Your favorite sparkler?

[KatieLoeb]

you might like to try bel castel prosecco if you can find it, tommy(katie loeb turned me onto this pour)

Why thanks Suzi! Glad you like it as much as I do!

The Bele Casel Prosecco is imported by Fleet Street importers. I have reason to be speaking with my sales rep tomorrow without a doubt. I'll make a point of asking if there are any outlets for their products in CT. I'll post what I find out for you.

[Scott]

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (Ruggeri is a good producer) offers off dry sparklers for uncomplicated squaffing.

agree this is excellent glugging.

[Msk]

I've never met a Prosecco I didn't like.

Msk

[badthings]

I've never met a Prosecco I didn't like.

Word.

Actually, I've a a few forgettable proseccos, but nothing really horrible. One of my faves is Adriano Adami (~$12), but I'm not sure how widely distributed it is.

[KatieLoeb]

Trish:

My purveyor tells me that the Fleet Street products are only in NY, NJ, DE and PA. However, try this link WineAccess.com. You create an account for yourself and then you can hunt for wines all over. You just enter the name of the wine you're looking for and then your zip code and it will tell you if there are any retailers in your area that are carrying it.

[Msk]

I'll second Wineaccess. I use it all the time to find wines eGulleters or other friends recommend. However, being able to purchase them (or have them shipped) is another matter altogether.

Msk

[jddoyle]

www.wine-searcher.com is another good site even if you don't pay for "premium" access.

[TrishCT]

After making numerous calls, many of these sparklers are not available locally. Thanks to Katie Loeb's referrral to the wineaccess Web site, I was able to hook up with Chelsea Wines and they are shipping me Renardat-Fache Cerdon de Bugey, Bisole Prosecco, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose but not the 1997 vintage, and a sparkling Vouvray that the guy I spoke with (Mike from Alabama) recommended.

A local liquor store carries Schramsberg Blanc de blancs which no one here has recommended but the store owner did. (Your take on it?) Krug, Taittinger, and some Roederer Estate all seem accessible around here, so may get some of them later today.

What no one in CT or at Chelsea Wines seems to carry:

Carpene Malvolti Prosecco

Zardetto Prosecco

Argyle

Mumm Napa Valley DVX

So am I doing ok...??

[suzilightning]

i can get the zardetto, argyle and dvx

perhaps we can have a handoff on rt. 84 at the border of ny/ct next tuesday when we head for poughkeepsie

or maybe we'll have to have a sparkler function and all bring a case or two to swap

[suzilightning]

actually one that i really liked and can't find down here for the life of me is Pindar's Spring Champagne.

i remembe rhaivng it for the first time on a wine-tour of their vineyard and it was a revelation to me.

granted i was barely legal at the time, but the taste still stays with me.

wow

i'm from the east end and don't remember pindar ever having a sparkler.

course my favorite from that area - and i can't get it anywhere in northern nj- is from pugilese. it is a sparkling pinot noir which is amazing

[The Little Blue House]

Finally, sparkling Vouvray is often unjustly overlooked.

Try a Vouvray Petillant, like Prince Poniatowski's from the vineyards of Clos Baudoin. (Which , I think, was given the appellation Premier Grand Cru de Vouvray in 1878.)

[TrishCT]

i can get the zardetto, argyle and dvx

perhaps we can have a handoff on rt. 84 at the border of ny/ct next tuesday when we head for poughkeepsie

or maybe we'll have to have a sparkler function and all bring a case or two to swap

Suzi,

You're a doll, I think I'll have enough with these for now, but in the future perhaps we can talk....

Thank you!!!

-Trish

[Craig Camp]

-California: Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs

-Other US:

Agyle Brut, Oregon

Gruet Brut, New Mexico

-Champagne:

Bollinger Brut N/V

and many Récoltant-Manipulant brands

-Italy:

Metodo Classico: Bellavista Franciacorta Gran Cuvee Brut

Prosecco: Col Vetoraz, Valdobbiadene Extra Dry

Moscato: Marcarini Moscato d'Asti

-Spain:

Mont-Marçal Cava Brut Reserva (best value)

Huguet Brut Nature Gran Reserva (top quality)

-Rose:

Iron Horse Brut Rose (big and bold, real pinot noir character) Calif.

