Posts Tagged ‘Champagne’
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
 Truth be told here, I had very little experience with Prosecco prior to our trip to Tuscany and Piedmont last summer. THAT changed in a hurry once we were off and running!
Prosecco makes its roots easy to follow, the name given to the wine, the region and the grapes. This versatile and bubbly sparkling wine, native to the Veneto region of Italy, is refreshing, tasty, and fun. The best wines come from Cartizze, a sub-appellation of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene appellation and should be labeled as Superior. These wines tend to be a little more structured and slightly sweeter than others. Fortunately for consumers, these names appear on the label. Prosecco is not a wine meant to compete with Champagne. Whereas Champagne derives its complex flavor and aromatic profile from the chalky soil of the Champagne region and the long autolysis process breaking down the yeasts yielding rich notes of toast, yeast, and lean citrus, Prosecco is more about ripe fresh fruit, sweetness and a lighter overall style. It’s this profile that makes the wine so refreshing and food friendly. Even better, they’re incredibly affordable, most running under $30!
Prosecco has now surpassed the classic Asti Spumante as Italy’s number one exported sparkling wine, the increased popularity a reflection of the improved quality of these wines over the years due to stricter laws. The requirement of authentic Prosecco to be limited in production to northeast Italy and be labeled DOC or DOCG has dramatically reduced the inventory of sub-par wines from other regions of Europe.
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Tags: Asti Spumanti, Champagne, Italy, Prosecco, Sparkling wine, Veneto
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Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
As I was wading my way through the remaining holiday cheese from Venissimo Cheese in San Diego, I thought that I would share the details on some of these delights and wines to pair. You can watch our video series part I and part II with owner Gina Freize.
Fromager d’Affinois:
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Tags: Beaujolais, Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chablis, Champagne, cheese, Moscato d'Asti, Prosecco, Schramsberg, Sherry, Venissimo
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Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Hard to believe that 2011 is in the books as we look toward 2012. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few Champagne/sparkling wines.
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Tags: Casanova di Neri, Champagne, Garganega, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Nicolas Feuillatte, Port, Ribera del Duero, Rosso di Montalcino, Sangiovese, Schramsberg, Sparkling wine, Tempranillo, Vin Soave
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Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
The Antinori family has been growing grapes and producing wine for over 600 years spanning 26 generations of family. Today, Piero Antinori, accompanied by his three daughters, continues to produce some of the world’s finest Tuscans, the Tignanello amongst the best.
Antinori Toscana Tignanello, 2004:
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Tags: Antinori, Champagne, Rhone, Sonoma County, Tignanello
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Much like Riesling, Chenin Blanc is a wine around which you could build an entire meal, its versatility opening the door to pairing with everything from an aperitif to dessert. The style of wine ranges from bone dry Savenierres with mineral driven electrified acidity to medium bodied off dry (just a hint of sweetness) to semi-sweet either medium or full bodied, to late harvest and very rich and sweet botrytized dessert wine. While the balance of flavor and sweetness can vary, one aspect remains a stable: the driving acidity. In fact, combine the acidity with the high sugar content and you get a wine that potentially has a good couple of decades of aging potential.
The fun in pairing this wine is all in the style of the wine. With the ability to tinker with the balance of acidity and sugar, producers can offer a diversity of styles. If the wine is a dry or off-dry Loire, expect melon, guava, red or yellow apple and quince fruits, possible Chamomile and straw notes, a hint of freshly cut grass and a chalky-mineral driven wine. As mentioned, the classic bone dry version is from Savenierres. This style possesses dried apple and quince fruits, dried flowers, freshly cut grass and straw and hints of chalky earth. The result is a wine with extraordinary structure and capable of aging for decades if stored properly. Vouvray also produces a notably dry style but not quite as austere. If you’re searching for an off dry version (one with a little sweetness), think Vouvray and Montlouis with richer flavors of apple, pear and melon. The wines are often labeled as moelleux or softly sweet.
