Tag Archives: champagne

We all should drink more bubbles

26 Saturday Dec 2020

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It’s time to celebrate the new year – perhaps it’s ring in the new year and chase out the old one.

Bubbles, of course, is the traditional beverage of choice for most revelers. Having now worked in retail wine sales, I’ve developed more of a love for sparkling wines. There really is something for everyone and at all price points.

As opposed to recommending specific bottles, perhaps dropping a few names, let’s cover the choices that will work for you and what you might expect to pay.

Bubbles start with champagne. The area of Champagne in France isn’t particularly large but nearly 360 Champagne houses produce more than 300 million bottles annually. True champagne is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier. A blanc de blanc is 100% Chardonnay while a Blanc de Noir is Pinot Noir.

Lots of inexpensive bubbles’ options!

True champagne starts around $30-$50 a bottle. The U.S. is the second largest importer of French Champagne, Britain takes the top spot. The best-selling champagnes in the world are widely available in the US. If you want to go where the crowd goes look for Moet-Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Nicolas Feuillatte, Laurent-Perrier, Taittinger, Pommery. And Piper-Heidsieck – and of course, Dom Perignon.

Ask your wine shop clerk to make recommendations from small houses and you might just find better wines. One specific: Nomine Renard for around $40. Or try US made Schramsberg producers of Blanc and Noir at $30-$40.

There are also regional standout producers like Mawby from Northern Michigan.

A lesser known option is grower champagnes. If you like the farm-to-fork concept in restaurants, a grower champagne is for you. Many of the big houses buy their grapes from growers – nothing wrong with that. The grower champagnes are grown and produced by a single producer. These champagnes sell generally from $70 to $125. This is my best bet for outstanding quality and drinkability over the big houses.

If you want something more affordable look for an Italian Prosecco, Spanish Cava, US champagnes and French Cremant. The Cremants are a particularly good value made like champagne. Great Cremant is produced in Burgundy, Alsace, Loire Valley and Southern France. Average cost for great Cremant bubbles runs around $20. They are also a bit more drinkable if you’re not used to true champagne.

Another entry to not overlook is Italy, yes the land of tannic dark red wines and pasta. La Spinetta and Ferrari are a couple of names to look for.

Bubbles should be enjoyed year round. It’s not just for New Year’s. Try bubbles with a salad of mild flavored food. Drink bubbles on the porch or patio on a hot summer day.

Grab a bottle of sparkle, and let’s toast 2021 – and kick 2020 to the back of our collective memory.

Happy New Year!

What I’m drinking? More bubbles!

27 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in Newspaper Column 2018

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In the early years of this column I’d do a semi-regular feature called, ‘What I’ve Been Drinking Lately.’  Let’s bring that back in 2018. We’ll recommend specific wines that, in a way, become generic recommendations for easy-to-find wine picks.

grape-sense-logoMore and more bubbles are turning up on my wine rack. It’s taken too much time but after awhile any wine drinker will learn sparking wines aren’t just for New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, or a wedding reception.

Good sparkling wine is a marvelous aperitif. A cold sparkler is a phenomenal porch pounder. Bubbles pair well with salads, lighter style seafood, and even fresh fruit.

Sparkling wine sales are growing around the globe. Whether its Cava from Spain, Cremant from Burgundy or Loire, Italian Prosecco, American bubbles, or the grand daddy of them all – Champagne from Champagne, France, bubbles are hot.

If you’re not a big bubbles drinker now, let’s find an easy place to start. Prosecco might be the easiest entry point for most wine fans. Prosecco comes from Northern Italy, largely made from the glera grape, and is very affordable. Most Prosecco wines are made dry like a tart brut. But the typical pear, honeysuckle flavors trick the palate into thinking it’s a bit sweeter.

MionettoAn easy starting point is Mionetto Prosecco. It’s fresh mouthful of fruit with light bubbles. Mionetto can be found at the entry level of $13-$16 and is widely distributed. Other entry level Prosecco include Bisol and Rebuli, among others.

I prefer my bubbles with a good chill. It won’t take you long to figure out where you like the temperature of your sparklers.

Like any other grape in the wine world, you’ll notice new layers of flavor and satisfaction as you climb the price ladder. Prices are quite modest for Prosecco and Cava starting at under $10. Consumers can find outstanding sparking wine’s in the $30 range.

