A nice sparkler from Alsace

I have been in somewhat of a celebratory mood, as I switch from one job to another. It is not that I feel particularly good about leaving the old job, but starting a new job is exciting.

Therefore, I feel that a little bit of bubbly is just what the doctor called for. I received a bottle of Domaine Albert Mann Cremant D'Alsace Brut NV (lot 34) a little while ago and now seemed to be the perfect time to open it.

A quick note about the term Cremant: Cremant is a label used for sparkling wines outside of the region of Champagne to denote a wine that was made using the Champagne method (methode champenoise/traditionnelle).

It is rare that I find myself really enjoying a sparkling wine. When I do find myself liking one, it usually turns out to be a Muscato D'Asti or other extremely sweet wine. I think I have been too affected by my upbringing through the Coca Cola culture.

Many of my female friends think I am crazy, as they all claim to love sparkling wines. Perhaps they do, or maybe they just like the prestige that a bottle with a cork that POPS brings to the table. At the last Wine Spectator California Wine Experience, I had the opportunity to wander around with one of my wine mentors (there have been quite a few) and he told me that it had taken him a while to get into bubblies as well. However, he had an epiphany that bubbly was just another wine and it changed his perspective.

All that said, I really enjoyed the Albert Mann. It balanced beautifully between the fruity sweetness I love and the drying acidity of the bubbles. It is definitely a wine made for food and I was lucky enough to have a pan fried chicken with broccoli and potato crisps on hand. The wine was very pleasantly accented with apple and lemon flavors. The bubbles brought a little bitterness which nicely balanced the fruit. There was a little tartness to it, but I think the food matched it to make me want to go from eating to drinking and back again.

A nice wine and for $22, I think it is worth checking out for the next time you need a good bubbly.

Bubbles and all its glory

As the New Year has come, the proper way to celebrate the moment between one year and the next is to break open the bubbly.

And so this year I found myself with a bottle of Prosecco. Prosecco is an Italian wine – generally a dry sparkling wine – made from a variety of white grape of the same name. The grape is grown mainly in the Veneto region of Italy, traditionally in an area near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills north of Treviso.

Champagne is the traditional sparkle of choice to bring in the new year, or get rid of the lingering memory of the old year. Champagne however has become extremely expensive, and more party hosts have chosen more alternatives such as Cava from Spain, Sekt from Germany, sparkling wine from California or Prosecco from Italy. Many examples of each of these bubblies are very tasty and perfectly good substitutes for any New Year’s Eve party.

Prosecco is made sparkling by the Charmat method, where the second fermentation (the one in which the bubbles are created in the wine) occurs in steel tanks as opposed to the Champagne or traditional method of having the second fermentation occur in the same bottle in which it will be pouring into your glass.

The Prosecco I tasted was from Cinzano. The grapes were from the Colline trevigiane region in the Veneto appellation of Italy. The Cinzano company started in 1757 with two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carolo Stegano Cinzano. They started their business in Turin, creating vermouth. According to their current importer (Palm Bay International), the Savoy monarchs requested of the Cinzano’s that they create a sparkling wine to emulate French Champagne in the early 19th Century. That resulted in the creation of Cinzano Sparkling wines in 1850. Gruppo Campari currently owns Cincano, having purchased the company in 1999.

I opened the bottle on New Year’s Eve with Julie and Leah and it was a beautiful wine! We opened the bottled at 5 minutes to midnight so that we could toast at the appropriate second and I do not think we could have brought in the new year with a better beverage. It had very pleasing small to medium size bubbles and the nose was a tantalizing pear and yellow apple. The taste was light and crisp in the mouth, just begging for another taste and another and another.

Full disclosure, I received this wine as a sample.