On the other hand, if the wine is late harvest or botrytized, expect baked apple and ripe cantaloupe, custard, honey, caramel and vanilla. I once knew someone who swore that he smelled Juicy fruit gum! This style is quite a treat… rich and luscious. Look for Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux de Layon wines.
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Tags: Australia, botrytize, Champagne, cheese, Chenin Blanc, coteaux de layon, Loire, mexico, New Zealand, Quarts de Chaume, Savennieres, South Africa, south america, Sparkling wine, United States, Vouvray
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Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
There is probably no holiday period more inviting to popping a bottle of bubbly than the end of the year. The great thing about sparkling wines is that there is so much diversity in style and price, there’s something for everyone, from the classic Champagne to the Cremant (French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region) to the non-French style of sparkling wine.
Sparkling wine, however, is not just for celebratory occasions. It's lively personality is refreshing and cleansing when paired with spicy and fried foods. Want to try a fun combo? Try sparkling wine with egg dishes for brunch. The Blanc de Blancs will tease your palate with aromas of brioche, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon and citrus notes while its sibling, the Blanc de Noirs, will inject some raspberry and cherry. The Rose style offers a little lighter palate, often with strawberry, cherry and fresh baked bread nuances alongside apple, fig and ginger.
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Tags: Champagne, Gruet, Schramsberg, Sparkling wine
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Monday, December 6th, 2010
With the core of the holiday season fast approaching (already here if you celebrate Chanukah), Sparkling wine (Champagne if produced in the namesake region using Champagne harvested grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier only) will be flowing freely. While you might think of bubbly for celebration only, it’s ironic that the frothy and fizzy wine pairs with food more easily than most still reds and whites. This flexibility is due to multiple factors. They are often lower in alcohol than still wines ( 5-7%), have more acidity which keeps the wine lively and refreshing and they’re produced in a very wide range of styles from light gold to rose. The level of sweetness can vary as can the origin of the sparkling wine, resulting in wines with even further diversity. Sparkling wine is produced in many regions around the world from the United States, Spain (Cava), Italy (Prosecco and Brachetto d’Acqui), Samur in the Loire Valley (sparkling Vouvray), Germany and Austria (Sekt) and even Russia. In addition, the classic Champagne or sparkling wine can be assembled from any of three grapes or a blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, offering still further combinations. The latter grape, while not a household name, is a dark grape that lends acidity and aromatics to the wine and as such is widely used in blending.
The lighter lemony and golden colored sparkling wines have their origin in the Chardonnay grape. The expression “blanc de blancs” (translated white from white reflecting white juice from a white grape) on the front label designates that the wine has been produced exclusively from the Chardonnay grape whether it be a Champagne or other sparkling wine. These wines tend to work well with a range of food styles and preparations from caviar and shellfish such as clams, mussels, oysters and sushi to a rich and creamy dish such as a foie gras pate and lobster in a butter or cream sauce. It also wipes the palate clean when paired with oily fried foods. Salads are a great match with sparkling wine, especially with an acid driven citrusy dressing. The Italian version, Prosecco, and Spanish style, Cava, tend to be very light, low in alcohol and acid driven, working well with aperitifs.
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Tags: Brachetto d'Acqui, cava, Champagne, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Prosecco, sekt, Sparkling Vouvray, Sparkling wine
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Monday, December 6th, 2010
OK…..let’s make this easy……….sparkling wine is any wine that bubbles and froths when poured into a glass. The bubbles we so enjoy emanate from a carbon dioxide build up in the bottle under pressure and dissolved in the wine. If the wine is designated as Champagne, it must, by French law derive from the Champagne region and resource only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes depending upon the style.
While the gold standard of sparkling wine is Champagne from the namesake region of France, many regions throughout the world, including other regions of France, produce excellent sparkling wine. The Samur region of the Loire is renown for its sparkling Vouray from the Chenin Blanc grape. In the United States, sparkling wines are produced in many states with some of the finest deriving from Schramsberg in California (www.schramsberg.com) and Gruet from our next door neighbor New Mexico (www.gruetwinery.com). Spain produces Cava, it’s version of sparkling wine from non-Champagne grapes while Italy boasts Prosecco and Brachetto d'Acqui, Asti and Lambrusco and Australia, Sparkling Shiraz. Germany and Austria produce their version (Sekt) and even Russia produces a “Soviet Sparkling wine.”
