Let’s just get this out of the way: Sommeliers know how to party. What with their long hours and late nights, they’ve earned the right. But let’s not forget how well stocked they are compared with the rest of us mortal winos, wines from around the world at arm’s length, no matter how prized or rare. Who better to query then for some New Year’s Eve advice? I asked local sommeliers Sarah Clarke of the Mozzaplex, Kathryn Weil Coker of the Rustic Canyon-plex, Matthew Kaner of the Bar Covell-opolis, and Jared Hooper of Faith & Flower, for some holiday sparkling wine guidance.

To share with family

When Mozza’s Sarah Clarke goes to her cousin’s house in Pasadena for her family’s annual holiday celebration, she’s obliged to bring the wine, of course, for herself, uncles, aunts and parents — but she gears some of her efforts toward her cousin’s children, all in their 20s and dipping their toes into the wine and beer scene. “They’re pretty sophisticated,” she says. “They’re into craft beers, and natural wines; dare I say it, slightly hipster in a good way.”

So while the grownups luxuriate in grower/producer Champagnes, such as the estate grown J. Lassalle non-vintage Brut Cachet d’Or (about $37), she plans to bring the cousins a Prosecco called Le Vigne di Alice Brut Rosé Osé (about $22) from a small winery run by two sisters-in-law, Cinzia Canzian and Pier Francesca Bonicelli. Named for the winemaker’s grandmother, they blend in a bit of marzemino to make a vividly red, strawberry-scented, quaffable party wine.


Kathryn Weil Coker of Cassia, Rustic Canyon, and the Esters Wine Bar has a similar go-to for parties, a sparkling Malvasia Bianca from the California winery Onward, made by Faith Armstrong (about $25). “It’s fresh and floral, dry with a little yeasty character, good with food, nice on its own.” The other wine she’s sure to bring, especially for her mother, is a sparkling Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. “When she was 16 she spent a summer there, in the village of Segré, just north of Anjou,” says Coker. She hopes to score an older bottle of Foreau’s sparkling Vouvray (about $35). “The Foreau has ripe fruit, but is dry and refreshing with a mineral character from those chalky, tufa soils.”

To share with friends

New Year’s Eve is inevitably a work night for sommeliers, meaning that most celebrate a day late. But the parties start earlier, always involve day-drinking and are generally grander and definitely more voluminous than anything you’ve managed to accomplish the night before.

Each New Year’s Day, Augustine’s Matthew Kaner attends a chicken-and-waffles party thrown by a friend, usually attended by about 15 people. The chicken, he says, is prepared using the Ad Hoc recipe (a Napa Valley restaurant famous for its buttermilk fried chicken), and it’s all washed down with Champagne. “We drink only Champagne,” he says, with emphasis. “We usually drink about two or three cases,” he says, and it’s customary to bring a magnum of something awesome, and then at least one 750 milliliter of something less rarefied. “We want to have a case or two of straight-up brut that’s delicious but won’t break the bank. It’s the perfect day off.”

Often as not Jared Hooper of Faith & Flower is at that party, but if not, he’s still slinging bubbles somewhere. Hooper arrives with wines under his arm — Champagne, or one of his favorite domestic bruts from Santa Lucia Highlands producer Caraccioli (about $50). But for the holiday parties he brings only magnums, the double-sized bottles that signify revelry better than most other bottles. “A magnum means you care,” he says, adding that the bottle itself provides an added visual, gestural element. “I love being that guy,” he says, “spinning around the room, topping off glasses, pouring out the love.”


To hoard

Every somm I spoke to had at least one bottle they’d keep in reserve, a wine with the style and the grandeur to make the occasion transform from special to unforgettable. Of course not all of us will have access to a vintage 1969 Dom Ruinart of the sort that Kaner sometimes procures and pours at his temple to older vintages, Augustine, in Sherman Oaks.

It might be hard to score the rare Selosse ‘Initial’ Blanc des Blancs that Weil Coker and her husband will uncork to start their evening once the baby’s been put to bed (about $200), or the Andre Clouet non-vintage “1911” Champagne that Clarke hopes to procure, another unicorn produced in small quantities to commemorate the year riots broke out in Champagne between farmers and larger producers.

But you can get Billecart-Salmon NV Rosé and enjoy one of the most lauded sparkling rosés on the planet (about $75, or $160 for a magnum). Or the ever graceful, nimble, majestic 2006 Dom Perignon Brut (about $170; or $400 and up for a magnum) and bring in the New Year with the sort of aplomb it deserves. Or you can get Krug. Everyone I spoke to mentioned Krug Grande Cuvée as the finest of the Grandes Marques, a wine that’s not only luxurious but elusive, layered and complex, bringing your celebration to another echelon of extravagance — if you can find it in your heart to share (about $180, or $400 for a magnum).

Where to buy some of the wines mentioned

J. Lassalle’s NV Brut Cachet d’Or is available at Everson Royce, Silver Lake Wines, Mission Wines and John & Pete’s. Onward’s Malvasia Bianca is available at Lou Wine Shop, Bar & Garden, and Domaine LA. Caraccioli’s NV Brut is at Wine Exchange, Wine House and Hi Time Wine Cellars.


For the Grandes Marques: Dom Perignon, Krug, Selosse, and Billecart-Salmon — most of the larger retail stores, such as Woodland Hills, Wine House, Wally’s, Mission Liquors and K&L, will have something special for you to pour.

Wine Expo in Santa Monica carries a huge and multifarious selection of sparkling wines. Be sure to inquire about magnums.

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