mix my mimosa

February 6, 2008 8:14 AM

Can anybody recommend a decent champaign for a mimosa? Something that I can most likely pick up at most grocery stores. As far as I know, I am not a big fan of champaign, but I had a great mimosa a few months ago at brunch and am craving one today. Hurry - There is still time to make brunch.
posted by B(oYo)BIES to food & drink (19 comments total)

Your location might help, if you'd like advice on what you could pick up soon and close by.

Also: s/champaign/champagne/
posted by gimonca at 8:17 AM on February 6

When we make mimosas, we always just buy the cheapest spumante we can find. The sweeter and fruiter, the better. Everybody always seems to like them, although I'm sure there are wine afficianatos that would be horrified by this practice. The real secret is high quality OJ.
posted by jtfowl0 at 8:20 AM on February 6

Gotta agree.. you don't really want to use actual champagne for this. (Champagne is only produced in the Champagne region of France. Everything else is sparkling wine or methode champagnoise).

Prosecco is my favourite for mimosas, and fresh-squeezed OJ.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:22 AM on February 6

Phoenix, AZ - Thank you for the comments so far.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 8:27 AM on February 6

I use Freixenet, a Spanish Prosecco. It's available in grocery stores in Chicago for about $10, and comes in a black bottle.

Personally, I disagree with jtfowl0, though of course it's just a matter of preference. I'd go with inexpensive, but dry.

And yes, the quality of the OJ is what makes it. Best to buy a bag of juice oranges and squeeze them yourself. You don't really need a large quantity of OJ for a good mimosa. I pour about 3/4 glass sparkling wine, then top it off with a splash of fresh OJ.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 8:35 AM on February 6

I'm thirding (or whatever) Prosecco--it tends to be cheap, but tasty.
Personally, I'm too lazy to squeeze my own juice, so I just pick whatever tends to be the pulpiest (I like my mimosas "stupid"--as thick as possible).

All hail the mimosa!
posted by eralclare at 9:02 AM on February 6

definitely go with good orange juice, and a dry cheap sparkling wine. like everyone else said, if you aren't a huge champagne aficionado, inexpensive works just fine.

i have to take a moment here to recommend the "man-mosa" - made from beer and orange juice. The first one I had was budweiser and OJ (credit is due to Conor Kelly for this)

Something akin to a bellini can be created with Magic hat #9. An excellent excellent brunch drink.
posted by dubold at 9:11 AM on February 6

I ended up going for the Freixenet and I squeezed oranges. Sitting down to it now. Exactly what I wanted, although I don't think I am going to squeeze my own OJ next time.

Thank you everybody.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 9:15 AM on February 6

Dry cheap sparkling wine is a good idea, but avoid sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir grapes -- sometimes it will say "Blanc De Noirs" on the bottle. This flavor of sparkling wine will NOT go with OJ well.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 9:25 AM on February 6

if you aren't a huge champagne aficionado, inexpensive works just fine.

Huge champagne aficionados tend to be horrified at the idea of making good champagne into mimosas, so I think you can leave off the qualification.
posted by languagehat at 9:38 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Lord Kinbote: what does a blanc de noirs + OJ produce? I've always been a bit leery of mimosas, because there's the potential for getting a bilious one, presumably depending on the house champers. Does pinot noir make them taste of vomit?
posted by mumkin at 10:01 AM on February 6

Andre!
posted by 1 at 10:31 AM on February 6

seconding the Andre. at least, that's the cheapest bottle that makes a good one I've found.
posted by rooftop secrets at 10:49 AM on February 6

Peach Andre makes pretty good mimosas too.
posted by craven_morhead at 10:55 AM on February 6

Prosecco, cava, possibly a crémant de Bourgogne. Lindauer Brut from NZ is $10 a bottle. Most cheap, decent fizz will sort you out. The higher up the champagne ladder you go, the more likely it is to be a bad fit and a waste of money.
posted by holgate at 11:20 AM on February 6

I can't speak for everyone, but even spending $10 a bottle on sparkling wine that I was going to mix with OJ seems like a waste of money. I mixed up a few mimosas on New Year's Day with the leftover Pierre Moncuit from the night before, and though they were delicious, I pretty much immediately regretted the decision. nthing Andre.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:36 PM on February 6

Surprised about the Andre comments. We used to drink a lot of Andre cause it is $2.50 at 7-11.... cheap way to get drunk. I will try some Andre Extra Dry next time and see if it makes a difference.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 1:32 PM on February 6

I'll second Prosecco, there's some at Trader Joes for like $4 a bottle. I don't like the "tinny" or "sulfurey" flavor of cheap, dry sparkling wines. Cheap sweeter wines are much more palatable.

If you were going to go nuts, you'd have to match it to the orange juice you've got. A thick, sweet Tropicana sort of thing would balance nicely with something drier. A thinner tarter juice would need something sweeter.
posted by gjc at 7:40 PM on February 6

Yay, Freixenet. My favorite cheap sparkly.
posted by Jhoosier at 8:50 PM on February 6