Champagne for New Years – a history

You can’t celebrate New Year’s Eve without Champagne! According to legend, the tradition started in a New York restaurant in 1937. Café Martin was owned by two brothers from France and was reputed to be “the” place to eat according to high society at the time. The restaurant boasted its wine list included over 200 different Champagnes. At their 1937 New Year’s Eve party, the brothers insisted the only beverage party goers could order after 9:00pm was Champagne. Patrons loved the nothing-but-Champagne-rule so much it became a tradition.