Champagne Wishes

At the end of last week, I had cause for celebration - a big one.

A professional goal I'd pursued for about three years had finally been achieved. Three years of effort, persistence, and the occasional urge to bang my head against a wall had paid off.

Huzzah!

What better way to mark the occasion than raising a glass with a colleague who also happens to be a dear friend?

But not just any glass.

Champagne, darling. Champagne!

Is anything more celebratory than Champagne? There are cocktails, fabulous wines, and other festive pours, but when it comes to declaring that life is grand, Champagne has the market cornered.

Which makes me wonder: Is this simply the result of several hundred years of brilliant marketing by the good people of France's Champagne region? Have generations of savvy French wine producers convinced the world that happiness comes with a cork, a cage, and an impressive price tag?

If so, bravo, mes amis! Job well done.

But marketing genius aside, something about Champagne genuinely makes me giddy: those itty-bitty bubbles dancing across my tongue, delicate floral aromas, the crisp bite of Granny Smith apple, and the interplay of freshness, fruit, and a touch of decadence.

It's happiness in a glass.

Every sip makes me smile, as though I'm either celebrating something spectacular I've accomplished or standing on the precipice of doing something equally fabulous.

Frankly, I'll take either scenario.

The glass pictured above was enjoyed at Tusk Bar at the Evelyn Hotel, a glamorous, Art Deco-inspired spot with stylish mood lighting and a gorgeous bar fashioned from deep olive-green marble. It's the sort of place where you expect someone in a silk smoking jacket to offer you a cigarette from a silver case - in other words, a fabulous setting for celebratory bubbly.

Sharing that glass with someone who understood how much the moment meant made it even better - and admittedly she was the magic force behind this achievement. As much as I adore Champagne, a great friend - a great partner - to toast with is more precious.

So here's to hard work paying off, good friends, the next big achievement, and those marvelous French folks who figured out how to put joy in a bottle.

Now, dear readers, I have a question.

Do you have a favorite Champagne I must try - a producer or bottle that sends you into fits of effervescent ecstasy?

Or, dare I suggest, is there any beverage you find more celebratory than Champagne? Perhaps a perfectly aged Scotch, a dazzling cocktail, or something wildly unexpected?

I'm open to persuasion.

Preferably with a glass in hand.

Santé!