Wedding Champagne

[Tigger]

Probably a tedious and over-asked question, but I need advice for champagne to serve at my wedding... I have a deal with a friend who has informed me that he'll get us a case of ANYTHING we ask for.... so, folks, if you could have that anything, what would it be? I know little about champagne but we will be serving hors d'eouvre far -- foie gras, beluga caviar, cheeses and fruit, some seafood... only nineteen people including the two of us so we're going all out.

[Randy Caparoso]

Here's the upshot: most of the finest French Champagnes are already sold out between now and next Feb. or March. Residuals of the millennium madness.

But if a case of something can be found, here are some of the best known, and most widely distributed, "tete de cuvees" (or top-of-the-lines), which generally run between $75 and $175 a bottle, depending:

Full, fleshy, strongly yeasted styles:
Louis Roederer "Cristal"
Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame"
Bollinger "RD"

Medium weight, rich and elegant styles:
Krug "Grande Cuvee"
Moet & Chandon "Cuvee Dom Perigon"

Delicate, extraordinarily refined styles:
Perrier Jouet "Fleur de Champagne"
Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Blanc de Blancs

Congrats ahead of time!