Veuve Clicquot has long been shorthand for luxury — name-checked in “Casablanca,” the Ian Fleming novel “Casino Royale” and “Downton Abbey.”
But now the enduring yellow label isn’t cutting it with a certain set. On a few of Latest York City’s high-end, Champagne-focused menus — at places like Aldo Sohm Wine bar, Coqodaq and Grand Brasserie — Veuve isn’t even listed.
One Latest York-based restaurateur, who recently opened a spot with greater than 60 Champagnes on his menu, nixed Veuve for the primary time in his long history within the business.
“It’s mass-produced, it’s punchy and overplayed… it’s not what people wish to drink in a champagne anymore,” the restaurateur said, asking to withhold his name moderately than upset distributors.
While he told The Post he has respect for “the institution,” which dates back to 1772, he said Veuve has gone downhill lately to maintain up with demand.
Acquired by the luxury-good conglomerate LVMH in 1987, Veuve overtook Moët & Chandon as the most well-liked brand in America around a decade ago — driven partly by its ubiquity at bottle-service nightclubs and in song lyrics by artist like Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lana Del Rey and Young Jeezy.
While Veuve has special vintages that may retail for 1000’s of dollars, its most recognizable offering, $70 yellow label Champagne brut, is getting panned by some oenophiles as sour, unbalanced and “basic” as one Manhattan-based PR executive referred to it.
One West Village wine connoisseur named Mark, who uses the Instagram handle Lord Brut — a nod to the driest classification of Champagne — said he hasn’t drunk Veuve in years since it tastes “a bit burnt” and “the lingering flavor seems off.”
He pointed to the 2015 launch of Veuve’s “Wealthy” mix, a sweeter Champagne, as proof that the corporate seems focused on marketing moderately than quality.
“Tell me who that will appeal to. Not champagne fans,” Mark said. And the worst part? “It invited non-champagne people to think they’re.”
Peter Viveriti, who runs Cavaniola’s Cellar in Sag Harbor, Latest York, told The Post that, the more popular a champagne brand becomes — Veuve sold an estimated 16 million bottles last yr — the harder it becomes to observe quality.
“The cache has gone beyond what the product merits,” Viveriti said. “Over the past 20 to 30 years, it’s develop into produced at such an infinite level there isn’t any way they will really concentrate to creating the right champagne because there is just too much of it to be made.
“When you’ve got to provide it at a much larger scale, you’re getting grapes from a whole lot of various vineyards and all these different soil types. Sometimes it really works out nicely, but I believe your best likelihood for superior quality is a uniform quality within the grape you might be harvesting.”
Viveriti doesn’t display Veuve in his shop — where brands like Billecart-Salmon, Ruinart, and Henry Beaufort get the prime real estate — but he does have one case in storage.
“I actually have just a few bottles available,” he said, “but it surely’s simply because I had to purchase some for a number of the boats within the harbor” — a reference to the large yachts docked in Sag Harbor, whose passengers sometimes desire a certain type of Instagram moment.
The award-winning sommelier Aldo Sohm acknowledges the impressive brand Veuve has created but isn’t fawning over flavor. He doesn’t serve it at his eponymous wine bar — though he does list some special vintages of Veuve at Le Bernadin, the enduring Michelin star restaurant where he serves as wine director.
“They’ve executed [marketing the brand] perfectly,” Sohm told The Post. “Is it the best Champagne? Possibly not. However it’s a workhorse.”
Sohm admitted he wouldn’t pop open a bottle for himself — he’d prefer to try something latest — but it surely is, he thinks, a gateway to more sophisticated Champagne.
“It’s an important place to begin … and we move on from there,” Sohm said. “For those who are having your first fish and I expose you to sea urchin, it will throw you off.”
A caterer, who asked to stay anonymous in order to not insult clients, said that, at this point, Veuve has a selected purpose: “It’s sour — but it surely’s a option to show guests you spent a specific amount on them.”
