Champagne near me: CBC Liquors on Littleton Rd, Westford

Champagne is sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France by the traditional method, and CBC Liquors at 142 Littleton Rd in Westford carries it alongside a wider range of sparkling wine. Below you will find how it is made, what brut and sweet mean, which bottle suits a mimosa, how to serve it, and how to pick up, have delivered or have shipped a bottle from us.

What is champagne, and what makes it different from other sparkling wine?

Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, made from grapes grown there. Sparkling wine from anywhere else is not champagne, even when the method is similar. That is why the word Champagne on the label matters if you want the real thing.

The usual grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Chardonnay tends to bring citrus and freshness, while the two red grapes add body and fruit.

Champagne is an alcoholic drink, and most bottles sit at roughly 12 percent alcohol by volume. The exact figure is printed on each label, so check it if you are planning a toast for a group.

If you are happy with bubbles from any region, the sparkling wine section at CBC Liquors gives you more bottles to look through.

How is champagne made?

Champagne starts as an ordinary still wine. The makers blend wines from different grapes, and often from different years, to build the house style.

The blend is then bottled with a little yeast and sugar, which starts a second fermentation inside the bottle. That second fermentation is what creates the bubbles, because the carbon dioxide has nowhere to go. This is called the traditional method.

The bottles then rest on their lees, the spent yeast, for months or years. Longer contact with the yeast tends to add toasty, bready notes. Finally the yeast is removed, and a small mixture of wine and sugar called the dosage is added to set how dry or sweet the finished wine tastes.

That last step is why two bottles from the same maker can taste quite different, and it leads directly to the labels you will see on the shelf.

What do brut, extra dry and sweet champagne mean on the label?

Brut is a dry style with little perceived sweetness. It is the most common style of champagne and a sensible choice when you are buying for a group with mixed tastes.

Sweeter styles use other words. Extra dry is, confusingly, a little sweeter than brut. Sec is sweeter again, and demi-sec is clearly sweet, which suits dessert or guests who prefer a softer glass.

Reserve is a term makers use for wines held to a house standard, often blended from several vintages. It is not a legally fixed grade, so read it as the maker's own description.

If you are asking for a sweet champagne in the shop, say so, and we can point you along the shelf. Our Nicolas Feuillatt bottle below is a brut, so it sits at the dry end.

Which champagne does CBC Liquors carry in Westford?

Two champagnes on our shelf right now are NICOLAS FEUILLATT Reserve Brut Champagne and Henriot Brut Souverain. Both are brut, the dry style described above, and both suit a toast or a dinner.

They sit with the rest of our wine, and the shop has more than 4,500 products from more than 1,800 brands in total, so you can collect the bottles for the rest of the meal on the same visit. Our full wine section is the place to start for that.

The shop is at 142 Littleton Rd, Westford, MA 01886. It is rated 4.7 out of 5 from more than 300 Google reviews, if you would like to see what other customers say before you come in.

Selection changes from week to week, so browse the sparkling wine page online or ask at the counter for the current bottles.

Is prosecco the same as champagne, and which prosecco do you carry?

No. Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine, made mostly from the Glera grape. Most prosecco gets its bubbles in a large tank rather than in the bottle, which tends to give a lighter, fruitier, more floral taste than champagne.

That is also why you will see the two names confused. Both are bubbly, but they come from different countries, grapes and methods, and prosecco is never labeled champagne.

At CBC Liquors we carry La Marca Prosecco, Mionetto Treviso Prosecco, VIVERO Prosecco and La Marca Prosecco Rose. If you want a pink sparkling wine for brunch or a shower, the rosé version is there for that.

For still pink wine, our Rosé page covers that style.

Which sparkling wine is best for mimosas?

A dry, simple sparkling wine works best for mimosas, because orange juice already brings sweetness. A brut, or a dry prosecco, keeps the drink from tasting cloying.

There is no need to reach for a special bottle. The juice covers a lot of the finer detail in a champagne, so many hosts use a prosecco such as La Marca or Mionetto for mimosas and save a French bottle for drinking on its own.

The usual build is about equal parts sparkling wine and chilled orange juice, poured gently into a flute so the bubbles last. Add the wine first, then the juice, to keep the foam down.

For a larger brunch, the party planner page is a good place to start.

How should you serve and store champagne?

Chill it well before opening, usually a few hours in the refrigerator, or about thirty minutes in a bucket of ice and cold water. Cold wine holds its bubbles better and is safer to open.

Hold the cork, turn the bottle slowly rather than the cork, and let the gas escape with a soft sigh instead of a pop. Pour a little first, let the foam settle, then fill the glass about two thirds.

Keep unopened bottles in a cool, dark place away from heat. Heat is the main thing to avoid with sparkling wine: do not leave a bottle in a hot car or by a sunny window, because warmth raises the pressure inside and spoils the taste. Once open, a stopper made for sparkling wine will keep it fresh for a day or so.

For food, a dry champagne works with salty and fried foods, such as potato chips, fried chicken, popcorn or a cheese board, because the acidity and bubbles cut through richness. It also suits oysters, shrimp and eggs at brunch.

Is champagne vegan, and is it a healthy drink?

Not every bottle is vegan. Winemakers sometimes clarify wine with fining agents such as egg white, casein from milk, gelatin or isinglass, which comes from fish. Others use clay, or skip fining altogether. Many makers now print a vegan note on the label or on their website, so check there, or ask us and we will look at the bottle with you.

On the second question, champagne is an alcoholic drink, and we do not make health claims about it. If you have a medical question about alcohol, a doctor is the right person to ask.

What we can tell you is what is in the bottle: the label shows the alcohol percentage, the style such as brut, and the maker, which is the information you need to choose.

Can you get champagne from CBC Liquors by pickup, delivery or shipping?

Yes. Besides walking in, CBC Liquors offers pickup, delivery and shipping.

Store hours are Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Wednesday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Thursday 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pickup runs Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Delivery hours are Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM. We serve Chelmsford, Acton, Littleton, Carlisle, Tyngsborough, Lowell, Billerica, Boxborough and Dunstable, and the delivery areas page shows the full list.

Our shipping policy explains how shipping works. If you are driving in from another town, check the closing time for the day before you leave.