Mont-Marçal Cava Brut Rosado - Spain

Pol Roger Rose Vintage Champagne

[Andre]

Finally, sparkling Vouvray is often unjustly overlooked.

I agree, a very good value for the money.

Also one of the supevalues: Australia's Yellowglen.

Starting with the vintage pinot noir - chardonnay and all the way up to the Cuvee Victoria.

Wouldn't mind a sparkling shiraz as well. "Y" is always a favorite.

[KatieLoeb]

Finally, sparkling Vouvray is often unjustly overlooked.

Try a Vouvray Petillant, like Prince Poniatowski's from the vineyards of Clos Baudoin. (Which , I think, was given the appellation Premier Grand Cru de Vouvray in 1878.)

All of the Poniatowski wines are top notch. He makes whatever style the harvest will allow from year to year, so if the juice is a bit tart, he makes a dry still wine or often a sparkling (sparkling Vouvray is made by methode Champenoise so there is the opportunity to "sweeten" it up with dosage), if the juice has a lot of residual sugars or has been bleesed by botrytis, he'll make a demi-sec or a moelleux. The Poniatowski 1989 Clos Baudoin Vin de Tris Moelleux is unbelieveably delicious. Sweet, but with a healthy backbone of acidity, goes well for dessert, as an aperitif, with goat cheese or foie gras or even with the appropriate entree. Most folks don't think of pairing a sweeter wine in the middle of the progression of dinner wines, but I had this Vin de Tris paired once with a butter poached lobster and it was one of those synergistic parings that make you go "WOW - I GET it now!". In fact, those were the exact words of a friend who was enjoying the dinner with me.

Sparkling Vouvray is a great buy and sparkling riesling can also be delicious. In fact it's my favorite thing to drink with sushi!

[futronic]

My absolutely favourite Champagne is from Salon. Their Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil is absolutely outstanding, but unfortunately quite expensive (even moreso now that they changed their marketing strategy to compete with Krug's top bottling). The 1990 was outstanding, but still young. The '82 and '88 were drinking well in May. I'm holding my bottle of '85 for this coming April as a celebratory bottle for my graduation.

I don't know what I'm opening on NYE yet, but Christmas Eve will be a bottle of 1996 Veuve Clicquot Brut Vintage Reserve. Should be a stunning wine, although it will be young. Last year I opened a 1990 Bollinger RD, and it needed another couple years in the bottle.

Come to think of it, I really haven't been much help, have I?

[winebill]

Trish,

All of these are available in Connecticut:

Zardetto Prosecco

Argyle

Mumm Napa Valley DVX

Nino Franco Prosecco

All of the Schramsberg Sparklers, including Mirabelle,which is great value @ $13.00 a bottle.

another good find (and available in Conn.) is "Bonnaire Blanc de Blancs"

100 % Chardonnay from 100 % rated vineyards. around $25 bucks a bottle

also ... Billecart Salmon is also in Conn. The Non-Vintage Rose is great. ($55.00)

And last but not least... Champagnes from Charbaut of Epernay.

Brut NV $22.00 Rose NV $29.00.

CHEERS !

[TrishCT]

Winebill, you tease you,

Where pray tell in Connecticut will I find these beauties? FYI, the Billecart-Salmon is $49.00 at Chelsea Wines.

As Liberace used to say,

Bottoms Up!

Trish

[winebill]

Where else Trish ? But in Greenwich. I know , I sell them all !

The Importer recently raised the price of Billecart. Blaming it on the EURO I'm sure.

