Sparkling for Special Celebrations

• Posted on 3 May 2022
• Posted in chardonnay, chassalas, france, Glera, Italy, malvasia, pinot noir, Virginia
• 0

Sparkling wines are truly the hallmark of any celebration. This week, there are dueling celebrations on hand, as we not only celebrate Mother’s Day, but we also celebrate City Vino’s 5th Anniversary! Break out the sparkling wine this week to toast to mom or to her memory. We will also be popping a cork to commemorate our 5th anniversary. Thanks to you, our beloved customers, for these past five years! Your support of a small local business means the world to us

In the words of Dom Pérignon, as he tasted the first Champagne, "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!" Indeed, you were, Dom, you were. There is something incredibly special about opening a bottle of Champagne or other sparkling wine. From the pop or whisper of gas that escapes when the cork is removed, to the mousse that forms at the top of your glass as the wine is poured, to the stream of bubbles rising from the bottom of your glass, and finally, to the tickle at the tip of your nose as you raise the glass to taste – it is a true, true experience.

Let us recommend lovely sparkling wines to celebrate mom or her memory, our anniversary, or simply life.

We will start with Champagnes, then move onto to wines made outside of Champagne, but by the same method, and then onto sparkling wines made from less-traditional grapes.

1. Bauget Jouette Carte Blanche NV Champagne is a blend of 60 percent Chardonnay, 30 percent Pinot Meunier, and 10 percent Pinot Noir. It is a non-vintage wine, as denoted by the NV. This means that older wines have been blended with the wine made from the current harvest, in order to create a wine that is the “house style” of the producer. NV wines are usually very consistent from year to year in their flavor profiles. This is a lovely wine, with aromatics of fresh apples, grapefruit, white plums, and hazelnuts. It is lively on the palate, with flavors that echo the aromatics, all ending in a long finish, with hints of honey. 
2. H. Coutier Champagne Brut Grand Cru Tradition NV is a blend of 75 percent Pinot Noir with 25 percent Chardonnay. Lovely delicate bubbles rise from the glass, as notes of pear, apple, and toasty butter brioche bread fill the air. Delicious! 
3. Saint-Hilaire Brut Blanc de Blancs Blanquette De Limoux 2019 is a blend of 90 percent Mauzac with a bit of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. While Champagne often claims the first sparkling wine, the monks at Saint-Hilaire were doing it 100 years before old Dom was “tasting the stars.” Aromas and flavors on this sparkling wine include ripe pear, freshly diced ginger, almonds, and candied lemon zest. 
4. Thibaut-Janisson Xtra Brut Virginia NV is from here in Virgina, by Claude Thibaut, known to be the first (or at least one of the very first) to make sparkling wine in the state. This wine is made the same way as Champagne from 100 percent of the first press Chardonnay. When grapes are put into a press to separate the skins and seeds from the juice, the first juice that comes out without any pressure on the grapes is called free-run juice. Then the first press is the juice that comes out with the lightest amount of pressure. The free-run and first-press juice should be the purest of the grape juice, since flavors from the skins and seeds will not be extracted due to no or low pressure in the press. Green apple, Asian pear, orange peel, lemon, lime zest with notes of toast drift out of the glass and into your mouth. 
5. Ca del Doge Prosecco Extra Dry Veneto Italy NV is made from 100 percent of a grape called Glera, which used to be called Prosecco, which led to confusion between the grape name and the place, so it was renamed. Prosecco is made via the Charmat method, where the second fermentation occurs in a pressurized tank rather than individual bottles. The wine has a medium-intensity nose featuring pears, lemon drops, and white flowers. This bubbly is off dry, creamy, lively with pear, almond, and citrus fruit on the palate.

1. Siema Estate Wines Bébé Sparkling Rosé Delle Venezia Italy NV is a rosé sparkling made from 100 percent Pinot Grigio. Yes, rosé made from Pinot Gris! Pinot Gris grapes are pinkish-purple skinned. The juice spends a little time in contact with the skin, which yields a lovely copper hue to this sparkling wine. The bouquet on this wine features floral notes, like walking under an arbor of wisteria; toasted almonds; and walnut skins. The wine is dry with fresh acidity and a lovely thin and continuous stream of bubbles which is called perlage. 

7. Fracchia Voulet Malvasia D ‘Asti Piedmont Italy 2021 is an off-dry sparkling red made from the Malvasia de Casorzo grape. The aromatics and flavors on this wine include rose petals, fresh berries, and grapes.

8. Baci Dolci Sweet Kisses Red NV – a lightly sparkling, semi-sweet, and intensely ruby-red colored wine made from a blend of Marzemino and Merlot. There are fresh strawberries and black cherry aromas on the nose, with hints of roses. The palate reveals reminiscences of cherry pie.

Sparkling wine can be made from about any grape, so the options to celebrate are broad and exciting. We also have the Lake Chalice Skye Bubbles Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand NV, which is 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc; the Palacio de Bornos Frizzante Verdejo Castilla y León Spain NV, which is 100 percent Verdejo; the Treveri Cellars Gewürztraminer Demi-Sec Columbia Valley Washington NV, which is 100 percent Gewürztraminer; and the Vino dal Bosco Sparkling Chasselas Doré Redland Vineyards Albemarle County Virginia 2021, which is 100 percent Chasselas Doré.