Best Champagne for Mimosas | The Perfect Ingredient
Just this past weekend I was enjoying a mimosa (okay, several mimosas) with my family at brunch when someone observed that the inexpensive sparkling wine the restaurant was using still made a pretty tasty mimosa. Then the thought occurred to me that this was likely a dilemma for many mimosa lovers: What exactly is the Best Champagne for Mimosas?
The Best Champagne for Mimosas Isn’t Actually Champagne!
If you’ve ever asked yourself what the Best Champagne for Mimosas was then I have good news for you… It isn’t actually Champagne! Many people make the common mistake of using real Champagne to make their mimosas but you needn’t spend all of that money to enjoy a perfectly good mimosa.
In the mood for a low-calorie, simple sangria? Check out my Simple Sangria Recipe and discover which wines are best to make sangria with.
The reality is that when you mix Champagne with orange juice, you’re not going to be able to taste the nuances or refined characteristics of the Champagne anyway. So unless you’re very well off and don’t mind spending a fortune on Champagne, I have the perfect ingredient and it’s considerably more affordable.
The Perfect Ingredient
The Best Champagne for Mimosas is actually Cava! Cava is a sparkling wine from the Catalonia region of Spain that is made in the same labor-intensive traditional method whereby the wine undergoes it’s secondary fermentation in the bottle to create it’s bubbles naturally, unlike the cheaper method where wines are made and then pumped with CO2. Spanish Cava is often moderately complex, dry, quite tasty and incredibly affordable.
How to Make The Perfect Mimosa | My Simple Mimosa Recipe!
When making a mimosa, you want to use a sparkling wine that is dry and with strong effervescence to balance the sweetness and the lack of carbonation in the orange juice. This will yield a perfectly balanced mimosa that’s softly sparkling and not overly sweet.
- It’s simple! All you need is orange juice and dry sparkling wine to make the perfect mimosa.
- For best results: Use a dry, inexpensive sparkling wine such as Cava along with fresh squeezed orange juice.
- In a Champagne flute, slowly fill one-half of the glass with sparkling wine. While pouring make sure to tilt the glass in order to preserve it’s effervescence.
- (Tip) The opposite is appropriate when serving simply Champagne or sparkling wine. You want to pour straight into the glass slowly to allow some of the bubbles to dissipate and allow the wine to open up. Think of sipping Pellegrino versus Club Soda, the Pellegrino is far more subtle and pleasant to sip!)
- Then top off with orange juice.
- (Tip) The ideal mimosa should be equal parts sparkling wine and orange juice. If you prefer yours a little sweeter, use less sparkling wine and vice-versa.
- Enjoy and repeat!
Which Cava Should You Buy To Make the Perfect Mimosa? – My Top 3 Picks!
Mimosas are one of my favorite Champagne cocktails and they are incredibly simple to make, and they don’t have to be expensive to make either. Remember that the best champagne for mimosas is Cava. Here are my two favorite options:
Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava – Widely available under $10, this bargain sparkler is an incredible value. It’s dry, rich and moderately complex with good effervescence. You’d probably love sipping it alone, but at this price you don’t have to feel guilty about mixing it with orange juice! It’s my pick as the best champagne to make mimosas. Click for my review and where to buy!
La Granja 360 Brut Cava – At under $7 this Spanish Cava is one of the finest sparkling wine values I’ve discovered. It easily tastes like it costs twice as much as it actually does. Find the La Granja Cava in your local Trader Joe’s Wine Section.
Rondel Brut Cava – Like the Jaume Serra Cristalino and La Granja 360 Cava’s, this is another great option that’s widely available under $10.
Enjoy your Mimosas and Please Share This Post If You Found It Helpful!
