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Don Ho was right about tiny bubbles, and there’s no better time of the year to warm up and get happy with a great bottle of bubbly. With holiday parties happening nearly every night these days, there’s no doubt that most of us will end up consuming our fair share of cheap, and often tasteless, sparkling wine. But there’s good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. Whatever your price range, there are a number of great sparkling wines available.
Last year we gave you some history into the process of making sparkling wine. And one of the key things we noted when picking a sparkling wine is that there is a difference between sparkling wine and Champagne (note the capital C). All Champagne is sparkling wine but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. True Champagne is made only in Champagne, the northern most wine-making region in France, and is made by a very detailed process called Méthode Champenoise. It’s a distinction that the French take very seriously, since, according to European Union laws, only wines made in Champagne using Méthode Champenoise can be labeled Champagne.
Because Champagne is such a small percentage of the sparkling wine market, it tends to be more expensive. Fortunately, the sparkling wine market has grown leaps and bounds beyond Champagne in the last decade, and there are more fantastic sparkling wines than ever to sample. We worked with Christy Przystawik, owner and resident wine expert at Food Matters in Alexandria, to come up with a list of great sparkling wines to try this holiday season. So whether you want a true Champagne or you’d like to try one of the many other options, we’ve got you covered with recommendations at all price points, and a few cocktail recipes to try out.
Photo by Gaetan Lee
1+1=3 Cava Brut NV, Spain, $14.99 (available online and at area Whole Foods Market stores)
This Catalan Cava is light, refreshing, and has a crisp dry finish. It’s a brisk wine with lots of citrus flavors that drinks easily and is also great for using in cocktails. It's also light enough to serve before a meal or with hors d'oeuvres.
Domaine du Pas Saint Martin Saumur Brut 2004, France, $16.99 (available at Food Matters)
This sparkling wine made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc grapes hails from an organic vineyard run by a mother and son team. Christy Przystawik notes, “The whole vineyard sits above fossilized marine life and the soil is full of limestone. You can really taste it in the wine.”
Jean-Francois Merieau NV Bulles, France, $17.99 (available at Food Matters and online)
Przystawik recommends this blend of 20 percent Sauvignon Blanc and 80 percent Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley as a great buy when both price and appearance are important (meaning it’s a great gift for a party host). “Lovely, simple, dry, very bubbly – as indicated by the name ‘bulles’ and," she adds, “no one can resist the cute polka dot label.”
Jansz Sparkling Brut NV, Australia, $25.99 (available at Food Matters and online)
This Aussie gem is made using Méthode Champenoise, and it really comes through in the taste. The Jansz wines hail from Tasmania, which has earned the nickname “Sparkling Tasmania” because its climate and soil are so excellently suited to turning out the finest sparkling wines in Australia. A traditional blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, this wine is crisp and has a soft bead (i.e., smaller bubbles) and a light fruit taste. This one is a great buy if you want the taste of a nice Champagne with a more recession-friendly price.
Champagne Tarlant Brut Zero NV, France, $57.99 (available at Food Matters and online)
If you’re looking for a really fabulous bottle of Champagne, you really needn’t look further. The Tarlant winery has been around since 1687 and uses organic farming practices to produce their wines, although they don't advertise themselves as such to avoid appearing “trendy” (how very French). This is a “brut zero” wine meaning that, whereas most Champagnes receive a “dosage” of wine and sugar added to the bottle before the final corking, this one receives no added sugar and is therefore a completely dry Champagne. The nose is incredibly yeasty and smells like warm dinner rolls (seriously, it will make you hungry for carbs) and the taste manages to still be smooth and rich despite being completely dry.
If you’d like the chance to sample a number of different sparkling wines without shelling out big bucks for a bottle of each, a good bet is to attend a tasting. Food Matters is hosting a Champagne tasting this Sunday, December 21, that Przystawik says will focus on, “all little-known producers, and all very different. We will be tasting wines that focus on terroir and fruit, as well as a Rosé and a Pinot Meunier.” You can make reservations by calling Food Matters at 703.461.3663.
For those who like their bubbly to be extra-festive, there are a number of great sparkling wine-based cocktails that are sure to liven up any party and provide a light, refreshing, and slightly more sophisticated alternative to eggnog or red and green Jell-O shots. Below are a few interesting options, besides the classic champagne cocktail, mimosa, or kir royale, that will impress guests and keep everyone feeling fine.
Poinsettia (recipe from RecipeZaar.com)
2 ounces cranberry juice
4 ounces sparkling wine
½ ounce orange liqueur
Fill a champagne flute with the cranberry juice and sparkling wine then add a float of the orange liqueur on top.
Champearmint (recipe from William Grimes’s Straight Up or On the Rocks: The Story of the American Cocktail)
1 ounce pear brandy
1 dash vodka
4 ounces chilled sparkling wine
1 slice fresh pear
2 mint leaves
1 dash white crème de menthe
Pour brandy and vodka into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne. Garnish with the pear slice and mint leaves. Pour dash of crème de menthe over pear slice.
Thames Champagne Cocktail (recipe from James Waller’s Drinkology: The Art and Science of the Cocktail)
1 sugar cube
½ ounce Pimm’s Cup No. 1
5 ounces sparkling wine
Lemon twist
Rub the rim of a champagne flute with the twist. Drop the twist and sugar cube into the flute. Add the Pimm’s Cup. Gently top off with sparkling wine.
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you forgot the best and one of the most affordable sparklings around...Saint-Meyland. You can find it at the Wine Specialist on M and New Hampshire and Ace Beverage next to Balduccis. They might have it other places, but that is where I've bought it in the past
http://www.winespecialist.com/ecart/product.asp?pID=2008&cID=51&c=174720
there, now buy away!
There's a typo in the title... it should read "Sparkling Wine Picks for the Holidays"
Or possibly "Sparking Blunts for the Holidays"
I think you meant to say sparkLing wine in ur headline. I know, I hate myself for it.
Love the sparking wines, Alyse. The 1500 watt Moen Backflush is a steal at $25.
Aw guys, don't beat up on Alyse because I made a typo in her headline.
Sparkling wine is for sissies. Give me a bottle of Jose Cuervo and that'll be that.
Cuervo is for sissies. Give me a bag of prison toilet wine and that'll be that.
Sparkling wine hangover is not for sissies, so easy on the bubbly.
It's hard to believe, but you're better off starting with a glass of bubbly, then Cuervo, then prison Franzia..
Half-pint of Everclear fits perfectly in your back pocket.
Pour over ice. Add some club soda. Drink.
Now put on your panda or Eddie Eagle costume and you're set to go.
I only drink Veuve Cliquot, preferably Grand Dame. Merci.
Thank you Sommer :)
I love this article! You did a knock up bang out job! Hopefully you've delivered someone from the evils that are Cold Duck, Freixenet, and other things of that nature!
Actually, prison wine ain't that bad. Here's a recipe. Certainly better than the weak-ass drinks they peddle at Marvin and it won't cost you the month's rent. And nothing washes down a can of potted meat product or pickled pork rinds quite like a tall, cool glass of prison toilet wine.
Do you know why they call it a "prison cocktail?" Because after three of these, you can't feel the cock in your tail.