Originally posted by PhlabibitPol Roger is cheap enough, and starts to be tolerably palatable after the second bottle or so.
What's a good one? By good, I mean about 12 or so bucks a bottle, and shouldn't taste like turpentine.
P-
Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Moët and Taittinger are sort of mid-price and far, far better.
Stay away from anything pink!!!
🙂
My column of May 18th, 2007...
Everybody has heard of Champagne. Not too many have tried the sparkling wine from north-eastern France’s coolest winegrowing district. Is that just because of the cost – usually $50.00 and up?
Prohibitive pricing and the reputation for advanced winegeekery that surrounds Champagne have given sparkling wines in general a bad rep. Consequently, all but the most sophisticated and well-heeled winelovers assiduously avoid most bubblies. What a shame!
Simply put, sparkling wines are the most fun you’ll ever find in a wineglass. Make a vow to celebrate summer by starting every special friends or family dinner with a glass of something frivolously fizzy!
The white wines of northern Portugal known as “Vinho Verde” made from various indigenous grapes – Alvarinho, Lourerro, Trajadura and Pederna are the frontrunners – are ever so slightly effervescent. These “green wines” are, of course, white but they’re best in their “green” and just-released youth.
Vinho Verde are carbonated just before bottling and made in an off-dry style. So as well as being packed with refreshingly bright pear and apple flavours Gazela (+141432) $10.06 and Casal Garcia (+400531) $11.49 will add a little sweetness and sizzle to your next “al fresco” afternoon on the deck.
In Italy’s north-eastern Veneto region Prosecco grapes are fermented into sparkling wine by chilling the tanks before the wines have become completely “dry” so that some residual sugar and effervescence is retained.
Drop-dead sexy Italian packaging often sets these sizzlers apart from the crowd. Martini & Rossi Prosecco (+639310) $14.99 is new to our shelves and typically brimming with subtle lemon and peach flavours. With its eye-catching bottle and bright yellow crown-capped closure Mionetto Il Prosecco (+378638) $18.06 just oozes apricot and peach aromas that tantalize the tongue.
From north-western Italy’s Piedemonte Martini & Rossi Asti (+1875) $14.49 is a delightful mouthful of grapey Muscat sweetness. For a silkier version of this seductively sweet style of sparkling wine try Bottega Petalo Il Vino del Amore Moscato (+580993) $18.06 – and marvel at the luscious aroma of roses and those subtle rose-petal flavours!
Farther north in Germany, lighter and leaner sparkling wines are made and sipped with just as much abandon. Be sure to pour all of your bubblies into tall, narrow wine glasses - called “flutes” – to trap the lingering bubbles and prolong the fizz.
Henkell Trocken (+112689) $14.49 is the best-known and best-selling German bubbly – maybe because of the surprising blend of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and French Chardonnay that go into it? Although quite “dry” Deinhard Lila Imperial (+159558) $14.99 is more traditionally German and based soundly on the honeyed apricot and peach flavours of Riesling.
“Cava” is the Spanish word for sparkling wines made in the same traditional method as more expensive French Champagnes. With a final fermentation in the bottle and a “dosage” of sweeter unfermented wines, the bubbly, frothy “mousse” is finer and lasts longer than simply carbonating still wine before bottling.
The Cava best known for its black bottle Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut (+88591) $13.79 is blended from Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada winegrapes. Apples, lemons and orange rind vie for prominence with undertones of earthy, almost chalky minerality. Similarly blended from Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo grapes Segura Viudas Brut Reserva (+158493) $14.99 is another scintillating sparkler from Freixnet – and most often the critics choice!
Getting away from the Old World altogether, there’s always Australia. Initially what came to our shores were traditionally styled sparkling wines like Seaview Brut (+216333) $13.56 and Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir (+562991) $16.19. Both of these are great value and more or less modelled on French Champagne.
Recently, however, we’ve been blessed with the frivolous, fruity, strawberry-lemon bombshell that is Yellowglen Pink (+89628) $13.07. Oh sure, it’s based on staid old Pinot Noir… but there’s nothing stuffy about this easy-drinking party wine. Crank up the tunes and break out the silly hats!
The latest effervescent arrival from Oz is [ yellow tail ] BUBBLES (+667089) $13.99. A little sweeter than most mainstream sparklers, this is another wine that’s going to be a surprise hit around the barbeque this summer… although coming from the hugely successful [ yellow tail ] folks at Casella Wines – what’s the big surprise?
Try Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut (+398198) $19.99. It has creamy yeast, toasty honey and classic green apple flavours and a fine “mousse” of endlessly lazy foamy bubbles.
In the same classically toasty style our own BC VQA bubbly from Sumac Ridge Steller’s Jay Brut (+264879) $25.00 is as fine a mouthful of fizzy and foaming Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as you’re ever likely to taste.
Relatively new to BC, Baron Fuente Cuvee Tradition Brut (+174730) $39.99 is an unusual Champagne blend of 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay. Under the expected apple/pear flavours and that steely crisp character there’s an intriguingly fruity hint of plums from the Pinot Meunier. And it’s great to see a French Champagne under $40 again!