A Wedding Ethnography - The meaning and use of Champagne

Weddings are perfect venues for both sampling various wines and champagnes and for observing social, cultural and familial practices - two of my favorite hobbies. Fletcher and I split up this weekend and went to two different weddings. He was in Maine while I made the trip to Vermont to attend a wedding as the date of a very good friend. She was kind enough to let me take part in what can often become a very intimate and revealing family event.

Needless to say the time I spent with her family was really enjoyable and the insight into wedding decisions and preparations reminded me of one of the most common themes in life (and wine) - almost everything is subjective. The bride and groom lived out their vision of their perfect wedding - pies instead of a cake, potluck instead of a caterer, books as center pieces instead of flowers. Their wedding decisions were reflections of their personal styles, tastes and values. In short, there is no one right way of doing a wedding; it is all a matter of what suits the bride and groom. Similarly there is no one right way to select, drink and enjoy a wine; it is all a matter of what suits the consumer.

One very prevalent and I suspect enduring element of most weddings, no matter how traditional or unconventional the wedding, is the Champagne toast. When I think about Champagne I think about two occasions: New Years and weddings. Champagne at New Years usually comes in a plastic flute and is often gulped down in between the 10 second count down and the stroke-of-midnight hoopla. Wedding Champagne on the other hand has a more reverent place in the celebration. We clink and sip our way through various toasts in honor of the newlywed couple. We drink to happiness and everlasting love. While the toasts are not nearly as sacred as the ceremony and the exchanging of the vows, they do usually play a significant role in the celebration.

So what about the bubbly itself? What does the kind of Champagne served at the wedding say about the bride and groom and their future marraige? Donald and Melania served Magnums of Cristal to their guests. Dottie and John's Champagne of choice was Tattinger. The bride and groom this weekend decided to serve Banrock Station Sparkling Chardonnay (Australia) for their "Champagne." The bottles were chilled in a large 300 gallon stock tank (translation: the neighbor's steel tub normally used to serve their sheep drinking water).

I hope that you will agree with me in believing that there is not necessarily a positive correlation between the quality of the champagne used and the quality of the marriage.

Cheers-Salud-Skaal (click to learn salutations in other languages)

Tasting Notes:
Light, fresh uncomplicated and unpretentious sparkling wine. Great for a toast or two or three. Not something that distracts from the festivities, but something that would appeal to almost everyone in the crowd. Less yeasty, toasty and bitter than Champagne. A great fit for the non-traditional wedding, the casual dinner party or the after work cocktail. 9.99