Sparkling wine can be bottled as either vintage or non-vintage. The latter represents the majority of the wine produced and is predominated by a base of current vintage blended with some prior vintage wine. While the "blanc de blancs" (white juice from white grapes) is always 100% Chardonnay (be it Champagne or sparkling wine), the "blanc de noirs" (white juice from from black grapes) version is a bit more fuzzy. If designated as Champagne, the wine must contain only the pressed juices from Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes. If designated as sparking wine, it may contain some Chardonnay. This diversity in production style results in a wines that may display nearly any color, depending upon the grape used and contact of juices with the skins (in the case of reds). Most commonly, the wine is light golden or pink (Rose) but can be red as with Bourgogne Mousseux or sparkling Shiraz. The level of sweetness can vary as can the alcoholic strength and even degree of fizziness. According to EU regulations, the level of sweetness on any EU wine must be displayed on the label. Those produced outside of the region are not subject to the regulations.
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Tags: Asti, cava, Champagne, fermentation, lambrusco, lees, Loire, Prosecco, riddling, Samur, sekt, sparkling shiraz, Sparkling wine
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Monday, September 13th, 2010
Having been raised in New England, it was impossible for me to NOT be exposed to and fall in love with the taste of lobster. For me, there was simply nothing like cracking open that just broiled 2 pound lobster, withdrawing the succulent meat and dipping it into freshly melted butter. There’s something about that sweet and rich flavor intermingled with hints of sea salt that just melts in your mouth.
Lobster can be soft shelled or hard shelled. The soft shelled version is prevalent earlier in summer season, mainly from July to October. As these lobsters are fragile and don’t ship well, they’re consumed mostly in nearby New England. Also, the soft shelled version tends to be a little too delicate to grill. Some cooks feel that the quality of the meat in soft shells can be as good and tasty as hard shell whereas others claim that there is some dilution of flavor in the former. While the soft shelled are more convenient to gather, being closer to shore, the hard shelled cousins need to be retrieved from further offshore, from North Carolina to Newfoundland. Eventually, all of the lobsters become hard shelled from later in October through January. It’s during this time period that these are very accessible and the pricing usually at its best. From mid winter into the spring, lobsters that may have been penned up offshore to assure continued access to hungry consumers are made available. As these lobsters are not living “in the wild,” and foraging as they usually would, some claim that their flavor is not quite as tasty. Later in the spring, the quality of the meat picks up again, just prior to molting, when the lobster has the most meat.
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Tags: Chablis, Champagne, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, lobster, Marsanne, Pinot B Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Savenierres, Viognier, Vouvray, white Burgundy, white Hermitage
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Monday, August 30th, 2010
As we close out the summer season with the traditional Labor Day weekend, palates turn to barbecued dishes, seafood and dips. I’m not yet certain where we’ll fit into this scenario but it’s safe to assume that some of my time will be spent over the hot grill. With some extra time off, many of us will be afforded the opportunity to celebrate from afternoon to evening over the long holiday weekend. That, in turn, opens the door to enjoying food and wine from afternoon right into the evening.
If you launch your festivities during the hot afternoon, lighter fare and lighter wines are a great place to start. For me, I love the idea of some cold, peeled large shrimp. We mix up a spicy cocktail sauce with horseradish, cilantro and just a touch of fresh lemon juice. Some freshly cut vegetables to pair with humus is a great accompaniment. And of course, how could you not display a large bowl of festive and colorful chips with salsa and guacamole? We picked up some smoked Hatch New Mexico chilies last week and I’m sure to be dicing them up in the salsa…….hmmm.
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Tags: Albarino, California Cab, Chablis, Champagne, Chardonnay, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Prosecco, Ribera del Duero, Riesling, Rioja, Sauvignon Blanc, Schramsberg, Sparkling wine, Syrah, Zinfandel
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