Tying the Knot With Bubbles

You can practically hear the clinking already. In June, July and August, when almost one-third of the annual 2.3 million weddings in the United States will take place, countless revelers will raise a traditional champagne toast.

With the national average cost of a wedding now topping $25,000, and with half of that being spent on the reception, and with half of that being spent on alcohol . . . well, let's just say there'll be a whole lot of bubbly-shopping and -popping over the next few months.

But all those newlyweds may or may not be toasting with traditional champagne from the French region of Champagne. Although Brendan Cox, executive chef of Notti Bianche and Circle Bistro restaurants, and his wife, Leslie, got their 2001 party started at the Morrison House in Alexandria with a magnum of 1996 Bollinger Grande Annee, they poured Bisol Prosecco later in the evening. Ellen and Todd Gray, co-owners of Equinox restaurant downtown, served Oasis Brut sparkling wine at their 1995 wedding at Virginia's Tarara Winery before moving on to Zardetto Prosecco.

Nevertheless, sales of sparkling wines from Champagne and elsewhere around the globe are booming, thanks to consumers' growing enthusiasm for bubbly wines in general.

The Washington-based Office of Champagne reports that champagne shipments to the United States rose 12 percent from 2005 to 2006, the fifth consecutive annual increase. Strong growth in the rosé category -- which represents just 5 percent of the wine produced in Champagne -- accounted for nearly one-third of the increase. Spokesman Marc Destito credits growing consumer awareness of the food-friendliness of still and sparkling rosés, among other reasons.

"Still rosé has also lost the stigma it once had, which has opened the door for rosé in the champagne market," Destito says. "In addition, our research shows that women tend to be the primary purchasers of wine in their household, and that women -- including brides-to-be -- tend to gravitate toward rosé."

Color didn't play much of a role in our choice to serve peach-hued Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee from Sonoma at our 1990 wedding at chef Lydia Shire's Boston restaurant Biba. We were swayed by its rave from Biba's sommelier -- and its name. We loved the idea of serving magnums of a "Wedding Cuvee" and, because we were paying for the wedding ourselves, we especially loved the cost-per-ounce savings that magnums of sparkling wine can offer. A pinot noir-dominant blend, Iron Horse has a taste reminiscent of strawberries and cream. Indeed, this wine is so food-friendly that we served it throughout our wedding reception -- accompanying fare from mini-pierogi hors d'oeuvres to tandoori chicken -- and have enjoyed it on several August wedding anniversaries since with tuna or wild salmon.

Had money been no object, sure, we might have opted to serve the legendary Dom Perignon Champagne. But although the best names in Champagne still sparkle, it's also worth checking out some of the better values from the region, including offerings from producers such as Charles Heidsieck, Drappier, Duval-Leroy, Lanson and Louis Roederer.

Then again, when it comes to champagne, value is a relative concept. Champagne Delamotte might be one of the Champagne region's best-kept secrets. Its sister Champagne Salon, a rich, complex wine that costs hundreds of dollars a bottle -- when you can even find it -- has taken on cult status because of winemaker Didier Depond's extreme selectivity when it comes to the matter of declaring a vintage year. In non-vintage years, the grapes are turned into the impressive NV Champagne Delamotte Brut and Brut Rosé, which many insiders consider to be steals at $50 and $77, respectively.

Another sleeper champagne, NV Champagne Henriot ($35), has even been mistaken for Dom Perignon at first sip. This 100 percent chardonnay champagne is elegant and surprisingly complex, especially at just a small fraction of the other's price.

While in a whole different category, the refreshing taste -- and price -- of Italian prosecco adds to its appeal for summer drinking, at a wedding or otherwise. Mionetto Prosecco Brut ($15) aced our recent prosecco tasting for its food-friendliness with fried calamari, chicken Caesar salad and grilled salmon with lemon butter sauce.

Selecting a sparkling wine for such a momentous occasion can be stressful, so it's comforting to keep in mind that even champagne aficionados will attest that there are more important aspects to your wedding day than what you drink.

Author Ed McCarthy ("Champagne for Dummies") and his master-of-wine wife Mary Ewing-Mulligan, with whom we shared dinner last month at the Inn at Perry Cabin during the fifth annual St. Michaels Food & Wine Festival, confessed that they don't recall which champagne was served when they tied the knot on Long Island in 1983.

However, Ewing-Mulligan said, "we both remember the best champagne of our honeymoon: 1975 Krug, which a sommelier served us begrudgingly at a restaurant in the Dordogne region of France, because he said it was too young. We ordered a second bottle!"

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are the award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat," the first book to be named both the IACP cookbook of the year and the Georges Duboeuf wine book of the year. They can be reached through their Web site,http://www.becomingachef.com, or atfood@washpost.com.