When the late Madame Lily Bollinger was once asked on which occasions she drank champagne, she replied, “I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. In company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty!”

 

It may have something to do with the bubbles but, as Madame Bollinger suggests, champagne has an uncanny ability to turn any occasion into a celebration. How all the more delightful then, to drink champagne when the occasion is indeed a celebration?

 

Champagne is perfect for Mother’s Day! It is so versatile and goes with every kind of food that a bottle or two will transform your habitual – sometimes compulsory – Mother’s Day luncheon into a splendid memory-making event.

 

You can bring champagne to enjoy throughout the meal or to ring in each course. Here are some of our tips for a sparkling Mother’s Day lunch.

 

Whetting the appetite

Bollinger, Moet & Chandon and Piper-Heidseck are ideal champagnes to have throughout a meal. But a glass of any one of these champagnes as an aperitif is a must. With or without nibbles, they create enthusiasm for what is to come.

 

Make an entrance

For entrée you need champagne that’s soft and delicate and will show off the first jewel of the table, not overpower it.  Georg Jenson Hallmark Cuvee is perfect. It contains hints of lemon and roasted cashews, and its chalky texture provides the right backdrop for a soup, fish or pasta entrée.

 

Mum’s the main attraction?

Given that it’s Mother’s Day, what’s better than G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge for main course? With a name like that, this champagne might be impossible to pass up. Its notes of dried fruit and nuts makes it wonderfully harmonious with any roast dish. But if you’re having that perennial Sunday lunch favourite – roast lamb – then we recommend taking a whirl on some sparkling pinks like Veure Ambal Curvee Rose or Chandon Brut Rose – both will pay marvelous tribute to a succulently pinkish roast lamb.

 

Wicked combination

We all know that chocolate and champagne make a wicked combination! Actually, champagne with any dessert will always be a wicked combo, so something creamy or less bubbly in style is what to aim for. You certainly won’t go wrong with Charles Heidseck Brut Reserve NV, which is smooth and creamy without being sweet. It goes well with shellfish, but it’s sensational with dessert!

 

And if you’re not staying for lunch, then what’s also great about champagne is that it ideally compliments any other Mother’s Day gift. Why not pair a bottle of superb champagne with an indulgent body care product like any one of Salus’ organic bath salts, soaps or creams? Or for the new mum, then a champagne with Aromababy’s Mother and Baby gift pack would be the ultimate.

 

Sure, you can take along flowers as you’ve done so many times before. But champagne and Mother’s Day? Well, as Madame Bollinger would have insisted, it’s obligatory!