. And speaking of which: language, young fellow. Watch your language.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2006 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.