Nothing quite tastes of celebration like champagne. All bubbly and luxurious, it's the kick-start to the parties that matter. From sports podiums to IPOs, from weddings to store openings, cheers is invariably said with a champagne flute held aloft.
With this in mind, and given the countdown is on to New Year's Eve, we thought we'd assemble a panel of experts to blind taste eight varieties from the Champagne region in northeast France.
For many people, knowledge of champagne starts and ends with the brand. So four of those tasted last week are well-known brands - Bollinger Special Cuvee (HK$517) Moet & Chandon Brut NV(HK$328), Pol Roger Brut NV (HK$330) and Krug Grand Cuvee (HK$1,000).
The other four are not so well known but are champagnes that wine distributors believe could compete with the best. These bottles were Baron Fuente Traditional Brut (HK$280), Laurent-Perrier Brut (HK$412), wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd's standard champagne (HK$271) and Delamotte Brut NV (HK$300).
All the champagnes tasted were non-vintage bottles commonly found at stores across the city.
The champagnes were judged on the usual characteristics of appearance, aroma, body and finish. But the tasters were told to put special emphasis on taste, which is what drinking is all about at the end of the day.
On the panel were Sovereign Art Foundation director Tiffany Pinkstone and Nicholas Pegna, the head of wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd. Creash Wong, chief sommelier at the Royal Garden hotel, who was this year voted Hong Kong's best sommelier in a poll of his peers, also took part, as did the editor of the South China Morning Post's Good Food guide, Victoria Burrows. Rounding off the panel were wine collectors Eric Lee and Barry Tam.