Veuve Clicquot has long been shorthand for luxury — name-checked in “Casablanca,” the Ian Fleming novel “Casino Royale” and “Downton Abbey.”
But now the enduring yellow label isn’t cutting it with a certain set. On a few of Latest York City’s high-end, Champagne-focused menus — at places like Aldo Sohm Wine bar, Coqodaq and Grand Brasserie — Veuve isn’t even listed.
One Latest York-based restaurateur, who recently opened a spot with greater than 60 Champagnes on his menu, nixed Veuve for the primary time in his long history within the business.
“It’s mass-produced, it’s punchy and overplayed… it’s not what people wish to drink in a champagne anymore,” the restaurateur said, asking to withhold his name moderately than upset distributors.
While he told The Post he has respect for “the institution,” which dates back to 1772, he said Veuve has gone downhill lately to maintain up with demand.
Acquired by the luxury-good conglomerate LVMH in 1987, Veuve overtook Moët & Chandon as the most well-liked brand in America around a decade ago — driven partly by its ubiquity at bottle-service nightclubs and in song lyrics by artist like Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lana Del Rey and Young Jeezy.
While Veuve has special vintages that may retail for 1000’s of dollars, its most recognizable offering, $70 yellow label Champagne brut, is getting panned by some oenophiles as sour, unbalanced and “basic” as one Manhattan-based PR executive referred to it.
One West Village wine connoisseur named Mark, who uses the Instagram handle Lord Brut — a nod to the driest classification of Champagne — said he hasn’t drunk Veuve in years since it tastes “a bit burnt” and “the lingering flavor seems off.”
He pointed to the 2015 launch of Veuve’s “Wealthy” mix, a sweeter Champagne, as proof that the corporate seems focused on marketing moderately than quality.
“Tell me who that will appeal to. Not champagne fans,” Mark said. And the worst part? “It invited non-champagne people to think they’re.”
Peter Viveriti, who runs Cavaniola’s Cellar in Sag Harbor, Latest York, told The Post that, the more popular a champagne brand becomes — Veuve sold an estimated 16 million bottles last yr — the harder it becomes to observe quality.
“The cache has gone beyond what the product merits,” Viveriti said. “Over the past 20 to 30 years, it’s develop into produced at such an infinite level there isn’t any way they will really concentrate to creating the right champagne because there is just too much of it to be made.
“When you’ve got to provide it at a much larger scale, you’re getting grapes from a whole lot of various vineyards and all these different soil types. Sometimes it really works out nicely, but I believe your best likelihood for superior quality is a uniform quality within the grape you might be harvesting.”
Viveriti doesn’t display Veuve in his shop — where brands like Billecart-Salmon, Ruinart, and Henry Beaufort get the prime real estate — but he does have one case in storage.
“I actually have just a few bottles available,” he said, “but it surely’s simply because I had to purchase some for a number of the boats within the harbor” — a reference to the large yachts docked in Sag Harbor, whose passengers sometimes desire a certain type of Instagram moment.
The award-winning sommelier Aldo Sohm acknowledges the impressive brand Veuve has created but isn’t fawning over flavor. He doesn’t serve it at his eponymous wine bar — though he does list some special vintages of Veuve at Le Bernadin, the enduring Michelin star restaurant where he serves as wine director.
“They’ve executed [marketing the brand] perfectly,” Sohm told The Post. “Is it the best Champagne? Possibly not. However it’s a workhorse.”
Sohm admitted he wouldn’t pop open a bottle for himself — he’d prefer to try something latest — but it surely is, he thinks, a gateway to more sophisticated Champagne.
“It’s an important place to begin … and we move on from there,” Sohm said. “For those who are having your first fish and I expose you to sea urchin, it will throw you off.”
A caterer, who asked to stay anonymous in order to not insult clients, said that, at this point, Veuve has a selected purpose: “It’s sour — but it surely’s a option to show guests you spent a specific amount on them.”
