Popping The Cork?

Darrin Siegfried closes his wine shop promptly at 10:00 p.m. every night, with Election night as no exception. “At 10:01 p.m. I hope to pop the cork of a very nice bottle of French champagne.” Siegfried owns Red, White and Bubbly LCC in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He hasn’t seen a major change in champagne or sparkling wine purchases. “A lot of people are holding off until the first results come in; they feel like they might jinx it,” Siegfried says, “but a lot of people are asking how late we’re doing deliveries, how much we have in stock and if they can put aside a case or two.”

At the threshold of a historical election, Brooklyn is tentatively planning a massive celebration. Across the borough, wine stores are experiencing an upsurge in champagne and sparkling wine purchases. “We’ve seen an increase primarily in Prosecco,” Michael Yarmark, the owner of Thirst Wine Merchants in Fort Greene says. “People are excited and nervous and definitely talking about the election and hoping they can celebrate.” If Barack Obama wins, Thirst Wine Merchants is planning on pouring champagne in the store after the election is officially called.

Even though Brooklynites plan for a celebration, the economic downturn continues to remain at the forefront of people’s minds. Scott Lyon, an employee at Sip Fine Wine Inc. in Park Slope is expecting a spike in sparkling wine under $25. “It seems like someone is going to come in and buy a bottle of sparkling wine and pop the cork and have some fun,” Lyon says.

With the election only two days away, “People are a little bit weary,” Siegfried says, “they are just hoping there will be no November surprise. People usually drink sparkling wine, but for the last two elections people have come in and asked for something really stiff to knock them out for a couple of days so they don’t have to think about what just happened. Hopefully this year will be different.”