Champagne in Russia is associated with holidays and fun. Few people manage to celebrate the New Year without this drink. However, not everyone can imagine what the champagne is combined with.
We can say that champagne is a versatile drink. It can be served as an aperitif, combined with main courses and even desserts. However, in this case, it is important to correctly compose the menu.
Cold snacks
First of all, you need to abandon harmful stereotypes and stop eating champagne with chocolates. The pronounced taste of chocolate and its strong aroma completely drown out the delicate taste of champagne, not allowing you to enjoy it to the fullest. A suitable champagne snack is small canapé sandwiches with red or black caviar, such a combination of flavors will delight any gourmet. Fruit can be a wonderful addition to champagne. It is best to combine this drink with peaches, pears and strawberries. Keep in mind that too sweet or sour fruits interrupt the taste of the drink, so it is better to skip pineapple.
Champagne, like almost any wine, goes very well with cheese. Cheddar and Gouda go well with any champagne, while Edam is best complemented by semi-sweet sparkling wines.
Main courses and desserts
Champagne will perfectly complement the main courses of poultry and white meat. But it should be noted that too fatty, spicy or simply smoked dishes do not go well with this drink, since they easily interrupt its delicate taste. The same applies to very spicy foods.
Brut and rosé champagne go well with seafood and fish dishes. The combination of these drinks and lean red meat can be interesting. It should be borne in mind that heavy "boiled" salads seasoned with mayonnaise are poorly combined with champagne. If sparkling wine is the main alcoholic drink on your holiday table, give preference to Italian salads with lots of greens and light dressings, they go well with champagne.
Not all desserts go well with sparkling wines. They should not be served with chocolate and chocolate pastries. Better to stay on sponge cakes or pastries with light cream and lots of berries and fruits. The combination of ice cream and champagne can seem quite interesting, especially if you use fruit sorbets rather than ice cream. It should be borne in mind that the same rule works here as with fresh fruit - sorbets should not be too sweet or too sour. It is best to serve semi-dry champagne for dessert.
