Can We Talk?
Why do we only drink Champagne and other sparkling wines when we are celebrating???
Well I’m here to say if we have to find a reason, maybe we just start celebrating life cuz this shit show of a pandemic is not going to get us down. Ok?
REALLY, I want to understand why the reluctance? It could be that once opened, sparkling wine can go flat but with the correct stopper a bottle of bubbly can last another day or two. There are many options but this could solve your problem. Personally, I would just decide that the bottle should be finished:)
Next, I think when many people think of sparkling wine they think champagne and the high price tag that follows. This also is incorrect because there are many options we can all enjoy. I’m going to give you a “sparkling wine for dummies” outline so you can join my sparkling revolution!
First of all let’s talk champagne. Champagne is from Champagne France and if you want to go down that road of Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot , Louis Roederer and all the other historical brands then you’re going to pay more than your typical bubbly. Is it worth it? Depends who you talk to but there are many other sparkling wines done in the same “traditional method”. Check out the web site Wine Folly for a great breakdown of all methods for sparkling wine.
This bottle was about $60
If you really want that “French” experience check out a Crémant which is a French sparkling wine done in the traditional method but not produced in Champagne. Crémant de Saumur, Crémant de Vouvray, and Crémant de Loire are great examples. Won’t have the prestigious name but you’ll have money left over for dinner!
Found this at the LCBO for $19.99
Another sparkling wine to look for is Cava from Spain. Again, this is made in the traditional method but is made from Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello grapes. I’m sure you’ve seen Freixenet and Codorniu in the LCBO but I would check out a smaller producer. As with Cremant you’ll be able to buy dinner:)
Another popular option is Prosecco which I’m sure you’ve all heard of. Light, bright and bubbly this is one of Italy’s versions of sparkling wine but other than bubbles that’s where it ends. This is meant to be enjoyed in it’s youth and if you’re not a fan of the toasty dryness of traditional style wines then this may be for you. Produced in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions of Italy, this wine is made from the Glera grape. Instead of the second fermentation done within the bottle, prosecco is done in large stainless steel tanks and could be ready for consumption in as little time as 30 days. Hence the lower price point.
There are many other countries that produce sparkling wines but I wanted to give you the condensed version so we could get to the point of this blog.
ONTARIO MAKES SPARKLING WINES !!!!!
Specifically the Niagara Escarpment and they’re really good! With a similar climate, soil and grape varietals as Champagne(chardonnay and pinot noir) this would seem like an obvious region for growing excellent sparkling wine.
So let’s think local for Valentine’s Day and for every other day that ends in “Y”.
Here is my list of local wines to explore….
Thanx to Giuliana for her suggestions for this list..in no particular order
Cave Springs 2013 Blanc do Blanc CSV-$44.95
Kew Vineyards 2019 organic riesling sparkling-$19.95
Henry of Pelham Rose Brut VQA-$32.95
Westcott Vineyard 2019 Violette Sparkling Brut-$25.99
The Good Earth Aria Sparkling Rose-$29.95
Flat Rock 2015 Crowned Rose-$$45.20
Angel’s Gate 2014 Archangel Chardonnay Sparkling VQA-$29.95
Redstone Winery 2016 Limestone Vineyard
This is by no mean’s exclusive as there are many excellent choices. I was able to find the 4 bottles at the LCBO close by but if you go to the a wineries website, you will be able to see what’s available and with a few clicks and your visa card you’ll be able to have it delivered right to your home! Easy eh?
I guarantee you won’t be disappointed and I think we all need to celebrate life right about now so….
Cheers
Catherine and The Travelling Vines
Thanks Cathy, this is great! You have already taught me so much about wine over the years but I just learned something new about sparkling wine from your blog! Can’t wait for you to blog about our Chile wine experience. 🍷
Trust me I plan to blog about Chile as well🍷
Okay so obviously I had a long list of favourite sparklings that I sent you when you asked about mine while you were writing this post, but I thought I’d tell you what made some of these wines extra special for me this year.
My family drank The Good Earth Aria with our dear friend Nicolette at her restaurant when we went out for dinner on the gorgeous garden patio. It was our last dinner out as a family with just the 5 of us before my brother and sister-in-law’s baby came. My parents were still just parents and I was still just a sister. Within a couple of days of this celebratory last supper without a baby, I was officially a first time Auntie. That brings us to the next wine…
A few days later we drank the Malivoire Che Bello during lunch on the patio of Just Cooking just as my sister-in-law went into labour with my beautiful nephew. We didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or girl at that time but the name of the wine couldn’t have been a better fit. We are Italian and ‘Che Bello’ means how beautiful (in the masculine. If it were feminine it would be ‘che bella’). I think that maybe us drinking this wine may have been the perfect way to wait for our beautiful baby boy to arrive! Che bello!😍
The list goes on and on, with the KEW Riesling being enjoyed on my Birthday as a gift from our friend and fellow WSET gal pal Jazz. Cathy, you were actually my only friend that I was able to see in person on my birthday but we were able to FaceTime with Jazz and that will be one of my most cherished pandemic memories! The BdB CSV was enjoyed later that night with my family, paired with fresh roll appetizers from Spicy Thai, which was a favourite restaurant of us three gal pals during our WSET days.
There is no end to the fun we can have with Ontario sparkling but some of my favourite times this year enjoying Niagara sparkling were the times that you and I just enjoyed sparkling on the patio on any old night, because sparkling is for the big moments but it’s also for the day to day and always best enjoyed with the people you love most. Cathy, you are absolutely one of the people I love most!
Here’s to many more sparkling memories made together in Niagara wine country this year! 🍾🥂
Wow! You bring tears to my eyes. I love how you have special memories with different wines. That’s why sparkling wines are so amazing. It creates memories. May we continue to do just that as soon as we are let out of our bubble🥂