It’s September, when fashion week takes place in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. In addition to looking great at the shows, be sure to make a statement at the after parties. Here’s our guide to sipping in style.
For the size zero:
Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut Champagne ($60) is zero-dosage (i.e., it has no added sugar) and clocks in at about a third fewer calories than regular Brut. The first Champagne house to make this style, in 1889 (billed then as sans sucre), Laurent-Perrier re-introduced it in 1981. With aromas of honeysuckle and citrus, it has floral and mineral flavors and a fresh, clean finish.
For the iconoclast:
Bodegas Torres Mas La Plana 2009 ($63), a single-vineyard estate-grown wine from the Penedès D.O. in Spain. Everything about Mas La Plana is mysterious: It comes in a Burgundy bottle with a black label and is made from 100 percent French Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, rather than Tempranillo. In a blind tasting in 1970, it scored higher than Château Latour and has since become the most celebrated wine from Bodegas Torres, which was founded a century earlier.
For the label-conscious:
Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard 2011 from Martinborough, on New Zealand’s North Island ($46). This region has recently become the benchmark for savory Burgundy-like wines, as opposed to its New World–style counterparts from Central Otago on the country’s South Island. Te Muna has boysenberry and black cherry flavors overlaid with hints of rose, mint, mushroom, and dried herb notes.
For trend-setters:
Sagrantino, the new hot grape variety grown only in Montefalco in Umbria (so much chicer than Tuscany these days). Extra boost: It’s loaded with polyphenol-rich tannins with antioxidant properties. Try Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Sagrantino Collepiano 2007 ($60), which has notes of spice, wood, balsamic vinegar, dark chocolate, and animal hide.
For couture snobs:
Achaval-Ferrer Finca Mirador 2010 ($115), an old-vine Malbec that put Mendoza, Argentina, on the map when it became the highest-rated wine in South America, in 1999. The grapes for this concentrated terroir-driven wine are from a small vineyard perched at an altitude of 2,400 feet; the vines were first planted in 1921.
For fashion victims:
Whispering Angel ($20), the rosé from Chateau D’Ésclan in Provence that has swept the style set, from the haut monde to Housewives everywhere. Critically acclaimed and priced right (cheaper than Domaines Ott!), it has a lovely blush-pink color and refreshing notes of wild berry. But critics have been quick to point out that it’s not the only rosé in town. —Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave