Good wine: Bubbles not just for the holidays
Common wisdom says that Americans drink sparkling wine only once each year.
In fact, we drink bubbly with collective gusto (as do the Germans, French and Russians year-round) two entire days each year: Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.
This holiday season, why not start being thankful early for the range of well-made and delicious sparkling wines available in the suburbs and Chicago, including:
Champagne: Sleek, statuesque and steely, Champagne is as far from the drink that many people want when they order “Champagne” as possible.
Price is the first clue. Excellent Champagne can be purchased as low as $35, compared to excellent Cava (see below) for about $15. But there's more between Champagne and other sparklers than 20 bucks.
Unfortunately, words cannot express. The only way to get that difference is to break open the bank and buy a bottle.
Begin with a non-vintage Brut, the first expression of each producer's style. I follow producers including Pol Roger, Charles Heidsieck, Pommery, Laurent-Perrier and Piper-Heidsieck.
Serve your Champagne solidly cool (not icy) in pristinely clean flutes. Accompaniments should be rich but mildly flavored: toast points, gougeres, fresh cheese, lobster; avoid brash caviar and smoky salmon.
I recommend drinking non-vintage Brut Champagne often for health and well-being. For a trip to the outer reaches of Champagne's galaxy, high-rollers may choose a grandees marques such as Krug Brut 'Clos d'Ambonnay' Blanc de Noirs 1998.
“This is a wine that fulfills the intellect as well as the palate,” says Madeline Triffon, master sommelier for Plum Market (1233 N. Wells St., Chicago). “It's outrageously-priced,” she laughs, referring to the $1,699.97 per bottle holiday sale tag, “but it's equally outrageous in depth of flavor and length, with a deep, brooding mid-palate and a finish that just doesn't stop.”
Whatever your choice, when the bottle is empty, you'll know the difference of Champagne, you'll know what that difference is worth to you and you'll never confuse Champagne with any other sparkling wine again.
Prosecco: Italy's fabulous fizz won the world's hearts and palates with dry-ish flavors, delicate bubbles and prices for everyday enjoyment.
In the 1980s, popularity skyrocketed and quality plummeted. Then, in 2008, an overexposed hotel heiress emblazoned her own canned Prosecco with her own overexposed figure.
Basta! said producers. In a cooperative effort rarely associated with Italian viticulture, winemakers enacted quality standards to protect Prosecco. Look for labels marked with Italy's top-ranked DOCG status, from growing regions Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Favorites include Nino Franco “Rustico” and Carpene Malvoti (each about $15.)
In the $10 to $12 range, Prosecco DOC is a softly-sweet quaff that plays well with other ingredients including white peach purée (for a Bellini) and Aperol (for the Aperol Spritz.) Recommended producers include Riondo “Spago Nero” and the Mariano's exclusive Bollicini.
Cava: Spain's sparkler is still the world's best deal in bubbly. Cordorniu is my favorite for quality, value and range of products.
Anna de Codorniu NV Brut is dry, rich and creamy with balanced acidity (about $12); the Rosé offers flavors of dried fruits, almonds and spice (about $15.)
Codorniu Gran Reserva received raves for its recent stateside release. Each of three handcrafted Cavas reflect a single grape (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Xarel-lo) and single vintage (2007); all matured on lees until release in numbered bottles. I prefer the multifaceted Pinot Noir with restrained white plum, licorice and croissant flavors and underlying power. Each is extremely limited, at about $75 per bottle; even more limited is the three-pack containing each, for about $100.
U.S. sparklers: Domestic bubbly is my personal favorite advancement in U.S. wine. Once strictly a hangover looking for a place to happen, U.S. sparkling wines now reflect the ripe fruit of our sunny clime expressed through Europe's time-tested techniques. In the $20-range, favorites include: Gloria Ferrer, Gruet, Mumm Napa, Roederer Estate.
Schramsberg is America's most prestigious sparkling house, producing opulent and elegant Brut, Brut Rose, Blanc de Noirs and Blanc de Blancs in the $40-range.
Proprietor Hugh Davies is in town next week to taste library vintages of his top-of-the-line J. Schram with select trade and press. No doubt the wines have developed in luxury and boldness, but this industry pro must decline her invitation in lieu of making deliveries, building displays and generally keeping customers satisfied.
And in our exciting Chicago liquor market, I'm thankful everyday to be doing it.
• Write to Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator Mary Ross at food@dailyherald.com.
Ross' choice
Rose Spumante Dolce
Cavicchioli 1928
Modena, Italy
Non-vintage
• Suggested retail and availability: About $14 at liquor chains and specialty grocers (distributed by Southern Wines and Spirits of Illinois, Bolingbrook)
The bottle says it all: extremely pretty and a little over the top. Come-hither sweetness balanced with toothsome acidity, this Italian bubbly is a crowd-pleaser, certainly for not-too-sweet desserts (such as perfectly ripe strawberries tossed in powdered sugar), but also for a sweeter accompaniment to cured or spicy meats (prosciutto, smoked ham sandwich) and rich poultry served with sweeter sauce (Asian barbecue duck, turkey with cranberries). <span class="Italic">Vino da meditazione </span>often implies a complex red with which to contemplate life; enjoy this wine to reflect upon <span class="Italic">dolce far niente</span> (sweet idleness), throughout the busy holiday season and beyond.