Toast the new year with a glass of Champagne Baron de Rothschild

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.  Every day is a good day for Champagne, and with New Year’s Eve approaching, it is especially time to make sure that the bottles are being chilled. What Champagne will you be drinking this year? Perhaps try Champagne Baron de Rothschild. Champagne Baron de Rothschild is a relatively new Champagne house. While most Champagne houses date back to the 1880s, Baron de Rothschild started in 2003, with their first harvest in 2005 and their first release in 2009. While less than 10 years old, this young house comes with 250 years of history and experience. It was created by three branches of the Rothschild family, each with established wineries in Bordeaux — Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Clarke. With many wine families around the world famous for tension and splitting alliances, the alliance of these three iconic Bordeaux producers is impressive. They united and, using all of their networks, have created a Champagne that shows what they are capable of. Champagne Barons de Rothschild is not a grower Champagne but rather a Champagne by the growers. While they own their own vineyards, they also source fruit from top Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards in the region. Out of approximately 400 vineyards in Champagne, there are 17 Grand Cru villages. Baron de Rothschild works with 72 hectares of this Grand Cru classified fruit.