Caviar is suddenly ubiquitous these days. The pandemic launched its resurgence, when people sought out at-home luxuries. Sales took off late last year as Gen Z posted their "caviar bumps" to TikTok, and now it seems to be popping up on menus everywhere. 

Caviar is, of course, eggs harvested from the female sturgeon fish and then cured in salt. Wild-caught Caspian Sea caviar was the OG product, but the Caspian sturgeon is now nearly extinct due to overfishing and the species is protected, so almost all caviar available today is farm-raised. 

The upshot is that caviar is actually relatively affordable now, and less of a pretentious flex. Even Fishwife now sells California white sturgeon caviar as part of its tinned fish lineup. This dovetails nicely with the (long-overdue) embrace in the last decade or so of Champagne as a wine to enjoy on any day of the week, and with any kind of cuisine. These days, Champagne wishes and caviar dreams really do come true.

Caviar is slick, fatty, salty, and a match made in heaven for the palate-cleansing acidity, effervescence, and citrus flavors of Champagne. It’s a pairing that’s almost impossible to fuck up, even with all the types of caviar that are out there. Brut cuvées from the grandes marques—Krug, Salon, Pol Roger, etc.—tend to get trotted out with caviar, in a doubling down of indulgence. No judgment from me if that’s your move. But I urge you instead toward rich, terroir-expressive grower Champagnes to serve with your holiday roe. A brut, extra brut, or brut nature wine with bright, ripe fruit will balance the creamy, buttery, saline tastes and textures of the roe. And just as caviar is enhanced by the Champagne, it will in turn bring out the fruit, complexity, and individuality of these wines.

Serve your caviar chilled in the tin over a bed of pebble ice. (Chick-fil-A and Sonic sell pebble ice by the bag, if you don’t have an icemaker.) Eat it atop Ruffles Original potato chips—the ridges maximize surface area—with a dollop of full-fat sour cream. Or, for a fun twist, try it with Fritos corn chips rather than Ruffles. Forgo the blinis and latkes and crème fraîche. Spend that money on the Champagne instead, but do spring for some little mother-of-pearl spoons: metal reacts with the caviar and alters its taste. 

Try the traditional method of tasting by spooning some caviar onto your hand, between the thumb and index finger, to let your body heat warm the roe and bring out the flavors. It will feel like the height of tsarish indulgence to slurp down a big bump of briny, buttery pearls off the back of your hand. Then wash it down with one of these outstanding grower Champagnes.

9 Grower Champagnes to Pair with Caviar

NV Lelarge-Pugeot Tradition Extra Brut ($60)

One of the best values in Champagne. A Meunier-dominant cuvée from a Demeter-certified biodynamic estate in Vrigny, atop the Montagne de Reims. Intense aromas of ruby red grapefruit, baked apple, brioche, quince, marzipan, acacia flower. The flavors are an impressive tightrope walk between minerality and richness. The caviar will underscore the soft, beautifully ripe Meunier fruit, as the wine’s acidity rinses your palate and readies it for another bite.

NV Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles Grand Cru Extra Brut ($66)

Brothers Antoine and Quentin Paillard are the eighth generation to run their family’s estate, and farm a high percentage of Chardonnay in Pinot Noir country, in Bouzy in the Montagne de Reims. The majority of the Les Parcelles cuvée is Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay adding ripe citrus and linear acidity, with just 2 g/L dosage. It’s appealing in its balance: creamy, toasty, with bright citrus and orchard fruit. Ripe apple and lemon, Rainier cherries, pear, honey, ginger, a hint of smoke, and zesty acidity that’s perfect with a salty treat.

NV Marguet Shaman 20 Grand Cru ($74)

Benoît Marguet’s unique approach in the vineyard includes biodynamic and aromatherapeutic practices, and a strict reliance on horsepower. From old vineyards in Ambonnay and Bouzy, the blend is majority Pinot Noir. Ripe red apple and raspberry, sweet baking spices, earth, a hint of iodine on the nose. With zero dosage, it’s decidedly dry, but still very fruit-forward on the palate, with a savory, smoky finish. The salty caviar will make all the fruit in this bottle absolutely sing.

NV Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut ($78)

As the name Latitude suggests, this is a round, rich wine, made with 100 percent Chardonnay from Vertus in southern Côtes des Blancs. Green apple, pear, lemon peel, brioche, toasted almond, with floral intensity, savory herbs, and a very mineral finish. A generous Champagne that will match the intense flavor of caviar.

NV Vilmart et Cie Grand Cellier Premier Cru Brut ($85)

One of the oldest grower estates in the region, Vilmart produces broad Champagnes with incredible depth and complexity—any of which would pair well with roe. Winemaker Laurent Champs ferments and ages all his wines in oak, with malo blocked. The wines are full bodied and opulent, but still have soaring acidity and tension. The blend for Grand Cellier is based on Chardonnay, from Rilly-la-Montage, and it spends time in large-format oak. Notes of lemon zest, grapefruit, golden apple, dried fruit, bread dough, lilies. A silky mousse, with a seashell finish—perfect for the creamy texture of caviar.

2019 Domaine Nowack Les Bauchets Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut ($95)

Single-vineyard, 100 percent Pinot Noir from winemaker Flavien Nowack, who is championing underdog terroir in Vandières in the Vallée de la Marne. No dosage, and aged in small oak barrels. It’s substantial on the palate, but elegant, with citrus, berries, and light autolytic notes—very fruit-forward to complement the caviar. A bouquet of spice, precise flavors of Meyer lemon, grapefruit, fresh bread, toasted hazelnuts, a bit of umami. It’s a joy to contemplate on its own in between bites of caviar.

NV Pierre Péters Réserve Oubliée Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut ($135)

Salon and Krug’s Clos du Mesnil have their cult followings, but consider Pierre Péters if shopping for something else from that village. The Réserve Oubliée bottling is made the same way as the non-vintage Cuvée de Réserve (roughly 50/50 current vintage blended with perpetual reserve wine), but sees extra aging time. It’s remarkably fresh—almost ethereal—but with complexity and depth from the reserve wine. Lemon curd, baked apple, dried apricots, grilled almonds, sweet and savory spices, lingering on a beautiful creamy finish. Lots of leesy character and texture to match a mouthful of caviar. 

NV Laherte Frères Les 7 Extra Brut ($139)

Go beyond the usual Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier with a wholly unique Champagne that’s an homage to the region’s wines—as they were more than two centuries ago. Winemaker Aurélian Laherte blends all seven varieties permitted in the region (the other four are Fromenteau, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, and Arbanne), from recovered vines grown together in a single parcel near the family home. A significant percentage of the cuvée comes from a solera dating back to 2005. It’s a wholly unique Champagne, with pronounced, precise aromas that are constantly changing in the glass. Green apple, toasted nuts, guava paste, baked pear, toast, lime zest, blossoms, peppercorns, oyster shell, all riding laser-like acidity balanced against a creamy mouthfeel.

NV Suenen C + C Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut ($140)

Along with the Oiry cuvée, one of winemaker Aurélien Suenen’s two nonvintage blanc de blancs. 100 percent Chardonnay from chalky Chouilly and Cramant in the Côte des Blancs. The C+C offers racy acidity, with lots of tension and energy, but still a generous profile that will only be enhanced by salty, creamy caviar. Jasmine, ripe orchard fruit, yuzu, pastry, lemon thyme, and lots of sapidity on the long finish.