In our continuing holiday wine series with Canadian Press (CP), we chat about great sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve.
You don’t have to go for Champagne, even though this is the traditional treat.
There are terrific options from around the world, including Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco and sparkling wine from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, among many other regions.
Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at www.nataliemaclean.com, chooses her favourite sparkling wines:
Kim Crawford Small Parcels Fizz Sparkling Wine
Marlborough, New Zealand
Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada
Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Brut
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A, Canada
Segura Viudas Heredad Reserva Brut Cava
Penedès D.O., Spain
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava
Penedès D.O., Spain
Ferrari Brut
Alto Adige Trentino D.O.C., Italy
Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava
Penedès D.O., Spain
Taittinger Nocturne Champagne
Champagne A.C., France
Veuve Clicquot Vintage Brut Rosé Champagne
Champagne A.C., France
Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Brut Rosé Champagne
Champagne A.C., France
This story was published in print and the video was posted on newspaper sites across Canada.
Best Bubbly for New Years? There’s a Wine for That
Natalie: On New Year’s, you don’t have to go with Champagne, itself. You can find many other types of Sparkling wines from around the world that can’t call themselves Champagne. That is trademarked by those savvy Champagnoise makers. There are a lot of choices and let’s look at some of them. Let’s start with Canada. Why not? We make excellent Sparkling wines. For the most part, we use the Champagne method. That means there is a double fermentation. The second fermentation happens in the bottle and that’s where the bubbles get trapped. That is what they do in Champagne.
Another option is a Sparkling wine from New Zealand. The method is the same. The grapes may differ but the quality is superb and when you’re looking at Sparkling wines from Canada, New Zealand or the US, you’re probably looking at the $25-$35 price range. If you really want a budget bubbly but don’t want to give up good taste, go for either Spain or Italy.
Spain produces Cava. Cava means cave. It’s made in a cave and the method is the same as Champagne but they are using Spanish grapes. The two I have here today are from the same winery, Segura. We have their entry level bubbly which is about $13-$14. Their prestige, that they produce at holiday time in it’s a nice gift packaging for about $30. We have Freixenet at about $15. This is a gift packs so it’s going to be a little bit more. We have Prosecco from Italy. The method can be the same but the grapes are different. We’re looking at about $14-$15. so Sparkling wine is a fraction of the cost but don’t worry it’s still taste great. It’s a great way to ring in the New Year’s, cheers!
Posted with permission of The Canadian Press