There’s nothing like French Champagne but you won’t find one for 13 bucks. Good champagne starts in the $40-$50 range.

Let’s add its not a bad time to stock up. Most fine wine shops and liquor stores pack the shelves for the holidays through Valentines day. Look for prices to be discounted in the next few weeks.

And a final note for today, most all sparkling wine producers produce a sparkling rose’. In a brut you get a dry, and sometimes yeast hint, that isn’t pleasant to all palates. Sparkling Rose is a personal favorite. Rose’ is still dry, bubbly, but with a bit more fruit.

You won’t regret keeping bubbles on your wine rack.

Bubbles don’t have to be expensive

30 Saturday Dec 2017

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The sale of sparkling wines and champagne has been booming. French Champagne, Italian Prosecco, and Spanish Cava have become year-round refreshing treats. And after years of predictions it could become a big player, England’s sparkling wines are finally turning up on shelves of U.S. wine stores.

grape-sense-logoGrape Sense has urged year-round enjoyment of bubbles, but everyone at least thinks of Champagne at the new year.

Let’s do a quick review of what’s available, something we haven’t done in a few years.

Italian Prosecco is one of the biggest booming wines in the world. The bubbles are lighter, and the wines are a little sweeter. Most Prosecco is made with Glera, native to northern Italy, but up to nine other grapes can be blended to make up to 15 percent of any Prosecco.

rubuliHere is an easy tip to make sure you’re buying quality Italian bubbles. Look for the region Valdobbiadene on the bottle. You don’t have to pronounce it, just remember it. Valdobbiadene is the premier region for the Glera grape.  You can find great Prosecco at most wine shops ranging from $15-$35. Rebuli and Bisol are good producers.

Spanish Cava is even more affordable. There are good bottles as low as $8-$10. Spain is the second largest producer of sparkling wine, second only to Champagne. Much of the Cava is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, though local grapes like Parellada get involved as well. Look for an easy-to-find bottling like Poema or Segura Viudas is an even better producer.

U.S. producers in California have been around a long time. A personal and affordable favorite is Sonoma County’s Gloria Ferrer. Several different bottlings are available but the entry level Sonoma Brut is a great wine for $20. If you want something special, try the Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blanc for just a few dollars more. A bit of education, a blanc de blanc is made of 100 percent Chardonnay while a Blanc de Noir would be Pinot Noir bubbles.

Other top California bubble makers include Korbel, Gruet, Roederer, Schramsberg, and Mumm.

HebrartOf course, no discussion of bubbles can exclude Champagne. French bubbles remain the benchmark all sparkling wine producers seek to reproduce. The classic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bubble blends set the world standard. Many producers near Reims, France, about 80 miles north of Paris, have been making Champagne for hundreds of years.

Like many things French, champagne doesn’t come cheap. There are good bottles around $40-$60 but most people are more familiar with names like Dom Perignon, Bollinger, Krug, Moet & Chandon, and many others. Visit a wine shop and you’ll learn the names you know also make less expensive bottles.

A somewhat newer trend in Champagne is the emergence, at least from a marketing perspective, of grower wines. These are usually small production houses really focused on growing their grapes and making wine with a focus on terroir. In Indiana, look for a producer like Marc Hebrart. The Hebrart Brut sells for around $35 and the Rose’ bubbles about $60.

May you enjoy good health and success in 2018.

 

Six wines you should keep in house

18 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by in Holidays, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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Some of us real winos keep a lot of wine around the house. Some winos have a basement or cellar or electronic coolers to store wine. Some crazy (or very serious) winos move from one city to another and realize they have a lot of wine.

But most people don’t buy by the case or half case. I know serious wine aficionados who buy a bottle or two at a time. There is nothing wrong with either approach. But with the holiday season fast approaching, maybe it’s time to keep a small supply on hand.

grape-sense-logoI’d suggest you always keep six bottles of wine in your home. It keeps you prepared for any meal and any guest. The list should include two reds, two whites, a Rose’ and a sparkling wine.

It’s easiest to start with the two reds. One of those reds should probably be Cabernet Sauvignon. Cab goes best with steak and big flavors. Any decent wine shop and even liquor store will offer several Cabernets at reasonable prices below $20. Mondavi, Louis Martini, Concannon, and many others offer good value and varietally correct wines.

