Why We Drink Champagne on New Year’s Eve

Toasting with champagne has long been a New Year’s tradition; In fact, champagne has a long history dating back to the 5th century!

At Ruth’s Chris Steak House, we fully encourage toasting to the past year as we look forward to the year ahead with a great bottle of bubbly. Let’s look at how drinking champagne became not only a New Year’s Eve tradition, but one that marks great moments in an individual’s life.

The History of Champagne as a Celebratory Drink

Champagne comes from France’s Champagne region, and it was first a wine before becoming the bubbly drink we know and love today. Its origins lie with a local monarch, King Clovis, who used wine from the Champagne region to mark his conversion to Catholicism in the late 5th century.

Decades later, in 1662, English scientist Christopher Merret developed a technique to get bubbles into wine. Adding sugar to bottled wine made bubbles, thanks to the yeast in wine, which consumed the sugar to produce carbon dioxide.

But the drink was so powerful that bottles would often unintentionally explode, so King Louis XV announced that only wine from the Champagne region in France could be shipped in bottles, allowing France to become the leader in the sparkling wine market.

Champagne became the ultimate New Year’s celebration beverage when the producers of Champagne started to link the bubbly to festive occasions in popular advertising campaigns.

Today, race car drivers and athletes pop bottles of Champagne to celebrate a big win. Newly married couples toast with Champagne at their weddings. Graduations, engagements, new babies… Champagne is now synonymous with marking those big moments in life.

Drink Champagne at Ruth’s Chris Steak House This New Year’s Eve

This New Year’s Eve, why not celebrate at Ruth’s Chris Steak House? Ring in the New Year with a glass of bubbly! Our restaurants are proud to offer Moët & Chandon “Impérial” Brut by the glass and bottle, a perfect choice for celebrating, as well as a great selection of sparkling wine!

In addition to offering plenty of champagne, you can also come in for a memorable meal at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Open New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve, you can celebrate the incoming year with a choice steak, seafood dish, and much more. In fact, we are consistently serving up delicious entrées that pair well with Champagne. Stop by any of our world-class locations for the perfect way to end the year. Make your reservation today.