Good luck on your search

[primowino]

For a decent affordable sparkler, I'm surprised no Americans are mentioning the basic Cuvee Napa Mumm (blanc or rose). In the UK, surprisingly for a Californian wine it is pretty good value at around £11 a bottle - often reduced to £9 if you shop around. I've found it very reliable and possibly the nearest thing to champagne at the price.

[tryska]

actually one that i really liked and can't find down here for the life of me is Pindar's Spring Champagne.

i remembe rhaivng it for the first time on a wine-tour of their vineyard and it was a revelation to me.

granted i was barely legal at the time, but the taste still stays with me.

wow

i'm from the east end and don't remember pindar ever having a sparkler.

course my favorite from that area - and i can't get it anywhere in northern nj- is from pugilese. it is a sparkling pinot noir which is amazing

hey suzi - yeah they actually had 2 sparklers when i went - a spring and a winter. this was in the 90s tho. now they jsut have the Cuvee Rare....

http://www.pindar.net/Wines/wines.html

on another note - i'm kicking myself and wished i had picked up a bottle for home, but i found a vinho verde instead for us- but I picked up a fox creek "vixen" sparkling shiraz as a gift for a friend - i told him he has to tell me how it tastes when he opens the bottle.

Edited December 22, 2003 by tryska (log)

[TrishCT]

First, I owe you all a big THANK YOU for your help on short notice. I feel like I got a good crash course on sparkling wines.

I have 7 bottles of intriguing sparklers in front of me that I have never heard of before and look forward to sharing with family and friends.

Mike Gibson at Chelsea Wine Vault in Manhattan was very helpful, he recommended the Vouvray, and shipped 5 of these bottles. All arrived today, perfectly intact. I bought 2 others at a local wine store.

I have an important question, but first these are the wines, from most expensive to least:

Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose'

Schramsberg Cremant Demi Sec, Vintage 2000

Pinon Vouvray Spark Petilla Sec, 1996

Renardat Vin du Bugey Cerdon NV (2 bottles)

Bisol Prosecco Crede di Valdobbiadene Brut

Zardetto Prosecco VSAQ Brut

My question is which of these would be best served:

1. At Christmas breakfast, either as a toast or possibly mixed with fresh squeezed orange juice. (I am serving fresh strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and raspberries as a fruit cup, if that matters.)

2. After Christmas dinner, before dessert.

3. On New Year's Eve with appetizers.

Are there any other special food pairings that these scream for?

Thank you all again for the rec's, I am going to seek out and try more from this list in the future.

-Trish

Edited December 24, 2003 by TrishCT (log)

[winebill]

Well Trish.......

I think I'd save the Billecart Rose for New Years Eve App's. Maybe something that involved Lobster or some sort of shellfish. The balance of the acidity and fruit

from the Champagne will pair well with the sweetness of the seafood.

Then come New Years Day I'd make up a big pot of Chili, and fire up a big ,gutsy Zinfandel to wake up the senses !

[KatieLoeb]

Trish:

Nice cross section of sparklers there! Depending on whether you like the Vouvray as is or find it a tad too tart, I might mix that with OJ for mimosas (or with Cranberry Juice for Poinsettias - also quite seasonally apropos and tasty!), or perhaps one of the Prosecco. I think whichever of the Prosecco is fruitier would be delicious with the fruit salad just as it is. Definitely save the Demi-sec to enjoy with dessert.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

[TrishCT]

We had the Zardetto Prosecco as a toast at breakfast and it definitely was a good morning choice, easy going, smooth, and refreshing. No one wanted to mix it with juices, happy drinking it plain.

At dinner I opened a bottle of the Cerdon de Bugey as an apertif, but it was so well received, I opened another bottle for dinner itself.

Drinking slightly sweeter, good quality, sparkling wines is new to me. When I saw the color of the Cerdon all I could think of was "Please don't taste like cold duck or riunite...." (memories of my formative teen years).... and lo it did NOT taste like either. It had a fruitiness fer sure but it was very pleasant. So far 2 for 2 on the enjoyment level.