Your second red wine should probably be on the lighter side. Personally, I’d recommend a Pinot Noir. Pinot is lighter on the plate. It’s excellent with seafood and other dishes not quite as bold as beef entrees. There are lighter style Pinots, think Oregon and Burgundy, and bigger bold Pinots often from California. If you want something other than Pinot, try a Spanish tempranillo, French Beaujolais, of Italian Dolcetto.

It’s easy to start the whites with Chardonnay. But do you like them buttery and oaky or clean and crisp? California’s big buttery, woodsy Chard has dominated the market for years. That style of Chardonnay pairs great with food. But in recent years unoaked Chardonnay has really boomed. The unoaked Chards usually give a fresher fruit taste, crisp, and nice acidity. If you want sheer elegance for a special occasion, buy white burgundy or Chablis Cru at your nearby wine shop.

Your second white wine is a little trickier because of the wide range of choices. Lighter whites which drink easy include the entire family of Pinot whites. Pinot Grigio is often the lightest of the family and is made around the world. If you like a bit drier white wine, move to the Pinot Blancs. Riesling is a favorite of many and is made from very dry to very sweet. Arguably, the world’s best Riesling comes from Germany or the Alsace region. But you’ll also find great Riesling from Canada, New York, Washington, and upper Michigan.

Keep one Rose’ in-house because it’s the most flexible wine on your small wine rack or cardboard wine box. There are a few great Pinot Rose’ wines from California and Oregon but real devotees will tell you the best Rose’ comes from Provence in Southern France. World-class Rose’ comes at less than $20 a bottle. That funky pink wine is about as far from white zinfandel as wine can get. French Rose’ is a great food wine for lighter dishes.

Sparkling wine sales are growing around the world. Drink more and you’ll want more. Too many people have very dry Champagne memories from weddings past stuck in their mind. Today’s entry-level bubbles should start with Italian Prosecco and Spanish Cava. Both offer tremendous values with top bottles available for under $20 and often less. You don’t have to spend $300 a bottle to get the best French champagne either. You can buy great grower bubbles, grower meaning grown and produced usually in small lots, in the $50-$100 range.

The holidays are here and you need wine handy. Enjoy it with guests or keep the bottles around as a great gift. These six wines will help you be prepared. The only better advice is double down and buy a case!

Pick up some bubbles for summer sips

16 Friday Jun 2017

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New Year’s Eve is probably the furthest thing from most wine drinker’s mind as June brings summer-like temperatures. But winos need to think about Dec. 31 for summer vino picks.

Sales trends across the U.S. show sparkling wine or Champagne sales increasing at significant rates. Bubbles aren’t just for ringing in the new year any more.

grape-sense-logoMany point to Italy’s easy-to-drink Prosecco as the catapult for sparkling wine sales. As a matter of fact, Prosecco sales are up more than 25 percent in the latest year-to-date survey released in September.

Prosecco is a gateway to sparkling wine. The flavors are pleasing, the quality is usually outstanding, the bubbles are subdued and the price is right. Prosecco can be found at most good wine shops and some liquor stores for $12 and up.

But the sparkling category is climbing across the board from Prosecco to the considerably-more-expensive French Champagnes. Over the same time period, Champagne sales in the US increased 10 percent and that’s with an average price point of $50 a bottle.

If you combine all sparkling wine sales, America’s consumption has nearly doubled since 2000.

Indiana retailers share a similar story.

 

Ron

Ron Miller

Two Indy wine retailers agreed the sparkling wine category is growing. “Our sparkling sale are up this year with it’s trending toward inexpensive Cava (Spanish) and Prosecco that can be enjoyed as a mixer or just on its own,” Cork and Cracker owner Ron Miller said. “Our Champagnes are doing well but those are still more special occasion wines.”

 

A bit farther north in Carmel, Vine and Table sales seem to split between Champagne and non-Champagne sparklers. “I would say we probably sell more Champagne when it comes to people just wanting to enjoy a bottle of bubbles,” wine buyer Brendan Kennedy said. “For events or for people entertaining, there’s definitely more of a demand for Prosecco, Cava, and domestic sparkling wines because they can hit a lower price point that’s just not possible for true Champagne.”

