Sparkling wine cocktails trending at suburban bars, restaurants

Sparkling wine has been associated with luxury and celebration for centuries, but you don't have to stick to toasting with a traditional flute of champagne this holiday season. Sparkling wine cocktails are an easy way to impress your guests if you're hosting a party, and if you're looking for a festive night out you can drink in the trend at a local bar or restaurant.

Jennifer Contraveos, senior portfolio ambassador of Bacardi North America, said that sparkling wine cocktails have become increasingly popular as more Americans learn about different types of bubbly including French champagne, Italian prosecco, Spanish cava and domestic sparkling wine.

“People have more options to explore,” she said.

Bubbly cocktails can be very simple. One of Contraveos' favorites is a St. Germain cocktail made by blending Martini & Rossi prosecco, the namesake elderflower liqueur and sparkling water and garnishing it with a lemon twist. Rather than using a traditional champagne flute, the drink is served in a tall glass over ice with the cold helping to activate the bubbles.

“When making sparkling wine cocktails, one of the most important things to look for in a sparkling wine is something with more robust bubbles,” she said. “You want to make sure that the effervescence stands up to the other ingredients.”

Kings in Rosemont launched a particularly festive version of the St. Germain cocktail in December. Served in a champagne glass, the Under the Mistletoe also incorporates Hendrick's gin and house-made sage- and thyme-infused syrup to bring out flavors of stuffing and pair with some of Kings' popular entrees such as rosemary chicken.

“It's a smooth herbal drink,” said Kings senior marketing and special events manager Bobby Rovy. “It's good for celebrations.”

You can also spice up traditional bubbly cocktails for your holiday party, fortifying a mimosa with Benedictine liqueur or blending cinnamon and rum into a Bellini.

“Sparkling wines have a robust flavor profile, so you don't need to add too much of anything,” Contraveos said.

Freixenet brand manager Josep Ferrer recently attended a mixology workshop in Spain where he experimented with cocktails using cava.

“There's really a lot of possibilities for adding cava to different drinks,” he said. “It dilutes it, but not too much. It gives it structure and really nice bubbles. It mixes well with a lot of things. It's a pretty crisp drink. It's sweet, but not too sweet.”

Some unusual options he tried include a drink blending cava with mango puree, tequila and crushed chili peppers, and a holiday-themed sipper that features cava and white crème de cacao garnished with a candy cane.

“Champagne would make an equally good base for a cocktail, but with cava you can get it at a price where you can have some fun with it and experiment with it,” he said. “The way that champagne is priced, your cocktails would get pretty expensive.”

Patrick Williams, mixologist for Punch Bowl Social, which opened its newest location in Schaumburg this month, said the bar has used bubbly in its weekly featured punches such as the Sleigh Bells, a blend of sparkling wine, cranberry juice, lime juice, simple syrup and Bacardi Ocho rum garnished with nutmeg and dried cranberries.

“When I think of the holiday season, I think of things like spices, like cranberry, like fruitcake,” he said. “When I think of a spirit that would go with that, rum comes to mind. People loved it. It's really fun. We use our house sparkling wine and you get that kind of effervescent, frothy feel to it. Kind of a sparkling mouth feel.”

Williams said a good punch should have five elements: strong, weak, sour, sweet and spice. Strong is a base spirit like rum, while the weak element can be a sparkling wine or soda.

“Soda water is just going to dilute and open up the drink, while wine is going to take it to another level,” he said. “It's another alcoholic element. Using the sparkling rose adds color, adds a fruit note and, if you get a good one, it adds an extra level of complexity. If you decide to use champagne, you're going to get that bready, doughy element.”

Festive punches are also a great option for a holiday party at home.

“It's really easy to turn sparkling wine cocktails into punches,” Contraveos said. “One of the things that makes punches nice for the host of the party is that they don't need to be so involved in making cocktails. You can make the cocktail and leave the sparkling wine on the side so each person can add how much they want.”

Of course you don't need a special occasion to enjoy a bubbly cocktail. Sullivan's Steakhouse in Lincolnshire offers a raspberry peach Bellini on its regular menu, a blend of peach raspberry Grand Marnier, prosecco, and house-made raspberry and peach puree.

“We definitely get people who are dining in a little bit earlier in the day getting those — when they're having holiday parties at lunch or at dinner when they're looking for something lighter and sweeter,” said Sullivan's manager Spenser Tuzzo. “It's a really big hit not just during this season but year round.”

The sipper provides an alternative for those who find a plain glass of champagne or sparkling wine to be too dry but still want to toast to a special occasion.

“When you think celebration you think bubbly,” Tuzzo said.