by Max Goldberg Liu
Friday, November 6, 2026
Another Fête du Champagne Gala Dinner down! It is always an exhilarating moment when the proverbial curtain goes up and the lights dim, kicking off the festival’s epic conclusion.
It is always a fun exercise to run the numbers on the amount of wine opened and (responsibly!) consumed at the Gala Dinner. Here’s what this year looked like:
Bigger is better
Our sommelier team opened 182 bottles, 96 magnums, and 24 jeroboams.
The total volume adds up to a little more than 350 liters, about one and a half standard Burgundy barrels, or a large standard bathtub filled to the brim. Champagne bottles are much heavier than those used for still wine, so the total amount of wine opened adds up to an impressive amount of mass — 830kg, about the weight of an average fully grown buffalo.
Popular Producers
Krug led the way with 21 bottles opened, followed by Dom Pérignon (18), Louis Roederer (14), and Laurent-Perrier (11). Pierre Péters was the most represented grower with 10 bottles shared.
Age is just a number
The oldest wines opened were a trio of 1976 Lanson magnums brought by the house, still in the prime of their lives at 50 years old. Having never left Lanson’s deep cellars in Reims certainly brought a lot of freshness and cut to the wine. We also saw Piper-Heidsieck Hors Série 1982 from the house as well as 1982 Cristal and 1982 Krug Collection, reminding us all how great that vintage was. The most popular vintages? 2008 (19) followed by 2002 (16), then 1996 and 2018 (14 each)
Tasting Stars
All that Champagne contained around 23 billion bubbles - around 2.8 per person on Earth or, in the context of the apocryphal legend of Dom Pérignon, around 1/10 of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy (estimated 100-400 billion)
Dinner Pairings
Our all-star team of chefs led by Daniel Boulud prepared a fabulous tasting menu:
Homard du Maine / Hommage à mon Papa / Jus de Tête
Arnaud Lallement, L’Assiette Champenoise
This is one of Arnaud’s signature dishes and the intensity and pure deliciousness of the lobster sauce cannot be overstated!
Bánh Cuon - Steamed Rice Rolls, Pork, Wood-Ear Mushrooms, Scallion, Crisp Shallots
Helen Nguyen, Co Lac / Saigon Social
We love pairing non-western dishes with wine
Hake with Flowering Dill
Fredrik Berselius, Aska
Another stunning presentation that paired gently cooked hake with a delicate sauce of sorrel and beer with a generous portion of caviar on top
Poulet Fermier, Sauce Albuféra - Roasted Sasso Chicken Breast, Honey Twist Apple, Celery Root, Spelt
Daniel Boulud & Will Nacev, Le Pavillon
We closed with Daniel Boulud’s classic yet contemporary cuisine
Guests came to party, bringing a panoply of special large format bottles to share
Jean-Rémy Barbier’s efficient jeroboam pouring technique