Kennedy agreed that Prosecco is getting more people into sparkling wines. “The level of carbonation is a bit lower than most, and I think that appeals to people who don’t regularly drink sparkling wine,” he said. “I could certainly see more Prosecco producers following that model.”

The Carmel shop buyer goes a bit further to predict increasing sales of the dry Brut wines. He noted a tasting done during the fall where the most popular pours were dry Brut wines and Dry Rosé Brut with zero residual sugar.

“I would say we sell probably four bottles of white sparkling for every bottle of Rosé,” Kennedy added. “It seems we’ve been near that ratio for the last three or four years. While sales of still Rosés take off in the warmer weather, the sparkling Rosés usually don’t see nearly the same amount of love.”

Miller said customers still ask for Prosecco more than any other sparkler but Rose and traditional champagne sales are up. “I have always loved sparkling rose and we do well, our top selling is Camille Braun Cremant d’alsace brut rose at $26.99,” he said. “We also have a couple of less expensive roses that do well too.”

One thing both wine retailers can agree on is that bubbles should not be limited to the holidays. “Sparkling wine is our second biggest wine category after Cabernet Sauvignon,” Kennedy shared. “We’ve found that people can forget how crisp and refreshing a bottle of bubbles can be in the summer. We’ve occasionally made easy-to-make sparkling wine cocktails such as an Aperol spirtz or St. Germain cocktails in hopes that people will be drinking sparkling year around and not just for special and celebratory occasions.”

Miller agreed and noted that sparkling wines pair well with almost any food. He will often recommend a sparkling wine when customers aren’t sure what to serve.

“Starting any party with a sparkling wine always seems to set the mood,” Miller said. “I have never seen a frown when I was handing someone a glass of bubbles. Sparkling wine is also the acceptable breakfast alcohol, it doesn’t always have to be 5 o’clock somewhere.”

Try Italian Bubbly for New Year’s Eve

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

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There are so many good choices for a glass of sparking wine or bubbly at New Years you can hardly go wrong.

Most of us probably won’t be buying Dom Perginon, Krug, or Cristal for the New Year’s toast Wednesday night. But there is plenty of time to grab a bottle of sparkling wine in the $10-$20 range that you and your guests can enjoy.

new_years_toastMy first instinct is to always send people to Italy’s Prosecco. The northern Italian region of Prosecco produces some of the most drinkable bubbly in the world. I quick primer starts with location. The Prosecco region in in the far northeastern corner of the boot surrounding Venice. Glera is the main grape of Proseeco, a native grape dating back to the time of the Romans. There are up to seven other grapes often blended in up to 15 percent.

Prosecco is usually a straw-yellow sparkler with a floral nose, hints of apple and pear with modest alcohol. It drinks fresh, smooth and even elegant.

The Italian bubbly is also growing in popularity as a year round drink. U.S. Prosecco exports. Imports increased 27 percent to the states in the first quarter of this year.

thBut what should go looking for? If you want to try Prosecco start with the widely available Riondo Spago Nero. The wine is really easy to drink, 100 percent Glera, and a cool 10.5 percent alcohol. I’ve probably seen this bottle in more wine shops than any other Italian Prosecco.

Another I enjoyed just as much or more was the Astoria “Lounge” Prosecco, an extra dry sparkling wine. This had really powerful pear and rich apple flavor. It’s in a distinctive squat bottle and just 11 percent alcohol.

astoria_prosecco__33659.1389809720.1280.1280The suggested price on these two Prosecco wines is $14 for the Riondo and $11 for the Astoria. Both were trade samples.

Bolla_Sparkling-Rose-bottle-135x450Let’s stay in northern Italy but take a look at the Banfi’s Bolla Sparkling Rose’. There is nothing like sparkling Rose’ for a toast or to start your morning tour when visiting old Europe.

The Bolla is made of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Raboso. It’s very floral, more pronounced fruit and a delightful sipper. It’s another wine that’s really easy to find. The Bolla is also a modest 11 percent alcohol. It’s normally priced around $12-$14.

The great thing about these wines are their affordability and wonderfully light taste. Buy several and enjoy them throughout the year. Sparkling wine makes a great summer sipper.